The general public perception of car rental companies is one of an expensive service provided by companies whose sole aim is to extract as much money from your wallet as possible! Car rental has come a long way in the last ten years and it is now, on the whole, operated far more professionally. Gone are the "rent-a-wreck" operations and in their place we have large corporate setups which have millions of pounds invested in vehicles and branding. Car manufacturers see car rental as an effective way of getting their products into the market place and also as an outlet for their old models which are unsold and need to be registered. Car rental prices are cheap! You only have to compare the price of renting a £15000 car for a day against renting a £200 dinner suit for the same period... The suit will almost certainly be more expensive!As in any industry there are pitfalls which the hirer should be aware of. Insurance and damage are one of the main concerns. As a hirer you should take care of the hire car as it were your own car and if you have a puncture or cracked windscreen you should expect to have to pay for the repairs. If the thought of having to pay for a windscreen or tyre is frightening you can generally pay a waiver fee of around £8 per day which will effectively remove your exposure to additional charges should be involved in an accident/incident.When you go through the act of collecting a hire vehicle you should always ensure that any damage on the vehicle is noted on your paperwork, you do not want to have the hire company charging you for damage which was on the vehicle at the time of delivery!Fuel charges are another area where car hire companies come in for criticism. If you take delivery of a hire car which is full of fuel (check to make sure that it is!) the hire company expect you to return the car in the same state. If you do not refill the car you should expect to be charged a premium rate for filling the car back up, sometimes as much as £1 per litre over and above the pump price!Mileage charges are not so common as they used to be and most companies will offer unlimited mileage on rental which run under 28 days duration unless you are hiring a sports car or large truck. The best advise for anybody looking to hire a car is to find a local supplier who has a good reputation or to look for a nationally known brand such as Europcar or National car Rental. You can normally find the best deals on the internet and it is generally better to go direct to a supplier rather than making your purchase through one of the many brokers.
Whether your vehicle has broken down, you are heading away on the family Holiday, or you just need a different vehicle for the weekend; chances are you will, at some point in time, have to rent a car. Prices can be high, insurance costs can be outrageous, and the paperwork involved is crazy. Here is a little help on how to get a great deal on a rental car.
1. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
You definitely need to know what kind of vehicle to rent. Rental cars come in classes. Some of the common classes of rental car are as follows: Mini,economy, compact, intermediate, standard, full size, Premium and SUV. Obviously you will pay more for the bigger size cars. To save money, get the smallest vehicle that will fit your needs.
2. COMPARISON SHOP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
Never rent from the first company you call. You need to know what is out there, and what other options you might not have considered. Not only can you shop until you can find the best deal, but you can also use the lower rates as leverage to get a lower rate with another company.
3. NEGOTIATE
Everything is negotiable, from the rental rate to the insurance rates. No matter what they say or what you think, you can haggle any price. Use any price that you see listed as a springboard to jump off from, and see how far you can go with the research you've already done as a backup.
4. DO EVERYTHING IN ADVANCE IF POSSIBLE
From time to time an emergency arises and booking in advance is not an option. But, when this avenue is available to you, take it. When you book in advance, you will definitely save money over just walking up to the car rental counter.
5. READ THE FINE PRINT
One of the biggest costs that will get you in the car rental business is mileage charges. They will charge you per mile over a certain mileage. Don't fall for it. Although it may look a bit cheaper, chances are you will lose money in the long run. Your best bet is to just pay for unlimited mileage up front and not have to worry about any costs later.
6. USE INTERNET SITES
As you can see, the Internet is a marvelous tool for gathering information to find deals on car rentals. Instead of calling all these places individually, you can let your mouse do all the work while you sift through what is useful to you.
7. USE YOUR CONNECTIONS
While you might not have a friend of a friend in the car rental business, you do have connections. Make full use of them. Here are some of the connections you have, some you might not even know you have.
Your insurance company. This is the first place you should look if you need to rent a car due to an accident or a car break down. You might have insurance that covers you. Check it out, or at least ask your insurance agent where he would go to rent a car.
Your credit card. You may have some type of discount or insurance through your credit card company. You really never know until you check. Some credit cards include perks that most people even know about. Call your credit card company or check the back of your statement.
Your Internet connection. One of the very best places to look when renting a car is your computer. You can get crazy amounts of discounts through online reservations that you wouldn't get from the guy working the counter at the airport. This will not only save you money, it will save you time too! (This is a super easy way to get some comparison shopping done. Even if you just get the quote from the website and call the customer service number, it will be worth the visit.
Use your hotel and airline connections. You want to be able to book everything together if at all possible. When you book all these things together you might be able to get a major discount on everything involved. There are many websites that are dedicated to booking all your needs for a trip together. This is another way you can save some dough.
The basic lesson in trying to rent a car is to always research your options before you make a decision. Doing your research can not only help you save some money, whether it is on the actual rental rate or the insurance, but it can also help you make an informed decision on which company to use and what kind of car to rent. Following these tips should help you in trying to rent your first car and any other rentals afterwards.
Your insurance company. This is the first place you should look if you need to rent a car due to an accident or a car break down. You might have insurance that covers you. Check it out, or at least ask your insurance agent where he would go to rent a car.
Your credit card. You may have some type of discount or insurance through your credit card company. You really never know until you check. Some credit cards include perks that most people even know about. Call your credit card company or check the back of your statement.
Your Internet connection. One of the very best places to look when renting a car is your computer. You can get crazy amounts of discounts through online reservations that you wouldn't get from the guy working the counter at the airport. This will not only save you money, it will save you time too! (This is a super easy way to get some comparison shopping done. Even if you just get the quote from the website and call the customer service number, it will be worth the visit.
Use your hotel and airline connections. You want to be able to book everything together if at all possible. When you book all these things together you might be able to get a major discount on everything involved. There are many websites that are dedicated to booking all your needs for a trip together. This is another way you can save some dough.
The basic lesson in trying to rent a car is to always research your options before you make a decision. Doing your research can not only help you save some money, whether it is on the actual rental rate or the insurance, but it can also help you make an informed decision on which company to use and what kind of car to rent. Following these tips should help you in trying to rent your first car and any other rentals afterwards.
Below are some links to some of the more popular car rental agencies:
Hertz http://www.hertz.com
Avis http://www.avis.com
Enterprise http://www.enterprise.com
Thrifty http://www.thrifty.com
Budget http://www.budget.com
Alamo http://www.alamo.com
Avis http://www.avis.com
Enterprise http://www.enterprise.com
Thrifty http://www.thrifty.com
Budget http://www.budget.com
Alamo http://www.alamo.com
Information that you should know
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