Car Hire

     You can also find car hire tips, more information and do's and don'ts about car hire and much more here. So, please don't forget to browse through it.

Did not find what you were looking for? Then find more by searching below..

Car Hire Tips: What To Do And What Should Be Avoided

When we talk about car hire, there's much more to hiring the car than just reserving it and paying for it. In order to make sure that you get the best deal, follow these steps and tips.

STEPS:

1. Look for an internet car hire. These types of hire offer internet only discounts, and sometimes even accepts find a car at your own price methods where you just give them your budget and they'll find the best deal for you, plus you wont have to go anywhere to get a rental.

2. Choose at least three to four car hire firms that fit your wants and needs. Do this either through the phonebook, or through the internet but remember to scan every possible firm before you make a choice. You don't want to overlook the best car hire because chances are that you often get bored for searching.

3. Contact the selected agency and ask about their special offers, location, availability, pickup sites, rates, special rates, hotel and airline partnerships, extra charges, insurance and everything else you can think of, that can help lower rate than what you have to pay for your car rental, or what would make the car hire more convenient for you.

4. Choose a pickup point that is near you so it won't be hassles. Note that some car rental companies pay for the cab ride you have to take, some pick you up at your home or at the airport to take you to your rental.

5. Choosing a car: Select a car depending on your needs, which could fit all the people you'll have in it, and if you're alone just use a compact vehicle because most rentals charge higher for larger vehicles.

6. The next thing to do, after you've totally decided on which to take, remember to reserve it. Some car rentals include the reservation fee on the overall rent, some make it out to be an extra fee hence you should also look out for this to save some money on car hire.

TIPS:

For the best deals for your money here are some tips when looking, finding and taking out a car hire.

1. When getting a car hire check for available upgrades at no charge, you'd want the best deal to get best car. For this, you should go to pickup your car early in the morning, when the other cars haven't been returned yet, this way there would be a shortage on economy cars and the firm might just give you an upgrade for a lower price.

2. Fill the gas tank before you return your car because the car rentals will charge you at an inflated price, the cost of the gas needed to fill the tank.

3. Look for packages like fly-drive-stay or fly-drive, these will get you great discounts on rentals, and what's more you won't have to worry about other details like a hotel or an airline, everything's there. You can find these packages on must travel agencies.

4. If your frequent flyer discount or free flight is about to expire, there are some car rental companies that offer to exchange these discounts to discounts on your car rental, although its more cost effective to just fly with your frequent flyer discount, if its going to expire anyway, why wait?

These are just a few of the things you'll need to know, but always remember to be pesky, ask questions, ask for discounts, the only reason why people don't get better value for the things they buy is because they're too shy to ask.

So, are you too shy to ask?

Car Rental is Not Just About Price!

David Glendinning

Before you go leaping for the cheapest car rental rate you can find, be sure to ask your car rental company a few questions about their service and what the price includes.

I often search the Internet to see what other car rental companies are offering. What you soon discover is that there are a few things you need to look out for to make sure you get the best deal. The best tip I can give anybody considering renting a car is that it is not just about the cheapest price!

What you think is the cheapest may not necessarily be the best deal. You need to check for things such as airport surcharges, other surcharges or restrictions on kilometres travelled.

Take a look at this example that I found on the internet.

Here was a company that was offering a fairly good rate for unlimited mileage at $45 per day. Their daily rate was very competitive and it seemed to be a great deal. But then I took a look at the “fine print”. Their unlimited mileage was only applicable to driving in the metro area. If you took the vehicle to the country the limit was reduced to 125 miles per day.

Now in my experience it is very rare for a vehicle that is kept within a city's metro area to cover more than 100 miles per day, on average, over the period of the rental. So this “unlimited mileage rate” was not actually what it seemed.

Has the car rental company you’re considering been upfront with these type of surcharges and restrictions?

Here’s some other little surprises that I found with this company.

• If you wanted the vehicle to be collected or left at the airport the company
  
  charged you an extra 11% on the daily rate plus any excess mileage charged.



• A bond of $350 must be paid before the car is rented. This is refundable at the end of the rental after they have deducted any other charges that may have accrued during the rental. It did not say when the bond would be refunded.



• It was an extra $20 per day to reduce the damage liability from $2750 to $330. (Damage Liability is paid only in the event of damage occurring to the vehicle while you are renting it). Now if it was me that was renting a car, I would not want to be liable for the first $2,750 of damage so the damage liability fee would be something I would take out.



• All these prices were only applicable if you prepaid for the rental at the time of booking the vehicle. If you did not opt to prepay then all prices quoted increased.



• You were allowed only 2 amendments to your booking free of charge. After that there would be a 10% of the rental charge fee for any changes.



• A fee of $3.50 per day is charged when you collect the vehicle. They call this fee the “Vehicle Registration Recovery Fee / Licensing Fee”.

So let’s take a look at what our $45 per day now looks like.

$4.95 per day (11%) for Airport surcharge.
$20 per day to reduce the damage liability to an amount acceptable to pay in the event of any damage. $3.50 per day for Vehicle Registration Recovery Fee / Licensing Fee

So now your $45 per day has become $73.45 per day and you don’t really get unlimited mileage.

And this price is only if you prepay at the time of making the booking. And it does not include the bond of $350 that must be paid before you rent.

So if you have been looking around and have received quite a few quotes from different car rental companies, then you may be a little confused. A lot of companies “look and sound” the same but as shown in the example above there are quite a few things you need to look out for.

Be sure that the car rental company is up front in explaining what their price includes. Be very clear about whether the price includes a limited mileage rate or if it really is an unlimited mileage rate. Make sure the car rental company includes all their surcharges when providing you with a quote. And don't forget to check that the car is new or at least less than 12 to 18 months old and well maintained. The last thing you want on your travels is to suffer a mechanical breakdown.

About the Author

David Glendinning operated his own car rental business for a period of 8 years. He now operates his business on the Internet and has several websites relating to car rental and travel. For more travel tips and travel advice visit
target=_blank>http://www.YourTravelTips.com.

Below is a cool deal for your desired car hire worldwide:

Free Report: How To Buy A Car Without Being Ripped Off!

Who Else Wants To Know Every Dollar Saving Trick, Every Scam-Stopping Tip, And Every Must-Know Bit Of Information You Need When Buying A Car!

Warning: when you're in the parking lot of the dealership, it's you vs. the Car salesman.

Do you think you could beat a professional basketball player at his own game?

...Below is just SOME of the information you will find inside:

Find out why you should never offer any money for a car unless you already know the dealer cost. (Page 12)

Find out the difference between the dealer's price and the factory price - so that you know how much to offer. (Page 30)

Learn how to react to the "No Cheaper Rate!" and the "We've Got It!" schemes before you get taken for hundreds or thousands more then you intended. (Pages 43-44)

Just Click here now to get your 59 pages FREE report in pdf format about "how to buy a car".