Accident: bang! Crash! And now?

Peter’s in a hurry. Having got up late, he now has to make up for lost time on the road. Annoyed after scalding his tongue on the hot takeaway coffee, he opens the Mobility car he’s reserved for the day at Lucerne station. He gets in, selects what he thinks is reverse gear and steps on the accelerator. Oh no! Instead of reversing, the car lurches forward, hitting the wall in front. Exasperated, Peter gets out to inspect the damage. On seeing it, he curses. He takes three deep breaths before calling Mobility’s 24h Service Center to report the incident.

Peter’s horror morning is fictional, but they happen more often than you might suspect: Mobility logs four-digit damage events every year. Fortunately, most of them are minor. Even so, if it happens to you, it’s important that you react in the right way. Read on to find out what you need to know about damage events involving Mobility.

Would you ask the same question about a conventional rental car? Exactly. Checking for damage protects you from nasty surprises. All it takes is a walk around the vehicle. If you spot a dent or a major scratch, please call our 24h Service Center on 0848 824 812. But first check under “Reservation details > Damage overview” in the Mobility app to see if the damage has already been reported. If it has, there’s no need to call. Take photos with your mobile phone anyway, just to be on the safe side.

Yes, that can happen if the person before you caused it and didn’t report it. That’s why it’s so important to report any problems before you drive off. If you don’t do this, our damage team will assume that the last person to drive the car is responsible. A large community like ours is dependent on the honesty and solidarity of its members.

Generally speaking, if it’s clearly visible and more than 5 centimetres in length, you should report it. The same applies to dents larger than a 10 centimes coin.

For now, damage should be reported by phone (0848 824 812). We’re working on a new app, which is due to be launched sometime in 2023. This will have a wealth of new features – including the ability to report damage. We’ll let everyone know when it’s ready.

Some people’s idea of a “little scratch” can be rather fanciful. Our car care staff sometimes find that the whole door has been pushed in or the mudguard’s hanging loose! It just goes to show that everyone has a different understanding of what constitutes damage. The inescapable fact is that a cost is involved as soon as the car has to go into the workshop for bodywork repairs – often because an entire panel to be fixed. Our in-house specialists decide how to deal with the damage on a case-by-case basis.

Think about your lovely new smartphone, which you wrap up in cotton wool and don’t let anyone touch. But once the glass has a scratch and the corners are dented, you don’t care anymore. It’s the same with cars. Because we don’t want things to get to the point that people don’t care, we think it’s important to keep our cars in good condition. That way, as many people as possible can enjoy sharing our cars with others for as long as possible.

It’s what our “liability reduction” cover’s for. It reduces your policy deductible (also known as your “excess”) to a few hundred francs. Without liability reduction cover, you might have to pay several thousand francs, depending on whether a third party’s involved and whether you’re a new or young driver. In sum, then, obtaining liability reduction cover is well worth doing!

If you’re under 25 and/or if you’ve less than two years’ driving experience, a claim can prove expensive. You’ll find details on our website:https://www.mobility.ch/de/privatkunden/abos-und-preise/haftungsreduktion

You yourself may be the world’s best driver. But on average, newbies and young people are responsible for more vehicle damage than the rest of our members. That costs us and the community a lot of money. We could compensate for this by imposing higher rates on young drivers, but that would affect everyone, and we don’t want that. That is why we have opted for surcharges in the event of damage.

Our community’s pretty average when it comes to traffic incidents. Manoeuvring and parking, however, are a different story. Parking bumps and scrapes are more common with car sharing than with private cars. This can be due to a number of factors, including unfamiliarity with different models and sizes, or parking spaces that are hard to navigate in and out of. We do all we can to provide you with modern cars equipped with parking aids, cameras and sensors. We’re also paying more attention to ensuring that new Mobility stations are well lit and spacious. And going forward, we’ll be coming up with even more tips and tricks around driving and our cars. Everything else is up to you. And bear this in mind: you have access to 3000 vehicles. At the same time, every vehicle can be accessed by almost a quarter of a million users. It’s better to reserve an extra half-an-hour before you’re due to set off so that you’re nice and relaxed when you hit the road. Have a safe trip!