It is thanks to the comfort, the ability to choose a car of almost any class, and the relative cheapness that many tourists choose to rent a car. And today we will talk about what mistakes they make when renting cars.
A trip abroad is a long-awaited event, for which you often have to save up for quite a long time. And when a person finds himself abroad, the question arises before him: how to move around the country? If you went on a burning tour, including excursions, then there will be no problems with this – the tour operator will take care of his movement around the country. But if he went without a tour, then there are several options:
- Public transport. In many Western countries, public transport is inexpensive, especially with passes, but it does not give freedom of movement and allows you to travel only on popular routes.
- Taxi. Convenient but expensive. So, for example, to get from Marseille Provence Airport to the city center, you will need about 60 euros one way.
- Hitchhiking. Not every country will be willing to take passengers, and in some US states, hitchhiking is even fined.
- Car rental. Although not cheap, it is more profitable than taxi rides. For example, car rental in Yerevan is quite inexpensive and can help you get around the whole country.
Not booked in advance
One of the common mistakes is the lack of armor. Yes, there are many companies offering car rental, but by the time a tourist arrives, only a few models may be available, the rental of which per day will cost almost more than the entire trip. This is especially true for the tourist season when cars are taken apart in just a few hours, and you have to travel by public transport or taxi from company to company to rent a car.
Booking a car online is quite simple, especially if you use aggregators, which feature many companies from around the world. As a rule, to rent a car, you must be over 18 years old and have an identity document, a driver’s license with at least one year of driving experience, and a credit card.
You don’t inspect the car
Renting a car abroad (especially in some southern countries) and not inspecting it for flaws is almost a hundred percent additional cost. And even if the tourist begins to explain that these scratches already existed and he drove carefully, the landlord will stand in a pose and show documents where these damages were not recorded, which means that the tenant must pay for it. That is why before renting a car, you should check the operation of headlights, turn signals, wipers, locks, seat belts, and other systems. You should also inspect the appearance of the car both outside and in the cabin, and if defects are found, look in the documents where they should be displayed. If this is not there, then you need to tell the landlord to fix these damages in the documents.
Pay no attention to insurance. Car
There are three options for renting a car:
- Basic insurance with a deductible. A deductible is an amount that is not covered by basic insurance and is borne by the client.
- Basic insurance plus deductible insurance.
- Full insurance.
In the first option, if the case is insured, the client covers the deductible amount, and everything above the deductible is covered by the basic insurance. If the case is not insured, for example, the driver was drunk, then he fully pays for all damage. And even if the tenant is an experienced driver and has never been in even a small accident, he is still not insured against car damage, especially in Italy and other countries where it is customary to park “to knock”, that is, bumper to bumper. Therefore, it is better to reinsure the franchise, that is, choose the second option.
The second option is several euros more expensive, but it covers even a small amount of damage. The third option is even more expensive but includes insurance for any damage. Be sure to include a clause in the contract that protects the tenant from car theft, especially if it is planned to move around countries or regions of the country that are not calm enough.
Look at additional terms
Some companies’ contracts may specify the maximum allowed distance per day. For example, the contract says that the tenant has the right to drive 100 kilometers per day. Further, each next kilometer costs a certain amount. If the limit is exceeded, you will have to pay extra when renting a rented car to the tenant.
Another condition that should be indicated in the contract is an additional driver. As a rule, you can put another driver behind the wheel, but you will need to pay extra for this from 1 euro per day. It is also worth looking at the conditions for returning a car with fuel. The first option means that the renter can return the car with any amount of fuel in the car’s tank, and the second option means that the car must be fully fueled.
In addition, you need to clarify where you can return the car.