D & N Continental Auto Body

DAMAGED BY ENTERPRISE, PART I
After getting rear-​ended by an elderly couple on an otherwise beautiful Saturday afternoon, it was nice knowing that they had good insurance and that they were helpful right from the start. They contacted my wife to go over our options. We decided to go with their Concierge service and who wouldn’t with it being the sweet deal that it is? Here’s how it works. Continental picks up your car from your home or work and delivers your rental car to you on the behalf of Enterprise Rent-​a-​Car. It’s really as simple as just confirming your address and you’re done. After picking up your car, they bring the car to the body shop to make all necessary repairs. How could anyone say no to a sweet deal like that?
On the day of our scheduled pick up, Continental brought a flatbed truck to pick up our Toyota Rav4. Already sitting on the flatbed was our rental car, a Dodge Nitro. While looking over the car as it sat on the flatbed, I could see no signs of visible damage of the vehicle. The car looked manageable and appeared to be a similar size to the Toyota Rav4 that they were about to take away. However, there was one noticeable difference between this and any other rental was that nobody from Enterprise was on the scene to go over an inspection of the vehicle. The driver had my wife sign the paperwork which had already been filled out by Enterprise which showed that the gas tank was full and that there was no damage on the car at the time of the delivery. My wife signed the paperwork and the Dodge Nitro was taken off the truck. After the car was taken off the truck, it seemed to look much larger than it did while on the flatbed. The driver took away our Rav4 and we decided to take the Nitro to the grocery store for a spin.
Continue ahead to PART II:
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If you’d like to go back to PART VII, then click on the link below:
DAMAGED BY ENTERPRISE, PART VIII
After feeling sandbagged by both the Fort Lee and Jersey City employees and being told that we were going to be forced to pay for damage that was on the car before it came into our possession, our now fate rested with the insurance company and Continental Body Shop to get this matter sorted out. The insurance company was appalled by the way that all of the Enterprise locations had handled this situation. I had no choice but to wait patiently for them to get back to me with the next step.
A week of anxiety went by and finally I got a call from Continental instructing me to bring the Dodge Nitro into their shop to be inspected. Eureka! This is what I wanted all along! Had the Jersey City Branch Manager asked for us to bring in the car for them to inspect for themselves, then all of this anxiety could have been avoided.
I brought the car into Continental and before looking over the car, they clearly explained to me exactly what constituted damage by Enterprise’s standards:
1. Scratches greater than 5 inches in length
2. Holes/​Cracks/​Dents larger than golf balls
I showed the Continental employees the «damage» identified by the Fort Lee office. After inspecting the front and rear bumper, they both concluded what I had been saying all along… there was no damage to the vehicle which could be discovered through a visual inspection. The pre-​existing hairline crack on the underside of the front bumper was less than 5 inches and clearly smaller than a golf ball. No damage there! The dent on the top of the back bumper was also confirmed as something which could be easier pounded down and was also smaller than a golf ball. No damage! All that was left was to have the onsite Enterprise employee inspect the car and come to the same conclusion and we would be fully exonerated.
The onsite Enterprise came over to inspect the car. As he was walking up to the car I could tell that he was having a difficult time identifying where the alleged damage was on the car.
Enterprise Employee: So… where is the damage?
Me: I don’t know … Why don’t you tell me?!?
Enterprise Employee: Do you mean this scratch on the bumper? That’s less than 5 inches.
Me: Nope. That’s not it.
Continental Employee: You have to get down and look at it from the underside.
Enterprise Employee: That’s a scratch too. And it’s also less than 5 inches. No damage.
Me: And what are your thoughts on the rear bumper?
Enterprise Employee: The raised dent in the bumper cover? It’s smaller than a golf ball. No damage.
Music to my ears! We were cleared of responsibility for any damage to the vehicle. Special thanks to the insurance company and Continental Body Shop for their outstanding customer service. As for Enterprise, it will be a cold day in Hell before I ever even consider renting from them again!
THE END ???