Tips on finding special deals from car rental companies
If you can find cheap air tickets to take you where you want to go or this is a road trip leaving your home town, now comes the challenge of finding cheap car rental companies that provide a good service. As a starting tip, some of the best deals come when you prepay and, in most cases, there are no refunds should you wish to cancel. Remember this when you’re beginning the booking process. Here are some tips to help you find those special deals.
It all begins with having the will power to shop around. Sometimes, you will find membership of different organizations entitles you to a discount. For example, the American Automobile Association has tie-in deals with the rental companies. You can also ask your human resource manager which rental firms the company uses. Often, you can ride on the back of your job if the company puts enough business their way. Sometimes your credit card company also offers preferential rates. This can also tie into loyalty and rewards programs if you are likely to use a rental vehicle on a more regular basis.
When looking at possible companies, ask where their collection points are located. Not all companies are the same. Some have very convenient pick-up and drop-off points. Some only have a small fleet and therefore only offer a limited choice of make and model. Some are flexible when it comes to one-way trips while others insist the vehicle is returned to the point of collection. This forces you to decide how flexible you are. Sometimes the cheapest rates come with a compact or subcompact, or if you are prepared to pick up from rental agencies based in city centers. Estimate the cost of a cab and then decide which is the best deal. Convenience of collection always comes at a price. Are you prepared to sacrifice the comfort of a full-size vehicle to close the special deal?
Now we come to sites like this. There are always a range of special deals. Some are changed daily. Others will be shown with an expiration date. But before you sign up for a deal, check out the small print. Some companies have a rule on the minimum amount of gas in the tank when the vehicle is returned. If you are short, they always top up at a very high rate per gallon. Look for the maximum disclosure on all charges. This includes any taxes and fees that may be added when you come to collect the vehicle. Never agree to change the insurance deal when you pick up the vehicle. The staff are trained to make you feel anxious and sign up for additional cover which boosts their profit. Stay with whatever you negotiated when booking the vehicle, particularly if you are going to a foreign country. Never assume the headline price in a special deal will be the final word on cost when paying.
ARTICLES
Car rental around the world
Thanks to the growth in air travel, the world is now a smaller place. You can afford to visit Europe, Asia or Australia. Except, when you look on the map, you suddenly realize how big these places are on the ground. You can rely on public transport in Europe but, in other parts of the world, this is less efficient. You need a vehicle to match local conditions. So here are a few guidelines on some of the problems and how to get the best deals. Read more...
Car rental companies for a trip
When you finally pick up the car and hit the road, you can let out a long sigh. You finally made it. You're on the way. This is all about you. The road is there. You decide where to go, when to stop and start. If a village, town or city catches your eye, you can spend days there to explore. Yet this must fit your personality. Some people prefer everything worked out in advance. Just setting off with a good map is stepping off into the unknown. Read more...
Car rental companies
Companies always like to know how their customers see them so, with hopes in their hearts, they ask marketing experts to carry out surveys, form focus groups and do what they do to get information from customers. In this case, the car rental companies wanted to know who were the top dogs around the world. Perhaps, not surprisingly, the survey found most praise for Avis, Enterprise, and Hertz (in alphabetical order and not the same top three for the US market). This prompts us to ask what factors these customers were thinking about when giving their votes. The answers are, in alphabetical order, the:
- age of the fleet;
- convenience of the collection points;
- quality of the service;
- range of choice between different makes and models;
- rental rates for the different makes and models;
- reliability of the vehicles and their state on collection; and
- transparency of the pricing — no sudden additional charges and fees.
Because of their size and the number of locations throughout so many countries, these three are also flexible in one-way rentals, i.e. you don't have to return the vehicle to the original collection point, but can drop it off at any designated point. In Europe where there's a greater interest in the environment, they are also encouraging the use of electric vehicles, providing charging points at regular intervals along the most popular routes and, wherever possible, encouraging car sharing. At the other end of the scale, companies like Dollar and Thrifty will have to significantly modify their performance if they are to avoid dropping down into the worst category.