Credit hire after a crash on the M2 and M7
If your car was hit on the M2 or M7 and it cannot be driven, you can normally get a like-for-like replacement car on credit hire while it is repaired, provided the other driver was at fault. The hire is arranged for you, and the at-fault insurer is pursued for the cost rather than you paying upfront.
Motorway crashes are their own animal. Traffic is moving at 100 km/h, the shoulder is narrow, and you are often stranded near a service centre or an off-ramp at Baulkham Hills, Seven Hills or Eastern Creek with no way home. This is what happens next, in order.
Key takeaways
- A not-at-fault crash on the M2 or M7 normally entitles you to a like-for-like replacement car on credit hire, with the at-fault insurer pursued for the cost.
- Get the tow yard's name and address before the truck leaves, and tell the operator the car is not to be assessed or repaired without your authority.
- You can nominate your own repairer, and for a prestige or performance car you should, because parts delays in Sydney are the main reason hires run long.
- You keep the replacement for as long as the repair reasonably takes, not for a fixed number of days, and the hire ends when the car is repaired or written off.
- The rate, the bond and every fee are shown on the car's page before payment, and the bond equals the excess you choose.
Why motorway crashes are different
A prang on Pennant Hills Road at 40 km/h is a different event from a hit at motorway speed. On the M2 between the Lane Cove Tunnel and the Windsor Road interchange, or on the M7 between the M5 and the Quakers Hill Parkway exit, the closing speeds are high and the damage is usually structural rather than cosmetic. Bumpers, radiators, suspension mounts and subframes take the load. A car that looks drivable often is not.
Three things follow from that.
- The car is frequently undriveable, so you cannot simply swap details and drive to work. You need a tow and a replacement the same day.
- Police and Transport for NSW traffic crews attend quickly, because a stationary vehicle on a 100 km/h road is a serious hazard. Expect the incident to be cleared fast, which means you need your photos and the other driver's details before the tow truck hooks up.
- Repairers in the north west see a lot of this work, and prestige panels and structural parts are not held on the shelf. A BMW or a Range Rover with a bent rail can sit waiting on parts for weeks.
That last point matters more than most people realise. The length of your replacement hire is driven by the repair, not by the crash. If you want the mechanics of who pays and why, start with how credit hire works.
Safety first on the shoulder
Before anything else, get out of the live lanes and stay out. On the M2 there is very little shoulder in places, and on the M7 the emergency lane is where the trucks run wide. If your car will move at all, get it onto the shoulder or, better, over the barrier line near an off-ramp.
What to do, in order:
- Hazards on. If you have a warning triangle, do not walk into traffic to place it. On a motorway it is usually safer to leave it.
- Get everyone out the passenger side and stand well behind the barrier, up the embankment, away from the vehicle.
- Call 000 if anyone is injured or a lane is blocked. Otherwise call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 for a report number.
- Photograph everything: both cars from several angles, the number plates, the other driver's licence and rego, the position on the road, the skid marks, the light conditions.
- Note the time, the direction of travel and the nearest exit. "M7 northbound, 400 m before the Quakers Hill Parkway exit" is worth more than a vague description later.
Do not admit fault, and do not argue about it on the shoulder. Fault is decided later, and the at-fault insurer will be the one paying for your replacement car. The full sequence is set out in the first 24 hours.
Age limits are set per car. Drivers under 25 can hire most cars with Young Driver Cover; the exact terms are shown before you pay.
Towing from the M2 or M7
You generally cannot choose your own tow from a motorway. Transport for NSW runs a heavy vehicle tow allocation system on the M2 and M7, and the tow that arrives is the one on the roster. That is fine. What matters is where it takes your car.
Two rules.
- Ask the driver where the car is going before it leaves. Get the name and address of the holding yard. Write it down. People lose cars for a week because nobody recorded the yard.
- Tell the tow operator, in writing if you can, that the car is not to be assessed or repaired without your authority. Once a car is sitting in a yard, offers start arriving.
Most motorway tows end up at a holding yard around Seven Hills, Prospect, Eastern Creek or Blacktown, then move to a repairer. If your car is a prestige or performance model, you want it at a shop that works on that marque, not a generalist who has never seen the underside of an AMG or an M car. You are entitled to have a say in where it is repaired, and you should exercise it early, before the insurer's preferred shop gets its hands on it.
If the car is a total loss rather than a repair, the process changes and so does the hire. That is covered in credit hire and write-offs.
Not at fault? Start your claim
A like-for-like replacement car while yours is repaired. No cost to you when the other driver is at fault.
Start my claimWhere your car will be assessed
Assessment happens at a repairer or an assessment centre, usually within a few days of the tow. The assessor looks at the damage and decides whether the car is repairable or a write-off, and the repairer quotes the work.
What you should know about this stage:
- You are not obliged to use the at-fault insurer's nominated repairer. You can nominate your own, and for a prestige car you probably should.
- Insurers will sometimes push for aftermarket or second-hand parts. On a late-model BMW, Range Rover or performance car, that argument is worth having, and a good repairer will have it for you.
