Rental car excess is the maximum amount you could have to pay the hire company if the car is damaged or stolen — often several thousand dollars. Hire companies usually hold a bond on your card at pickup and may offer to reduce the excess for a daily fee. This page explains how excess works; it doesn’t compare or recommend any insurance product.
Updated
What ‘excess’ means on a hire car
The excess (called the deductible in North America) is the cap on what you are liable for if the car is damaged or stolen during your hire. It is not a fee — you only pay it if something happens. In New Zealand the published figures run from $3,000 to $7,500 depending on the supplier and the vehicle class, and half of New Zealand’s suppliers do not publish it before you book.
Excess vs bond vs deposit
The bond (sometimes called the deposit, security deposit or pre-authorisation) is an amount the supplier reserves against your credit card at pickup. It is often smaller than the excess — Snap, for instance, holds a $2,000 bond against a $3,000 excess. The money is not taken, but it is unavailable to you for the length of the hire and usually for some days afterwards. If you are travelling on a card with a modest limit, this is the number that can ruin a trip, not the excess.
Glossary
- Excess
- The most you could be asked to pay towards damage to, or theft of, the hire car.
- Bond
- A temporary hold on your card at pickup, released after the car is returned and checked.
- Excess reduction
- An optional daily-priced product, sold by the hire company, that lowers the excess — sometimes to zero.
What typically isn’t covered: check your agreement
Reducing your excess does not extend the range of things you are covered for. If the contract excludes unsealed roads, or a named road, damage there is outside the cover entirely — and a zero-excess product does not bring it back inside. You pay the full repair.
The same is true of the other standard carve-outs: damage to the underbody, the tyres, the windscreen and the roof is excluded by default in many contracts, and single-vehicle accidents on gravel tend to involve exactly those parts. Your rental agreement is the only document that tells you what applies to your hire.
Which New Zealand suppliers exclude unsealed roads, and which roads they name →
How excess reduction at the counter works
Suppliers sell an optional product at the counter that lowers the excess, sometimes to zero. It is priced per day, and it may also change the bond held on your card. What it lowers, and what it still excludes, is set out in the supplier’s terms. We explain the mechanics only: we don’t compare these products, link to them or say whether to buy one — see the note at the bottom of this page.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What is the excess on this specific vehicle class? Not the range on the website — the figure for the car you are being handed. Where suppliers publish bands, the top band is often 25–40% above the bottom one.
- What is held on my card, and for how long after I return it? The release can take several business days and is not always same-day.
- Is the underbody, are the tyres, is the windscreen included? Often not, by default.
- Is this road on the agreement? If your route includes gravel, name the road and get the answer written onto the rental document. A verbal yes at the desk is worth nothing against a printed exclusion.
- What happens if I break down somewhere the cover excludes? Recovery from a remote location can cost more than the damage.
Excess in Australia vs New Zealand
In Australia the disclosure picture is worse: six of the nine biggest Australian operators publish no standard excess figure at all →. In New Zealand, unsealed-road exclusions are the big catch: New Zealand car hire compared →
Why we don’t compare excess reduction products
Excess reduction is an insurance product, and in Australia comparing or ranking insurance is regulated financial advice requiring a licence we do not hold. So this page explains how the excess works and what the exclusions do, and stops there. We do not tell you whether to buy the counter product, we do not compare the standalone alternatives, and we earn nothing either way — see our disclosure.
It is the same reason there is no travel insurance section on this site. We would rather have a gap than pretend a licence we don’t have.
Questions travellers ask
What is car hire excess?
Car hire excess is the maximum amount you could have to pay the hire company if the car is damaged or stolen during your hire. It is not a fee: you only pay it if something happens, up to that cap.
Why is my bond so high?
The bond is a hold on your card that protects the hire company against damage, fuel, tolls and fines. Its size is set by the supplier and often relates to the excess and the vehicle class. It is released after the car is returned and checked, which can take several business days.
Does the excess apply if it’s not my fault?
It can. Many rental agreements make you liable up to the excess for any damage during the hire, with recovery from another party handled afterwards. Your rental agreement sets out exactly how not-at-fault damage is treated.
What is an excess reduction?
An excess reduction is an optional product, sold by the hire company and priced per day, that lowers the excess you would pay if the car is damaged or stolen. Exclusions such as unsealed roads, tyres or the underbody may still apply. Traviva does not compare or recommend these products.