Designed and constructed by COLMAT - 2008
Insurance..
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.
The general rule of thumb for car rental insurance is to try and limit your liability as much as possible. You may be charged anything from £5 to £20 per day to reduce your excess to a sensible level and when you take the car or van away this may feel like an incredibly high figure but.... what if...???
Imagine how you will feel if you get a chipped windscreen or a puncture! if you don't reduce your excess you could be liable for the replacement windscreen or replacement tyre and neither of these items come cheap!
Also, if you are liable for the first £2,3,4 or 500 you need to ensure that you spend AT LEAST 10 minutes checking the vehicle before you take it away! make sure that the rental agent lists EVERYTHING. I guarantee you that the car or van will get a VERY thorough check when you bring it back!
You always (well nearly always) have the option of organising your own insurance cover if for any reason the rental company can not cover you.
Imagine how you will feel if you get a chipped windscreen or a puncture! if you don't reduce your excess you could be liable for the replacement windscreen or replacement tyre and neither of these items come cheap!
Also, if you are liable for the first £2,3,4 or 500 you need to ensure that you spend AT LEAST 10 minutes checking the vehicle before you take it away! make sure that the rental agent lists EVERYTHING. I guarantee you that the car or van will get a VERY thorough check when you bring it back!
You always (well nearly always) have the option of organising your own insurance cover if for any reason the rental company can not cover you.
