Motorcycle Rental Contracts Part 4 - Reservation/Cancellation

Reservations and Cancellations are another touchy subject: here are some typical terms and conditions:

• Reservation confirmation: we acknowledge your reservation form as soon as we receive it.
  


• Terms of cancellation:


• The total amount of your reservation is not debited before the rental unless you cancel:


• More than 1 month off your hire we will return 50% of your deposit


• Less than 1 month - we keep the rental portion and refund the transport portion - unless we re-rent the bike.


• Reservation not honored: 100% rental, 100% of the delivery charge, pick-up charge refunded.

No matter how harsh these conditions seem most companies operate similar conditions to these - make sure you check them out before you part with your cash!

Motorcycle Hire Contract Part 3 - Insurance & Damage Deposits

It is really important to understand this so read this section carefully!
99% of all insurance for the motorcycle rental and touring business is third party only.

You will be asked to pay a damage deposit - anything up to 4000€ and maybe more. The actual amount is up to the hirer concerned - and is as high as he will get away with.

The purpose of the deposit is to cover:

1. Wear outside of normal wear and tear
2. any damage to the vehicle caused by accidents or low speed drops
3. any damage caused to the vehicle by unauthorized repairs
4. Theft and associated cost

Points 1,2 and 4 are fairly obvious - point 3 became a horror story for me - and is dealt with in 'what happens when things go wrong'

I am aware of some companies that exact punitive damages for very small faults.

Many hire companies will say they have 'full insurance', 'comprehensive insurance' or even 'fully comprehensive insurance' - 'in excess of the deposit'. All of these schemes work the same way - you lose all your money - then they start spending theirs.

This is the most important thing to remember. I have had a few customers who didn't understand this - or did and complained afterwards.