What is the deposit?
A refundable security amount, held at the start of your rental. Returned to you in full at the end of your hire — refunded to the same card you used, or in cash if cash was used for the deposit — provided the car is returned without damage and there are no outstanding parking fines, speeding fines or traffic violations incurred during your rental.
How is the deposit different from the rental fee and the excess?
Three completely separate amounts:
- Rental fee — what you actually pay to use the car. Not refundable.
- Deposit — held as security, refunded in full on a clean return.
- Excess — only comes into play if there is actual damage.
What is the excess?
The fixed amount you are responsible for paying out of pocket if the car is damaged, stolen, or returned with any other claimable issue, before the supplier's insurance covers the rest.
Example: With a ฿3,000 excess, if a bumper repair costs ฿8,000, you pay the first ฿3,000 and the insurer pays the remaining ฿5,000.
The crucial bit
The excess is the maximum you'll ever pay — even if the car is written off completely or stolen and never recovered, your liability stops at that fixed excess amount.
Why we show the excess up-front on every car
A lower excess means less risk for you; a higher excess means more exposure if something goes wrong. Many rental disputes happen because customers don't realise an excess applies even though they're "fully insured" — which is why we publish the exact figure for every car in the fleet, before you book.
Low deposit, full transparency
Joe runs a low deposit model — not zero, but lower than most operators in Phuket. The exact amount is shown on each car's booking page.
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