The internet has made our lives much easier. From the comfort of your home, you can arrange for a car rental in your locality or in another country for that matter, well in advance. The trick to choosing the right car rental service for your needs involves a little investigating. In this article we look at some things you should consider before signing any contract with a rental company.
The local laws in your locality require you to drive on a specific side of the road which is fine if you are renting a car from a location whose traffic laws you are fairly familiar with. But if you are traveling to another country where the traffic laws are different from yours the cars will have a different drive orientation (LHD/RHD). There are some car rental companies that stock both LHD and RHD cars depending on your needs. Be aware that if you require a drive orientation that is different from the norm for the location you are, the costs will be much higher as these types of cars are more expensive to insure. Finding a car rental service that stocks both RHD and LHD cars may be convenient if you want to stick the type of car that you know and of course if you are willing to pay the extra amount.
There are many well established car rental services that have a loyalty program that guarantees you the best rates in the market. In truth this depends on the number of cars available but for well established companies chances are high that they will always have a vehicle available. In addition you get extra discounts from most of these companies for making your bookings in advance and on weekends. Though you very first rental from a company that has a loyalty program will not cost significantly less than that of the competition, its advisable to join these companies as the cost savings for a regular client will be great in the long run.
One way to figure out a poor rental company is to discern their policies on fueling. Some may require you to pay upfront for a certain amount of fuel though it is more economical for you if you opt to pay for your own fuel. Avoid the car rental companies that require you to return the car with a full fuel tank; this policy is quite simply too hard to control or enforce and you will most likely end up paying a hefty surcharge if the tank is not full.
