Saturday, July 21, 2012
How to Save Money on Car Hire/ Rental Costs
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Need To Save money? This Article Provides Tips On Saving Money Off Hire Car Rental.
If you enjoy exploring the holiday destinations you go to, but prefer to be flexible rather than tied down to tour operator times, hire a car. The problem is car rental charges can be pretty steep if you go into such deals blindly. Read this check list and you could save yourself £100´s of pounds.
Compare prices of car rentals
To get the best deals on car rentals compare costs by using price comparison sites such Carrentals.co.uk . These sites save you hours of time researching each car rental service independently and you can easily identify the firms with the best deals. Also check for further discounts advertised on the site. The key to getting a good price for hiring a car abroad however is booking early.
Car rental accessories
Whenever you hire a car you will be offered accessories which come with additional charges. Therefore consider what you will need and don´t need. You will be offered such things as a roof rack, baby seat, sat-nav and other named drivers. These additional costs are generally standard prices from one company to the next, but some add them on within the hire price so if you are booking online, check the boxes for “extras” are unticked if you don´t need them.
Car hire insurance costs
Another extra that car hire companies include as additional costs to the advertised price is car insurance. You are not permitted to hire a car without insurance, therefore check exactly what you are paying for as part of the insurance policy. In particular you want to know how much excess you are paying in the event of an accident as these vary widely from one firm to the next. Car hire insurance can easily be bought online from sites such as http://www.car-hire-insurance.co.uk/
To identify how much excess you will be liable for, seek out the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW). The excess you have to pay should be included in the terms and conditions. If it´s not find out how much it is before you agree to a deal. You also want to know what the excess is for theft protection.
Also be wary of the type of insurance car hire firms are offering you. When you ask them about the CDW costs they will almost certainly offer you insurance which reduces the excess to nil, but subsequently the car insurance costs are then inflated and are very expensive. You are therefore better off buying cheaper car insurance, but one that offers affordable CDW rates. Obviously, before going into a car hire contract, you have to be confident you are not likely to have an accident but at the same time should air on the side of caution and don´t accept a policy that has extortionate excess costs just because it´s the lowest quote.
Make sure you get the car rental you paid for
When you arrive at the car hire firm to collect your vehicle, make sure you are given the car you are paying for. It may be that they try to persuade you to upgrade your booking, or they give you an inferior model to the one you paid for. If the latter is the case you are entitled to claim your money back for the difference in price.
Not all car hire firm owners are honest so when they run through the damages with you make sure every knock and scrape is clearly marked on the check list. You should be given a car diagram of your own with the contract which you should fill in and agree with the salesman. It wouldn´t hurt to take your camera and take photographs as well.
You may think it is safer to use a reputable car hire firm that you have heard of such as Hertz or Avis, but it is often the case that the local firms are equal to them, and are trustworthy, but offer better prices.
Therefore don´t be afraid of using local firms because you think they might cheat you.
Check the fuel
Before you drive the car away, check the fuel gauge against how much fuel you have paid for. You will also want to know whether the car runs on petrol or diesel, and where the nearest petrol station is so you can restore the fuel before returning the hire car.
Conclusion
Use the tips in this article and you should be successful in saving money on car hire and rental costs. Feel free to leave a comment to let us know how you got on with finding a great car rental deal, also don't forget the insurance!
Image Credits: DrJohnBullas and stowupland.
If you enjoy exploring the holiday destinations you go to, but prefer to be flexible rather than tied down to tour operator times, hire a car. The problem is car rental charges can be pretty steep if you go into such deals blindly. Read this check list and you could save yourself £100´s of pounds.
Compare prices of car rentals
To get the best deals on car rentals compare costs by using price comparison sites such Carrentals.co.uk . These sites save you hours of time researching each car rental service independently and you can easily identify the firms with the best deals. Also check for further discounts advertised on the site. The key to getting a good price for hiring a car abroad however is booking early.
Car rental accessories
Whenever you hire a car you will be offered accessories which come with additional charges. Therefore consider what you will need and don´t need. You will be offered such things as a roof rack, baby seat, sat-nav and other named drivers. These additional costs are generally standard prices from one company to the next, but some add them on within the hire price so if you are booking online, check the boxes for “extras” are unticked if you don´t need them.
Car hire insurance costs
Another extra that car hire companies include as additional costs to the advertised price is car insurance. You are not permitted to hire a car without insurance, therefore check exactly what you are paying for as part of the insurance policy. In particular you want to know how much excess you are paying in the event of an accident as these vary widely from one firm to the next. Car hire insurance can easily be bought online from sites such as http://www.car-hire-insurance.co.uk/
To identify how much excess you will be liable for, seek out the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW). The excess you have to pay should be included in the terms and conditions. If it´s not find out how much it is before you agree to a deal. You also want to know what the excess is for theft protection.
Also be wary of the type of insurance car hire firms are offering you. When you ask them about the CDW costs they will almost certainly offer you insurance which reduces the excess to nil, but subsequently the car insurance costs are then inflated and are very expensive. You are therefore better off buying cheaper car insurance, but one that offers affordable CDW rates. Obviously, before going into a car hire contract, you have to be confident you are not likely to have an accident but at the same time should air on the side of caution and don´t accept a policy that has extortionate excess costs just because it´s the lowest quote.
Make sure you get the car rental you paid for
When you arrive at the car hire firm to collect your vehicle, make sure you are given the car you are paying for. It may be that they try to persuade you to upgrade your booking, or they give you an inferior model to the one you paid for. If the latter is the case you are entitled to claim your money back for the difference in price.
Not all car hire firm owners are honest so when they run through the damages with you make sure every knock and scrape is clearly marked on the check list. You should be given a car diagram of your own with the contract which you should fill in and agree with the salesman. It wouldn´t hurt to take your camera and take photographs as well.
You may think it is safer to use a reputable car hire firm that you have heard of such as Hertz or Avis, but it is often the case that the local firms are equal to them, and are trustworthy, but offer better prices.
Therefore don´t be afraid of using local firms because you think they might cheat you.
Check the fuel
Before you drive the car away, check the fuel gauge against how much fuel you have paid for. You will also want to know whether the car runs on petrol or diesel, and where the nearest petrol station is so you can restore the fuel before returning the hire car.
Conclusion
Use the tips in this article and you should be successful in saving money on car hire and rental costs. Feel free to leave a comment to let us know how you got on with finding a great car rental deal, also don't forget the insurance!
Image Credits: DrJohnBullas and stowupland.
This post was written by: Franklin Manuel
Franklin Manuel is a professional blogger, web designer and front end web developer. Follow him on Twitter
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1 Responses to “How to Save Money on Car Hire/ Rental Costs”
September 5, 2012 at 11:46 PM
As rates vary greatly from one car rental company to another, shopping around and comparing quotes prior to making any reservations can help you snag the best possible deal, including exclusive discounts and specials. It takes work but a well-informed consumer is always more apt to make wise financial choices.
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