Car Hire – tips and advice

When renting your holiday car hire there are a number of tips to follow, whether you are renting for the first time or are a regular driver. Our guide will drive you through the main points to ensure you have hassle free rental.

1. Know the type of car you need. By understanding how many people you need to carry, how many bags you will have and the kind of use you are going to put your car to, it will help you to select the right size of vehicle

Decide beforehand what type of car you need based on the number of travellers and the amount of luggage

2. Use price comparison to search for the best value car deal. Make sure you compare like for like.
3. When making your reservation, ensure you read the terms and conditions and that you are aware of the items that are included within the price and those that you will need to pay extra for. Can you take the car to the locations you want? Can you cross borders or go off road? Is it suitable for ski resorts?
4. When you come to collect your car make sure you have driving licences for all those wanting to drive. This includes both paper and photo versions. You will also need your car hire voucher and a valid credit card for one of the drivers.
5. Read the documentation you are presented with before signing. This will clearly detail what is and is not included, specifically regarding insurance cover and any excess for damage to the vehicle. You may wish to reduce this by paying an additional fee or by planning ahead to cut your excess even more. It should also be clear any charges that are being made in addition to your original rental fee. These would cover items such as additional charges, fuels, child seats and roof racks for example.
6. Check the fuel type – is your car hire petrol or diesel and how the fuel tank is accessed.
7. Make sure you have contact details for your rental company in case you should breakdown or be in an accident to hand.
8. Before driving off ensure you check the car for damage against your rental documents. In case of any discrepancy then return to the rental desk to have anything noted. You should also familiarise yourself with the controls of the car as they may be different to those you are used to.
9. So you are ready to drive off and all your bags and passengers are secure – don’t forget that you may well be in a foreign country with different road signs and speed limits as well as driving etiquette different to home. And make sure you know what side of the road you are driving on.
10. During your rental if you encounter any problems at all then report them to the car hire company where you collected the car. If you incur driving penalties and fines then these should also be reported.
11. Returning your car, you should ensure that you know whether you fuel tank should be left empty or full. Make sure you have emptied all of your belongings and that you have checked under seats and in door compartments for any documents, sun glasses and wallets before leaving the rental station. The car will be checked for mileage, fuel and any damage before a final statement is issued.

Check beforehand if you need to return the car with a full tank of petrol

12. Returning home check your credit card statement to ensure any additional charges are valid. If not then challenge these back with your car rental company immediately.