- Assessment is where delays start. Parts availability, not labour, is the usual bottleneck for European cars in Sydney.
If the assessment drags, your hire keeps running, and the at-fault insurer wears it. That is the whole point of credit hire: the cost of the delay sits with the party who caused it, not with you. The rules around like-for-like are set out in like-for-like and, for the NSW legal position, what not at fault means in NSW.
Getting a replacement car to the Hills or Blacktown
Once the crash is reported and the other driver's details are confirmed, a replacement car can usually be arranged the same day or the next. Delivery matters here. If you live in Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, Kellyville, Rouse Hill, Stanhope Gardens, Blacktown or Bella Vista, you do not want to be catching two trains and a bus to collect a car while your own is on a tow truck.
Delivery to your home, your workplace or the repairer is the practical answer, and it is available across the north west. What you get should match what you lost. If you were driving a large diesel SUV, a small hatchback is not a like-for-like replacement, and the at-fault insurer knows it.
Bookings for accident replacement vehicles are fulfilled by Drive Tribe (drivetribe.com.au), the trading name of Australian Business Holdings Pty Ltd, and this site is part of that group. You can see the fleet and start a booking at accident replacement car Sydney.
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The insurer's liability position
Credit hire rests on a simple proposition: the person who caused the crash is liable for the reasonable losses that flow from it, and a replacement car is one of those losses. That position was tested in NSW in Arsalan v Rixon, which confirmed that a not-at-fault driver can recover the reasonable cost of a replacement vehicle, including the cost of hiring on credit, subject to the usual requirements of reasonableness, need and mitigation.
In practice, the at-fault insurer will look at four things:
- Was their driver actually at fault? Rear-end and lane-change collisions on the M2 and M7 are usually straightforward, but not always.
- Did you need a car? Most people in the Hills and Blacktown do, because public transport does not cover a school run, a trades round or a commute to the CBD.
- Was the replacement reasonable? Like-for-like, not a downgrade and not an upgrade.
- Did you mitigate? Taking the first sensible replacement offered, rather than holding out for something exotic, helps.
If the at-fault insurer disputes the claim, it is usually about one of those four points rather than the principle. That fight is not yours to run alone. See how the at-fault insurer pays for hire and when an insurer disputes a credit hire claim.
How long you keep the replacement
You keep the replacement car for as long as the repair reasonably takes, plus a short margin for collection and return. Not a fixed number of days. If your car is at a Blacktown or Castle Hill repairer waiting on a front bumper and radar sensor from Germany, the hire runs until the car is back in your hands and roadworthy.
What that looks like in practice:
| Stage | Typical timing |
|---|---|
| Tow and report | Day of the crash |
| Replacement car delivered | Same day or next |
| Assessment and authority to repair | A few days |
| Parts wait, European prestige | Often the longest stage |
| Repair and return | Varies with damage |
Two things end the hire early: the repair being finished, and the car being declared a write-off. In the second case the hire usually stops shortly after the write-off decision, because there is no longer a car to repair. If you want the wider timeline, how long you can keep a not-at-fault replacement car in NSW sets it out, and the credit hire timeline covers the settlement end.
What you sign and what it costs
Credit hire is not free, and anyone who tells you it is has not explained it properly. What it is, is deferred. You sign a hire agreement and an authority for the hire company to pursue the at-fault insurer for the cost. If that recovery succeeds, you pay nothing for the hire. If it fails, the agreement says what happens, and you should read that part before you sign rather than after.
What to check in the paperwork:
- The daily rate and the total authority. Both are shown on the car's page before payment, along with the bond and every fee. There are no surprises added later.
- The bond, which equals the excess you choose. Paying by card carries a small surcharge; bank transfer and cash on the rental do not.
- What you are agreeing to if the at-fault insurer disputes the claim. Read what you sign in credit hire paperwork before you put pen to paper.
- The minimum driver age, which is 20 on most cars and 25 or 30 on some.
You can book from a single day, which suits a short repair. If you would rather run the claim through your own insurer instead, compare the two approaches in credit hire versus claiming your own insurance. Business and fleet drivers should look at credit hire for business and fleet cars, and repairers, solicitors and brokers who refer clients can start at partners and referrals. To check availability for a north west delivery, go to not-at-fault accident replacement.
Questions people ask
Can I get a replacement car if my car is towed from the motorway?
What if the at-fault driver is uninsured?
How long does a motorway repair take?
Do I have to use the repairer the insurer recommends?
Will my own insurer's claim affect the credit hire?
What happens to the hire if my car is written off?
Injured in the accident?
A replacement car covers the car. For legal advice about an injury, speak to Jameson Law, the most trusted personal injury firm in NSW (motor vehicle accident claims) on (02) 8806 0866.
Ready when you are
Start the claim online in five short steps, or call 0468 011 118. Replacement hires are arranged and fulfilled by Drive Tribe, the trading name of Australian Business Holdings Pty Ltd.
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