Friday, July 11, 2014

What To Do Before Using Car Rental Services

By Alex D White


Hiring a car from a car rental company has many benefits. However, as many people as there are using rental cars, the process of hiring is not very transparent. It is important to make sure that you do the following things before hiring a car.

Make sure you are familiar with all the petrol stations near the rental agency before you hire the car. This can save you a lot of time when returning the car and you are looking for a gas station to refill the tank before you hand it over. You may want to check for any gas stations available on the way when driving out of the car company to your destination rather than on your way back, to save time.

You are also supposed to check with your insurer if your auto insurance is inclusive of rental cars. You must have insured full coverage for your auto insurance to include rental cars. It may be worth noting that most insurance companies cover accidents from rental cars at a higher rate, regardless of the difference in quality of your own car and the rental.

Another thing to check is if the rental agency imposes loss of use charges, where the car agency charges a fee for the time a car stays in the garage when it is being repaired after an accident. You can check with your insurer. However, most insurance companies do not cover this loss of use, but you can insure with credit companies.

It is also a great idea to check if there are offers on important upgrades to some of the cars. Some car rental companies offer cheap or even free upgrades to larger class cars. This normally happens when most of the lower priced cars are taken, and the only options available are the larger cars. Taking these offers can see you take advantage of available large and much better cars with only a few extra bucks.

Some associations link up with rental cars to take advantage of various offers that come along. Taking advantage of such discounts as those from AAA or AARP can see you land important deals that may emerge. All of the information on these offers can be found on their websites.

Before you pick your car, remember to do a thorough search both inside and outside of the car to see if there are any peculiarities. Make sure there are no scratches, loose parts, or scuffs before you take it. This may save you a lot of trouble in case the car has undetected problems and you are held accountable. If necessary, you can take photos of the car before you leave to make a comparison when you return it.

Additionally, make sure you get information regarding international travels if you are planning one so that you start arranging with the rental company and your insurer. Most insurance companies do not cover international travels. This means that you will have to purchase insurance for the car from the rental agency.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment