So you are planning a holiday and have come to the part when you need to book in a rental car. This can sometimes be a daunting task, as you search endless websites to find exactly what you are looking for.
There are so many things to consider when you are booking a rental car. First of all, you will want to make sure that you can collect the rental car from the exact location you need it. Although there are some websites that will allow you to put in an airport as your pick up and drop off location, some local car hire agents do not have access to the airport and will therefore, either provide you with a shuttle service to the closest depot, or in some cases, will expect you to make your own way to their depot. This can be a very frustrating process as you must wait for the shuttle both on arrival and departure or organise your own way to get to their depot.
The next thing is the price. If you have not already realised, some car rental agents will advertise cars at low daily rate this is often the basic rental, once the administration fee and airport surcharges have been added, it can change the amount quite substantially.
Then there is insurance, although it seems to be very confusing, the best advice is to take out premium cover wherever possible or arrange your own travel insurance. Remember you may have a good driving record, but you cannot speak for the other drivers on the road. Whatever you decide, make sure you have a very clear understanding on what you are insured for. When booking a hire car over the internet, you should be able to access terms and conditions of the rental, including insurance fees. This may mean a few minutes clarifying with the car hire agent, what you are liable for and in what circumstances.
You also want to ensure where you can drive the vehicle – does the car rental company have an “area of use”? Local operators may do, check it out in the Terms and Conditions before booking. National companies allow most of their vehicles to go throughout the country. In most instances, rental cars are not permitted to be driven on unsealed non gazetted roads. So if you plan to drive a long distances to remote areas, just make sure it is allowable before you book.
If you have any queries about car rental online, try to contact the agent before you book, because some agents will charge cancellation fees as they believe you have read the terms and conditions that they have provided on their websites.
For hassle free online car rental bookings, find a site that compares prices between a number of agents. This will save you time and the frustration of searching for endless hours on the internet. Then if you do have any queries, you can just email through your questions regarding any vehicle listed on the website.
