Renting a car can sometimes be a very intimidating yet liberating experience. Moreover, it may sometimes be expensive depending on the country and region. However, it is a very important part of a trip especially if you want to move freely and with ease.
Hence, the pricing structures of car rental companies are usually unpredictable since these vary from region to region. Moreover, often at times, you can notice a lack off clarity in there. Just like hotel rates and airfare, rates of renting a car can also be quite opaque. Sometimes, it is very difficult to figure out ways to save money and to rent something that you can rely on.
In this article, we present the top three tips that you should use when you’re renting a car in 2019.
These tips include the following:
Rent it downtown to avoid extra costs incurred by airport pickup
While this is not a definite rule, it still applies generally. This is because car rental rates are far cheaper in downtown as compared to the rates that you get at airports. Hence, consider looking for the rates in the center of the city or around the airport. Usually, you will find half a dozen services very near.
Nevertheless, make sure that you’re always comparing the rates between two car rental companies. These rates can often have a very negligible difference. Sometimes, however, airport prices can also be quite cheap. Hence, try to research around!
Check to see if your credit card includes insurance coverage
There are chances that your auto insurance policy covers all the rental vehicles that you are driving. Regardless of that, a car rental agency may still force you or try to talk you into buying added coverage. In case your auto insurance already covers you, this would be redundant and unnecessary stuff.
Some credit cards tend to have primary auto insurance. This means that it would kick in right before others. However, it would be important to use the credit card to pay for the vehicle that you've rented. This will activate your auto insurance.
At the same time, you will have to decline the general rental insurance, which is also referred to as CDW (collision damage waiver) or LDW (loss damage waiver). These are the insurances that rental agencies provide, claiming that they are very important for you. But it’s important to know that in some locations (such as many countries in Europe), these are legally required.
Make Sure the rental comes with unlimited mileage
Different car rental companies tend to have different rules. Where on one hand, some car rental companies offer unlimited mileage to its customers, others have a fixed limit. This means that a driver cannot travel the car more than a specific rate.
Limited mileage would slow a vehicle down and limit the freedom of movement. This would, in a way, take away the entire purpose of renting a car (which is freedom).
Moreover, in case you wish to travel further out on a road trip, unlimited mileage would be your best call. Ultimately, it is on you to decide. However, do remember that limited mileage cars may become a liability in no time (in case you are renting a car for several days).
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