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Damage & Fair Wear and Tear Policy

Overlander Adventures constantly strive to keep our vehicles in the best possible condition.  To assist us with this it is important that our valued customers take care of our vehicles.

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Before we hire our vehicle to you, we will identify and record any pre-existing damage, with the exception of fair wear and tear.  We encourage all hirers to conduct their own inspection before commencing their rental.

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In the unfortunate event that damage occurs during a rental, we first determine if the damage is considered fair wear and tear in line with the industry standards outlined below.  

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Damage that is never considered fair wear and tear, is not covered by insurance and that the hirer must always pay to repair includes Damage:

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  • To the underbody of the vehicle;

  • To the overhead of the vehicle (above the window glass);

  • As a result of partial or total immersion in water;

  • As a result of a lack of care or negligence;

  • As a result of a breach of the rental agreement.

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Automotive Rental Fair Wear and Tear

Overlander Adventures adopts rental industry standards to determine what is fair wear and tear and what is damage that must be repaired.

Dents

Fair Wear and Tear includes:

  • Dents of no more than 20mm in diameter (excluding dents on bonnets and roofs) where the paint surface has not been broken and there is no paint removal, paint cracking or flaking

Fair Wear and Tear excludes:

  • Dents of any diameter on bonnets, roofs, wheel arches, style lines, door sills or door edges

  • Multiple dents within a specific local area regardless of size.

  • Any dent/damage affecting or penetrating the paintwork.

Stone Chips

Fair Wear and Tear includes:

  • Isolated stone chips to any panel up to 2mm in diameter.

Fair Wear and Tear excludes:

  • More than 5 stone chips to an isolated area.

Stratches

Fair Wear and Tear includes:

  • Not more than 20mm in length and not more than 1mm wide;

  • No paint surface penetration; and

  • can be polished out.

Fair Wear and Tear excludes:

  • Any scratch where the metal, plastic or undercoat is exposed. 

Bumpers

Fair Wear and Tear includes:

  • Light scuffing or scratches: where there is no paint penetration, are not more than 20mm in diameter and which can be polished out.

  • Isolated stone chips up to 2mm in diameter.

Fair Wear and Tear excludes:

  • any broken paint;

  • multiple scratches of any size;

  • any damage to a textured bumper; and

  • Multiple stone chips of more than 5 to an isolated area.

Wheels, Wheel Rims, Tyres

Fair Wear and Tear includes:

  • Light scuffing or scratches up to 20mm in length.

Fair Wear and Tear excludes:

  • Wheel trims or hubcaps that are cracked, broken, missing, mismatched or not the original wheel trim or hubcap;

  • Alloy rims for standard vehicles that are cracked, buckled, gouged or mismatched or not the original rim;

  • Tyre tread and sidewall damage so that the tyre is unroadworthy (eg. cuts, bulges, gouges and abrasions;

  • Tyre misuse (eg flatspots or burnouts);

  • Replacement tyres that differ from those originally supplied.

Windscreens, Windows, Lamps & Mirrors

Fair Wear and Tear excludes:

  • Scratches, chipping, cracks, holes or damage to:

    • The windscreen;​

    • windows;

    • lamps; and

    • external mirrors.

 as all such damage may affect the roadworthy status of the vehicle and may subsequently worsen over time from the vehicle continuing to be driven.​

Upholstery, Floors, Carpets, Dashboard, Facia, Trim and Cleaning

Fair Wear and Tear includes:

  • Light marks that can be removed by vacuum or general cleaning;

  • light scuffing or smears or regular day-to-day debris that is removed by general cleaning.

Fair Wear and Tear excludes:

  • any permanent damage caused by harsh or corrosive materials;

  • tears, cuts, scratches, holes or burns;

  • any damage to the structure, shape or positioning of a seat;

  • hair from animals;

  • excessive soil, mud, sand (other than regular day-to-day use);

  • any odor or foreign matter​

  • stains or marks that cannot be removed by general cleaning or require steam cleaning.​

Keys, Accessories and Equipment

Fair Wear and Tear includes:

  • Minor cosmetic damage that does not in any way affect the functionality of the the key, accessory or equipment.

Fair Wear and Tear excludes:

  • Lost or damage keys or remotes;​

  • Damage caused by incorrect fitting of accessories (roof racks, snow chains etc)

  • Damage to aerials;

  • Removal or damage to any item supplied with the vehicle (parcel shelf, tools, spare tyres, wheel trims, hazard triangles, first aid kits, GPS units).

Our Repair Policy

Overlander Adventures adopts the following policy in relation to repairs.

Repair or Replace

If a damaged item cannot be repaired to a standard reflecting the pre-hire condition of the item or the cost of such repair will exceed the price of replacing the item with a new or equivalent item, then the item will be replaced, not repaired.

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Any tyre that requires replacement will be replaced with a new tyre in all instances.

Choice or Repairer

If repairs are do not from part of an insurance claim, Overlander Adventures will always use its approved repairs to repair damage to its vehicles or equipment. In this instance hirers that are liable to pay for the cost of repairs may obtain quotations from suitably qualified repairs of their choice and submit to Overlander Adventures for comparison.

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Some repairs may be carried out 'in-house' by us. Parts and labor will be charged at industry accepted rates.

Repair Costs

The cost to rectify damage includes, but is not limited to:

  • The cost or any part or item;

  • Labor costs charged at repair industry accepted rates to install, rectify or repair and part or item;

  • Reasonable administration costs;

  • A per day loss or revenue based on the estimated downtime of the vehicle, calculated by the average daily revenue of the category of the vehicle for the previous 6 month period.

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