What to do when you have a breakdown in a hire car

Having your car break down can be a complete nightmare at the best of times, but when it’s a hire car, that can sometimes make things all the more complicated. We know that all too well here at Intack Self Drive, which is exactly why we do everything we can to take the stress and hassle out of the situation for you when your car suffers a failure.

Now, everyone’s circumstances are different when it comes to what they’ll use their vehicle for. So if it’s something you’re particularly concerned about, then do feel free to ask one of our team when you come to hire a car, van or minibus, and they’ll be able to give you more information on what we’d be able to do to help you.

To give you a quick heads-up though, here we’ve detailed our standard procedures for dealing with a breakdown, so that you’ve got at least a rough idea for what to expect.

What should I do first if I break down in a hire car?

Before we get right into it, we should start with the most important stuff. The very first thing we’d suggest when you suffer a failure is to follow standard breakdown procedure - that is, to get the car to the safest place you can, and then get yourself and any passengers to somewhere even safer if possible. (For example, behind the motorway crash barriers.) When it comes right down to it, the absolute priority in these sorts of situations is to protect yourself, your passengers, and any other road users.

Once you’re satisfied that everyone’s as safe as they can be, the next stage is to pick up the phone and give us a call.

Calling Intack to solve the issue

We have a breakdown company on retainer here at Intack Self Drive, so if your breakdown happened within office hours, we’ll be able to send our own dedicated team to get you mobile again. There is no extra charge for this, as it’s all covered in our rental fee for cars, vans and minibuses alike. (Your hire cost also covers the manufacturer’s warranty, and all service and maintenance, as well as breakdown cover.)

When our contractor arrives, hopefully they’ll be able to fix it for you right there and then on the side of the road, at which point you can happily get on your way again. If that’s not possible though, they’ll take you back to our Blackburn depot, where we’ll be able to provide you a replacement car free of charge while we get your existing one repaired.

You then may decide to change back to your original car once it’s been repaired, or simply keep driving your replacement until the end of your hire period. It really all depends on your own individual circumstances, and how long you’re planning on driving the car for. If your hire period is finishing in a day or two, you might decide it’s not worth the hassle of switching back, whereas if it’s a car you’ve gotten attached to over a long-term hire, you might want to get back in the driving seat as soon as you can.

Using a third party to deal with your breakdown

If you’re not able to reach us by phone for whatever reason - whether that’s because it’s outside office hours, or you have no signal, or it’s a poor line - then there’s generally a breakdown number on the windscreen that you can call to organise the recovery yourself. Leave us a message if you’re able, and we’ll get back in touch to liaise with you and get you back on track as soon as we can.

What if I break down in another part of the country?

It’s not unusual for our customers to use our vehicles for cross-country trips, so on occasion we have dealt with breakdowns that have been hundreds of miles away. Obviously that can be a little trickier to sort out, but don’t worry - we’ve got procedures for this, too! As above the breakdown service will attend and attempt a repair roadside, if this isn’t possible what we tend to do in this situation is contact a local provider to organise a replacement hire car, while we make arrangements to get your original car repaired. Once you’re back on the road, we’ll get in touch again to discuss your available options with you, and how you’d like to proceed. Again, it all really depends on your individual circumstances, where you’re driving, and how much longer you’re planning on hiring a car for.

How much does it cost to break down in a hire car?

We can’t speak for other hire companies, but where Intack Self Drive is concerned, it doesn’t cost anything extra (as long as you’ve not actively caused a breakdown through aggressive driving or recklessness). As we’ve touched on above, this is because our hire fee for hiring a van, car and minibuses already accounts for possible breakdown and repair costs - so if the worst happens, you can have complete peace of mind from any hefty unexpected costs.

So, that’s all the main points covered - if you’ve got any further questions or need any additional clarifications, our friendly staff are here to help. We like to make everything as simple and straightforward as we can when you come to hire a van, car or minibus. Plus if you’re thinking about using your vehicle for something more long-term, our Flexi Hire services are designed to give you the very best value on long-term hire. Feel free to explore the details right here on our site, or give us a ring on 01254 57811!