Car Rental is Not Just About Price!

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.