Check out the car

• Before you leave the rental car lot, an employee will usually walk around the car and point out dings and scratches that already exist on it. Make sure you do this with them, and point out even the tiniest marks on the car so they can't come back to you with a claim. This way you will also know what the existing damage is on the car, in the event that someone hits your rental car while it is parked and doesn't do any significant damage to it.
  
  

Take out insurance

• Most rental car companies offer insurance through their company for a daily fee, on top of the rental price. This will cover all the possible damage you might do to the car, along with injury to yourself or anyone else and any damage you cause other cars in a collision. Whether you purchase this insurance depends on how much you want to spend per day and how much risk you want to have while driving the car.
  
  

Fix it yourself

• Depending on how bad the damage to the car is, you may be able to fix the car yourself or take it to a body shop and have it repaired outside the insurance or rental company's knowledge. Dents can be popped out and minor scrapes can usually be covered with touch-up paint. For more serious damage, you'll probably need to go to an auto body shop, and this could take a day or two on top of the cost of the work, parts and time the rental car will need to be in the shop. Weigh all the costs, time and stress against simply filing a claim with the rental company and insurance company before making a decision.