Top 10 Car Rental Mistakes
Who does not love road trips? One of the best ways to explore a location is by car. There is something captivating about enjoying miles and miles of the journey in a car with your favorite music and chatting with the co-passengers. Nevertheless, in order to enjoy the journey, you need to get a rental vehicle, which can be a little bit trickier.
Rental cars are highly convenient and one of the best ways to enjoy road journeys, but the associated costs can be confusing and can lead you to car rental mistakes, which can blow your traveling budget. Here are some common rental mistakes that travelers make while renting cars.
1. Purchasing Overpriced Insurance
It is not a good idea to buy overpriced insurance or extra insurance that you don’t need. Car rental companies try their best to sell the extra insurance, but you need to make sure that whether you need it. Before buying insurance, check with your auto insurers to make sure that they are covered. Most of the time, basic coverage is provided by the auto insurance policy.
In addition to this, also check with your credit card companies, they often render coverage on car rentals also.
Purchasing overpriced insurance can double your expenses. However, sometimes these insurances make sense like when you are renting overseas, your auto insurance policy might not cover for an accident. In fact, credit cards also exclude certain countries. In addition to this, basic travel insurance also covers the damages, but they do not cover medical expenses or liability.
Explore options that you need to protect yourself, but that does not mean you should buy everything the rental company is offering you.
2. Renting at the Airport
Renting at the airport is the most common mistake. People find it convenient to rent a car from the airport, but they fail to realize that it is more expensive as it includes airport surcharges. Operating business at airports is expensive, which is why airport food is also overpriced, and it is unwise to buy something at the airport. Therefore, avoid renting a car at the airport and check for other options.
3. Making Extra Payment
While renting cars, you should avoid making extra payments. Car renting companies charge extra for providing a child car seat or navigational apps. Paying additional charges for all these extra things is not wise. The car rental companies provide a wide range of offers like satellite radio upgrades, purchases for fuel packages, or insurance, and these all are sales tactics.
Extra GPS costs around $10 per day or maybe more. You can save this extra money by using the GPS on your phone to find the directions.
4. Making Advancement Payment for Gas
Sometimes companies provide an offer to give a full fuel tank or gas at an additional payment. You might find it convenient to pay extra for a full tank in advance. But what if you don’t need a full tank or half tank is sufficient for you. In such a case, when you return the car to the companies. You donate gasoline to them. Therefore, it is better to avoid such plans and fill up the fuel as you travel. It will help you in saving money. In addition to this, while renting cars, make sure that you understand the pricing options properly before signing the contract.
5. Not Making Proper Inspection
Most people make the mistake of not inspecting the car properly before renting it. If you do not notice problems in the car like scratches on mirrors or windshields, chipped paint, dents on the body, then you might have to pay for them. Before renting a car, make sure you inspect it properly, and if you find any damage, inform the agent about it. The same goes for any mechanical problems; if the car is not working properly, don’t rent it.
6. Not Researching the Options
Before renting a car from any company, carry thorough research about the available options. There is a wide range of car rental companies offering different types of vehicles. It means the prices can also vary depending on the pick up and drop location. For instance, renting a car at the airport is more expensive as compared to renting a car from other rental agencies. Make sure to research varied car rental companies, prices, and rental lengths. It will help you in getting a better deal and saving money.
7. Crossing the Borders
If you are renting a car and planning to cross the border, make sure that your car insurance policy is covered in the countries you are planning to visit. If it is not covered by the countries, then it could be an expensive mistake.
If you are planning to pick a car from one country and drop it to another, then it could be expensive due to additional charges. Therefore it would be better to drop the car somewhere near the border in the same country and rent another car on the other site.
8. Expecting Immediate Service at the Car Rental Agency
In big cities, you might not have to wait longer to get the car you have booked. However, in smaller cities, there are higher probabilities that you will have to wait for a longer time than expected. In smaller cities, there are lesser chances that you get a car waiting around. So plan your time accordingly.
9. Not Going through the Contract Properly
When renting the car, make sure you read the contract properly. If you decide to get the renter’s insurance, then read the fine print to understand what the insurance covers. Before renting a car in an unfamiliar country, properly research the conditions of driving and make sure to get the insurance that covers all the unexpected damage.
10. Returning the Rental Car Late
Always try to return the car at the decided time. Most car rental companies charge on the basis of the 24-hour period. Some companies might give you grace of half an hour but some might start charging for the next 24 hours. In such a case you will have to pay extra even if you don’t need the car anymore. Make sure to ask the car rental agent about the policies of the company.
