How to get a replacement car after an accident in South Australia

The first hour

• Make sure everyone is safe. Call 000 if anyone is hurt.
• Swap details with the other driver: name, phone, licence number, registration and insurer. Take photos of both cars, the damage, the other car’s plate and the scene.
• Note the time, the place and any witnesses. Stick to the facts; you do not have to decide who was at fault on the spot.
• Call your insurer and open a claim if you have one. Ask for the claim number: it helps everything that follows, but you can start a replacement-car request without it.
• If your car cannot be driven, arrange the tow with your insurer or roadside assistance, and keep the receipt.

Who pays for the replacement car?

It depends on who was at fault. If the accident was not your fault, Australian law generally lets you recover the reasonable cost of a replacement car from the at-fault driver, which in practice means their insurer. That is why you see “not-at-fault” replacement cars offered with nothing to pay upfront: the car is hired on credit, and the cost is claimed from the at-fault side.

If you have comprehensive insurance, check your policy. Many include a hire car after a not-at-fault accident, some after any accident, and others only as an optional extra. Your insurer can tell you in one call.

If you were at fault, or fault is disputed, you can still hire a replacement car. You pay for it yourself, or through your own policy’s hire-car benefit if it covers at-fault accidents.

“Free” means “claimed from someone else”. Before you sign any credit-hire agreement, read who the company may speak to on your behalf, what happens if the other side does not pay (for example if the other driver cannot be found or their insurer declines), and what you have to do to help the claim. The Financial Rights Legal Centre has a plain-English factsheet on this, linked below.

What “reasonable” means

Two things have to be reasonable: the car and the time. The car should be of a similar type and value to yours. A people mover for a people mover, a small hatch for a small hatch; nobody is entitled to an upgrade, and nobody should be squeezed into something much smaller than what they lost. The time is how long it reasonably takes to repair your car, or to replace it if it is written off, which your repairer’s timeline sets.

Keep it practical and keep the paperwork: the repairer’s quote and dates, the claim number, and the hire agreement. If costs are later found excessive, the difference can land on you.

Does CTP cover a replacement car?

No. In South Australia, Compulsory Third Party insurance covers injury to people, not damage to vehicles and not a hire car. Vehicle damage and replacement cars come under comprehensive or third-party property insurance, or a claim against the at-fault driver.

How it works with NR CAR HIRE

• Send us the request from the replacement page: the accident date, your car, your insurer, the claim number if you have one, and your repairer. It takes two minutes.
• Our team reviews eligibility and the payment arrangements, and calls you to confirm.
• Our concierge brings the car to you, wherever you are in Adelaide, in the class you choose. The car is insured.
• You drive while yours is repaired. Tell us when the repairer gives you a return date and we arrange collection.

Sending a request does not guarantee approval or insurer payment: we confirm the position with you by phone before anything is locked in.

What to have ready

• Your licence and your phone number.
• The other driver’s details and the photos.
• Your insurer and claim number, if you have one. Not required to start.
• Your repairer’s name, if your car is already with one.

If the other driver is uninsured

You can still pursue the at-fault driver personally for your costs, but it is slower and less certain, and a credit-hire company may ask you to pay if nothing can be recovered. Your own comprehensive policy may include uninsured-motorist cover. Tell us the situation as it is and we will explain your options honestly rather than promise what the law does not.