A customer books a car for 180 for a week. At the counter she is told the excess is 1,500, a deposit of that amount will be held on her card, and she can reduce it to zero for 22 a day.
She had budgeted 180. She is now looking at either 1,500 on her card for a fortnight or another 154 on top of a rental that has just doubled in price.
A worked example
Say a week's hire at 180 with a standard excess of 1,500.
Option one, take nothing extra. A deposit of 1,500 is held against her card, reducing her available credit for the trip and for up to a fortnight afterwards. If the car is damaged, she pays up to 1,500.
Option two, buy the counter excess reduction at 22 a day. That is 154 for the week, bringing the total to 334, and the deposit held usually reduces substantially or to nothing.
Option three, buy standalone excess insurance beforehand, often a fraction of the counter price for a week or an annual policy. The rental company still holds the 1,500 deposit and still charges her for damage, and she claims it back afterwards. That distinction is what surprises people.
So the honest comparison is 180 with a large hold and full exposure, 334 with neither, or roughly 210 with the hold and a reimbursement claim if something happens.
Publish this before booking
A customer who sees it at the counter feels ambushed. One who sees it on the booking page makes a decision and does not argue with anybody.
Explain deposit and excess separately
They are different amounts doing different things and the terms are used interchangeably everywhere. Separating them is the single most useful clarification.
State the deposit amount by vehicle class
It varies, and a customer with a modest card limit needs to know before choosing a larger vehicle.
Explain the card requirements
Whether a credit card in the main driver's name is required, whether debit cards are accepted and what changes if they are. This stops more rentals at the counter than anything else.
Say how long the hold lasts
Days or weeks after return, and that it depends on the card issuer. Travellers budget around this and are caught out.
Be honest about third-party cover
It is cheaper and it works by reimbursement. Explaining that plainly, rather than disparaging it, builds the trust that sells the counter product to the people who genuinely prefer convenience.
Explain what the excess applies to
Damage, theft, windscreen, tyres, undercarriage and roof, since several of those are commonly excluded from standard cover and are exactly where damage occurs.
Publish the damage inspection process
How the vehicle is checked at collection and return, what is recorded and how a customer disputes a charge. This is where the worst experiences happen.
Licence rules sit alongside
They are covered in young driver and licence questions before booking and rental questions about deposits, licences and insurance.
Deposits confuse people in every rental
The parallel is in damage deposit and house rules questions before booking, and direct booking is covered in how car rental companies win direct bookings with a chatbot.
Getting started
Publish your excess, deposit amounts, card requirements and what cover excludes, then answer before booking at any hour. SpideyChat for car rental companies answers from your published pages, our plans are on the pricing page, and the chatbot ROI calculator works through the numbers.