Damage control in Legian Bali

Renting a car to explore Bali, is the way to go in my opinion. You have to watch out for yourself though, and my mind goes back to one little fender bender I had back in 2004.

Having rented a car with my friend Donovan, to get down to Uluwatu the day before, it was time to return it. Returning the Peroza on Saturday to the place on Jl. Padma, I gave Donovan a tour of some of the back streets of Legian. “It’s just a maze down here,” he said, “with no thought to planning.”

The car hire people rented all kinds of vehicles, from Suzuki Katanas to Toyota Kijangs. My Peroza is the ‘in between’ vehicle. We made contact with one of the guys from the shop and he checked out the vehicle. My gang (alley) is extremely narrow with tight turns, and I must of touched one side of the rear bumper, against a hard surface. There was an inch long crack in it, although the vehicle itself was several years old. While driving we noticed it was in a pretty bad state, lousy squeaky brakes, pollution city, didn’t idle without stalling. “You damage car so you must pay?” said the guy. “Look it’s a tiny crack and the bumper has scrapes all over.” I said. We checked it out from all angles, and he told me he wanted me to buy a whole new side section for the bumper. “Look there’s no way I’m buying a new bumper.” I said, “I’ll glue it together.” “No, glue no good, you must buy new one.” said the guy again. I paid him 150,000rp for the extra day, and after getting ‘heated’ in the office, told him I’d bring back glue to fix the bumper.

Donovan was planning on renting a Suzuki from the same place, but that was shot once he saw how they work. We started walking down the street towards Jl. Legian, and the guy followed us in the car. “Where are you going?” he said. “To Circle K to get the super glue.” I said.

I ended up riding with him, eventually purchasing a tube of superglue. We glued the crack shut, and it was hard to see the split standing back.

There was no way I was buying a new bumper, ‘beat it out of me’, was my mentality. We ended up on decent terms, but I really hate this ’screw job’ they try to put on you, when something goes wrong. My suggestion for future happenings, don’t panic, stand your ground, try to be polite and offer an alternative solution. I could just see in this guy’s eyes he was hoping for a score.

Tips for renting a car in Bali
•Negotiate, realize there are a ton of places, and you are in a position to choose.
•Check out the car thoroughly before signed their form.
•Test the AC / seats before driving off. I have made the mistake of checking the car for dents, then realizing down the road the AC doesn’t work.
•Walk around the car taking digital photos. I do this and make sure the guy sees me doing it, so we’re on the same page.
•Realize when the car shows up, it will of been drained of fuel, right before. You’ll have to make a stop at a perol station immediately.
•If you are just renting the car for a day, don’t fill up the tank completely. There are no refunds for extra petrol (love how this works!).
•Make sure you have the registration with you.
•Pick up a business card from the rental place, in case of accident / trip extension.

I have found many rental places to be reasonable with time, as far as returning the car. On previous occassions, I have rented a car in the morning and returned it the same day, saving them money. In the same vein, renters have in the past, allowed me to take a car at 6pm on monday, to use on tuesday and return on wednesday morning, charging me for 24 hours. So some people can be cool, you just have to communicate with them.