Vehicle handover at BER Airport: keys, photos and what counts if something happens

Handing over your car at BER usually only takes a few minutes. Nevertheless, it is an important moment: this is where it is recorded in what condition your vehicle goes into the provider's care. If you make good use of this moment, you are on the safe side in the rare event of a dispute. In this guide you will learn what a clean handover looks like.

The handover in practice

With valet parking you meet the driver at a meeting point near the terminal – depending on whether you are flying from Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. You look at the car together, you hand over the key and receive a receipt. With shuttle parking you park the car at the provider's site; whether you hand over the key depends on its procedure.

A five-minute photo routine

1. Short video: walk slowly round the car once.
2. Individual photos: front, rear, both sides, all four corners.
3. Wheels and tyres – kerb scratches are a frequent subject of dispute.
4. Windows: photograph stone chips specifically.
5. Interior and boot.
6. Dashboard with mileage and fuel or battery display.

The pictures automatically carry the date and time. Only delete them once you have your car back after the trip and everything is in order.

Keys: only the car key

Hand over the vehicle key only. House, office or letterbox keys do not belong in someone else's hands. Remove them from the bunch at home. Do not take a spare key to the airport.

Clear out the car

• Laptop, tablet, chargers
• Cash, cards, documents
• Garage door openers
• Food, especially on long trips

On return: a quick check

Even if you want to get home quickly after landing: walk round the car once and compare it with your photos. Check the mileage and fuel gauge. If you notice anything, raise it immediately. More on the procedure after landing in the guide Returning: collecting your car at BER.

Damage discovered – what now?

1. Photograph it on site, including the surroundings.
2. Inform the provider's staff member and have the damage recorded in writing.
3. Find your handover photos.
4. Contact the provider in writing; for bookings via Friend-Park, also inform our support team via the contact form.

Special points for electric cars and modern vehicles

With electric cars, the battery level belongs in the photos – it is the counterpart of the fuel gauge. If you have booked charging as an additional service, also note the level at the return. Modern cars often have special features: an electric parking brake, keyless go, app control or an alarm system with interior monitoring. Briefly point these out to the driver at the handover, for example if the car can only be started with a particular sequence. If you use a vehicle app, bear in mind that location sharing or remote access keep running during the parking period; do not deactivate anything the provider needs to move the car.

Why the handover at BER is so important

At Berlin Brandenburg Airport, on holiday days very many travellers hand over their cars within a few hours. During this time the providers' drivers work under great pressure, meeting points are busy and everyone wants to get to check-in quickly. It is precisely in this situation that misunderstandings are most likely to happen: a scratch is overlooked, existing damage is not noted, a special feature of the vehicle is not explained. A careful handover is therefore not a sign of mistrust towards the provider but a joint safeguard. It takes a few minutes and ensures that both sides later start from the same condition.

The right order

The following order has proved its worth: first all fellow travellers and the luggage out of the car, then a calm walk round with your phone, then the conversation with the driver and signing the report, and finally handing over the key. If you have already unloaded the luggage, you are not distracted while taking photos, and the driver can take over the car directly. This order works just as well with valet as with shuttle parking if the provider keeps the key.

Photos in bad weather and darkness

If you arrive at BER early in the morning in autumn or winter, you often hand over your car in the dark, perhaps in the rain. Scratches and small dents are then hard to see. Switch on your phone's light, get closer than in daylight and photograph critical areas such as bumpers, door edges and wheels specifically. A calm video round the car complements the individual pictures. If the car is very dirty, note this in the report – that makes it clear that not all details were visible.

The role of your own insurance

How damage is settled depends on the provider's conditions and your own car insurance. Before the trip, briefly check what your insurance covers, for example for hail, storms, vandalism or theft during the parking period. Also read the parking provider's liability rules. If you know both, you immediately know whom to contact in the event of damage and can put together the documents in a targeted way.

Leased and company cars

With leased vehicles and company cars, good documentation is doubly important, because damage will be noticed at the latest when the vehicle is returned to the lessor. Keep photos and the report until the end of the lease if damage could have occurred during a parking period. With company cars there are sometimes internal rules on how damage is to be reported – clarify this beforehand with your employer's fleet department.

If someone else collects the car

If not the traveller but another person collects the car, this must be agreed with the provider. Enter the name of the person collecting the car in the notes field of the booking, and give them the booking number and the handover photos. That way they can check the condition on return and raise anything unusual on site.

After the return: the first few kilometres

Even if everything seems fine at the return, drive the first few kilometres attentively. Check whether warning lights come on, whether the seat and mirrors are adjusted correctly and whether the car feels normal. Drivers sometimes adjust the seat when manoeuvring – set it correctly before you drive onto the A113.

A short checklist for the handover

• Luggage and fellow travellers out of the car
• All-round photos and video, with light at night
• Mileage and fuel or battery level photographed
• Report read, existing damage added
• Only the vehicle key handed over
• Receipt photographed and kept

Storing photos properly

Save the handover photos in a separate album or in the cloud so that they do not disappear among holiday pictures. Make sure the date and time information is correct and only delete them once you have the car back and everything is in order. Also photograph the handover receipt, then you will have all the documents in one place.

Valuable equipment

You should either take high-quality equipment such as removable navigation devices, dashcams or expensive child seats with you or record it in the photos. Removable parts that you do not need are best left at home. The less valuable equipment there is in the car, the more relaxed the parking period.

One last note: if you are unsure whether existing damage is fully described in the report, it is better to ask once more. A clarifying word at the meeting point costs a minute and prevents different recollections from clashing later.

Good providers appreciate a careful handover, because it also gives them security. Thorough documentation is therefore not a sign of mistrust but part of a professional procedure at BER.

That way you go into the terminal with a good feeling – and can enjoy your trip instead of thinking about your car.

Parking location and features

Good providers describe openly whether your car is parked on a fenced site, in a hall or in an open-air area and whether there is video surveillance. Pay attention to this when choosing – criteria in the guide Choosing a parking service at BER.

Which providers at BER can be booked through Friend-Park and which features they state is shown on the page Parking at Berlin Airport.