Hiring a car can truly give you mobility and freedom while traveling and quite often it's the best way to move around. But it can be extremely annoying - from choosing best deal, working out which options you'll need and reading through small print regarding all hidden charges.
Decide on a car
You have to be careful when picking a car. Based on if you're traveling with kids or with lots of luggage, you'll want to hire a SUV or a big sedane. If you're looking for the best rate, you should hire smallest model available. Additionally , there are other factors like environmental friendliness, manual or automatic transmission and optional accessories for example GPS device or child seat.
Book your vehicle
If you're renting for under a week, you'll usually be better with big hire companies like Hertz, Avis, Dollar, Budget,... If you're renting for more than a week, it usually is better to book with local companies or auto dealers.
It is usually a smart idea to perform a thorough research. You can begin on the internet by checking travel search engines (for example Expedia) to get an overall feeling about the rates you'll be considering. After that check out car rental companies' web sites and compare these to those found by travel search engines. Often it is going to be cheaper given that companies tend to offer exclusive discounts and offers right at their web sites. Then of course you'll want to do a quick search on coupons and voucher codes to even lower hire price.
True cost
Finding true, final cost is often very hard or even impossible. That's because rental companies or search engines do not want to expose or just do not have details about state and local fees, insurance, additional driver fees, airport surcharges, drop off charges,... The price you were shown while searching and the one you have to pay can therefore be completely different! Your best option is usually to make a booking by using a company/website which includes "No Hidden Fees / Final Price" policy. Also be careful when booking since prices can change from minute to minute. If you don't book immediately, you can never be sure you're going to get the same price once you return later for booking.
Returing the car
Unless stated otherwise, car hire companies are expecting that you return your car in state it was when you picked it up at arrival. That means full gas tank and no damages in any way. Always fill the tank yourself before returing. If they get it done for you, you'll often pay much more for same amount of fuel than at gas station.
Return car promptly. Should you be overdue, some companies will charge you extra. Sometimes you might have to pay more if you return the car too early (yes, it seems crazy but early return fee can sometimes be charged)!
Author Resource:
Mitja Kugnic is auto hire expert. On his recent travel to Canary Islands in Spain he wanted to Car Hire Lanzarote Airport and found the following website very useful: http://carhirelanzaroteairport.org
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