Auto Rental Deals

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Tips for finding the best car rental deal

Renting a car nowadays can be a really frustrating experience, as you have two choices: either spending hours on the phone talking with representatives from large car companies or navigating online on authoritative car rental sites like Hertz, Budget or Enterprise and typing your travel dates. Either way, you will probably end up with a multitude of rates, options and question.

Finding the best car rental deal nowadays requires more than simply a few phone calls or online searches. These tips should help you to easily discern if a deal worths your interest and also will teach you how to avoid common mistakes:

- Know your providers: the car rental companies are different, therefore it is important to know the differences between them and to find how each of them can serve you best. For example, Budget and National allow you to rent one way, compared to the majority of other rental companies that require from you to return the car from where you pick it up.

Enterprise provides an additional uniques service that picks you up and then drops you off after the trip with their rented car. By knowing the advantages of each car rental service you can easily find the best deal on car rental.

- Join a car rental loyalty program: Alamo’s Quicksilver Club and National’s Emerald Club are two great loyalty programs which will offer you additional benefits, offers, free points or even extra free days.

- Search for online travel agencies: agencies like Expedia, Orbitz and Kayak, just to name a few, usually negotiate with major car rental companies, offering better rates. Make use of them as they will allow you to add discount codes, getting even lower rates.

- Check for discount codes at your credit card site, reward program or association: all these companies work very hard to keep their loyal customers, therefore they provide a steady stream of brand new offers to their customers. A good example of such a site that provides top-notch offers is Dealmine.com. You can search all their offers in a single place, saving your time and also helping you to save more money hassle free.

Things to keep in mind when renting a vehicle

Renting a car should be a hassle-free experience, but there are some pitfalls that inexperienced renters should pay attention to. Here are some tips to help you make sure your rental car travel experience is an enjoyable one.

1) Make sure you bring your driving license and any other documents you may need when collecting your car. Most car rental companies nowadays will insist that you present a valid credit card when checking out your car.

2) Before leaving the compound, give your car a thorough visual examination. Make sure that any bumps or scratches on the car are noted accurately on your hire documents. Remember to check that the spare wheel and tools are in the trunk. Check that the spare is not punctured. If problems are not noted on your check-out sheet, you may be charged for repairs or replacements on return.

3) Adjust the driver seat to suit your body. Then make sure you know how to:
a) switch on the lights
b) switch between full and dimmed beam
c) switch on the windshield wipers
d) switch on the hazard lights.
It is dangerous to drive without knowing how to do these things.

4) If the car has a manual transmission, make sure you can select reverse. Most manual transmissions do not allow the shift to be placed in reverse without doing something else, such as applying upward pressure, at the same time.

5) Be clear on the rental company’s fuel policy. Failure to comply with this can prove very expensive.

6) Be aware of insurance excesses. Unless you pay an additional premium for 100% cover, you can be liable for substantial bills if the car is damaged, even if it is not your fault.

7) Do not drink and drive. With nearly every rental company, your insurance is invalid if you drive with alcohol in your blood stream.

8) Car travel in a strange car can be more stressful than in a car you are familiar with. You should pay even more attention to safe driving and take frequent breaks.