Car rental: Lifehaki and pitfalls

The rental procedure of the car is largely similar to hotel reservation, however, risk and responsibility are much more. "My Planet" will tell about the subtleties of Rent A Car and will tell you how to avoid unpleasant situations and unwanted spending.

Book in advance

Machine, like the hotel, it is profitable to book in advance: in this case you have a greater selection of offers, including budget, and you can choose a car to your taste and wallet. If you postpone the issue of rent at the last moment, cheap options are likely to be occupied and will have to agree on more expensive. Often, you can get a discount if you pay an order in advance, but it is fraught with loss of money in case of cancellation – do not agree.

Compare prices

You have the opportunity to rent a car directly from companies or through a broker intermediary. Large international companies to which you can contact directly: Hertz, Avis, Sixt, Europcar, Budget, Aloamo, Dollar, Thriftyy. Sites for finding cars around the world: Auto Europe, Cartrawler, Carhire 3000, Economy Car Hire, Booking Car and DR. As a rule, the search for the intermediary’s website is more convenient, as they accumulate suggestions of dozens of different companies, and the price of a broker is usually cheaper than when ordering directly: rollers provide discounts for customer delivery. Attention should also be paid to the Lookers in the host country – small local companies often do not have representative offices at airports and train stations, but they can boast of low rates. True, there may be pitfalls, such as insurance covers only 50% of the cost or there is a fee for kilometer. In any case, do not choose immediately, and read the reviews, compare prices, figure out the nuances of the Conditions.

Carefully read the booking Terms

Most complaints of those who rented the car are associated with the inattentive reading of the terms of the contract. At the time of booking it is necessary to read everything, including the smallest font – as a rule, it is that the most important thing is written. Part of the companies do not charge in advance, but there are those who at the moment of booking immediately writes off prepayment, after five to seven days you can no longer abandon your booking without losing this amount, some unreliable offices are trying to rent money from your card immediately and without warning. Preferred conditions – this is when you do not have to pay for how you arrive and see the car. Safer to order cars where data cards are not required for booking in advance.

Payment card

You can book a car on the debit card. However, on the spot from you in most cases, a credit card will be required, and it must be framed in the name of the driver. Many tourists learn about this indispensable condition for arrival and try to pay in cash or debit card, but it is often impossible – in the lease refuse, and the paid amount is not refundable. The credit card is needed in connection with the need to leave a deposit for the car and write off the enynu amount in case of damage.

Choosing a car

Rent a car resembles a lottery. You can never be sure that you will be given exactly the brand you have chosen on the site. It is usually indicated by a class, and on the spot you give out the auto level from those in stock. On the variability you are warned at the time of booking: "Hyundai i30 or similar", "Subaru Liberty or Similar", "Mitsubishi Outlander or Similar", so no deception is not. Nevertheless, there are quite a few complaints of people who order one car, and others get another and consider rest spoiled. If you need a particular brand machine, such as Hummer, you can search for a roller, which is doing this car brand, and fall in the top ten. Keep in mind: if the place of issue finds out that the car is too small, you will have to pay for the class enhancement, and it will be more expensive than if you initially ordered a large car on the site.

Gasoline and diesel

As a rule, cars are leased with full gasoline tank, and they also need to return them with full tank. If suddenly you did not have time to refue and handed over the car with an empty or half empty tank, then you will remove a significant amount of money: the roller fills the gasoline in its rates. So in order to save items, it is worth filling the tank immediately before delivery at refueling. If you are planning a long journey, it is possible to choose a car with a diesel engine: rent will cost a little more, but with a big run you can save on fuel.

Pricing

The basic price that the site issues should not be misleading: it usually includes VAT, minimum insurance and unlimited mileage, but no additional fees and payments are included, often non-obvious. Most likely, you will have to pay extra rental at the airport, buy additional insurance, make a fee for exceeding a kilometer if the mileage is limited, pay for an additional driver, if you drive not only you, or for a young driver, if your age has not reached the specified turn – 21 -25 years. Add to this rental of navigator, children’s armchair, gasoline costs, car wash, fee for roads, possible fines – and it turns out the real price. If damage is detected, you may not be able to return the amount of collateral. Clients of different companies, even large, complain about non-obvious fees and fees, unaccounted taxes and fines that are filmed from the card even after passing the car, so be especially attentive at the time of booking: choose a reliable company and meticulously study the rental conditions.

Insurance

This is perhaps the most important point of booking. Basic Insurance (usually included in the rental price) includes accident insurance, theft, fire and civil liability insurance. As a rule, a franchise is registered in the insurance: this is the amount that you pay, if the car is damaged (as a result of an accident, illegal actions by third parties or for force major circumstances), the rest will pay the insurance company. Please note: the basic insurance does not include damage to glass, wheels, interior, roofs and the bottom of the machine, so at the slightest chips and scratches you can take an extra fee. To avoid troubles, you can immediately buy full insurance, which includes all kinds of damage, or choose the option of cheaper: to purchase insurance for compensation for franchise from a third-party insurance company (for example, Worldwideinsure or Questor Insurance) – pay about € 3 per day and do not worry. If you plan to travel long and much, it makes sense to buy annual insurance.

Fear Low case

Find out in advance how you should act at the insured event: find out the sequence of actions from the insurance company, write down the contact numbers, print the list of necessary documents. Also examine the rules for an accident in the stay – in some countries you should not call the inspector, if no one has suffered, in Austria it is regarded as a false challenge. It is necessary to study all the nuances before you go on the road.

Rights

Do I need to receive an international driver’s license (MYBU) or Russian rights? Disputes do not subsidize this: Some tourists quietly chase around the world with domestic rights and do not know the problems, others are divided by sad stories and advise to start the MBU. What is the case? At the level of the law, everything is thought out and understandable. In the countries that signed the Vienna Convention on Road Movement in 1968 (these are almost all countries of the European Union), motorists are allowed to ride national rights. However, in March 2011, amendments to the unification of national rights were adopted, and old Russian rights now do not meet the requirements of the International Standard. That is, for trouble-free travel, you need rights issued after March 1, 2011. But there are pitfalls here: tourists who do not have MBU, many companies refuse to rent a car, insurance costs more or not in general, in the case of an accident, the costs are likely to pay, and in some countries, in the absence of MBA, they may even be fined (for example In Italy, for the lack of MBU, it is necessary to fine about € 300-500, although this country has signed the Vienna Convention). Hertz Russian representation strongly recommends receiving international travel rights in Italy. Russian Foreign Ministry advises to have a certified translation of rights to Italian. Therefore, in many cases it is easier to issue an international certificate than to worry about possible problems. If with you only Russian rights, it is desirable to transfer to the language of the host country, certified in the consulate of this country. In a number of states adhering to the earlier – the Geneva Convention of 1949, international rights are also necessary, and national. This, in particular, USA, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, Iceland, Turkey, Egypt, China, Japan and Australia. Please note: international rights without Russian are invalid.