How to avoid rental car rate explosion.
Mar 24th, 2009 | By salele | Category: Discount Travel
By Salihu Ibrahim.
Most of us think that the price quoted by rental car companies on their website is the final price that we pay. WRONG! If we are not shrewd enough, we can lose a lot of money when we settle the bill because we forgot to negotiate the right deal. This is true whether it’s the larger rental companies or the lesser known “budget” fly-by-the-night schemes.
Where the good deals are
Before you surf the web looking for rental card deals, go to http://www.rentalcarmomma.com/ and find some coupons and promotions in the city that you will be renting your car from. Another place to find car rental coupons and deals are at http://www.dealtaker.com/coupons21.html . You can also Google “Avis car rental coupon” on the web for Avis coupons. Substitute your favorite car rental name instead of Avis if you prefer. Also, if you are planning to look for airfare and accommodation deals also via the internet, it may be a good idea to add car rental to the package because you usually get very good deals when you combine the three.
If you are planning to travel by car in European cities, check out the various rental car websites - Auto Europe http://www.autoeurope.com/car.cfm?aff=carsavings . There are many more rental car dealerships in Europe. For the US, check out Enterprise at http://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/ or Budget Rental cars http://www.budget.com/ etc. and see if you can find good deals online. See below for more websites for rental cars.
Take a bigger piece of the pie
Now search for coupons and promotional savings to see if you can use a credit card that will give you frequent flyer miles for the purchase and also determine if extra miles are awarded by these rental car companies for using their service (I usually get double frequent miles this way)
When you have decided on the company and the location to rent it from, then you are set to make a reservation. Try to pick up the car from an off-airport location. Airport taxes and fees are highest mostly because state governments think that they can tax visitors to the hilt without any repercussions. If you try to get a small car from the busiest rental car depot, then you may be upgraded with a bigger and more comfortable one at no extra cost. Don’t count on it though. If you have a large family, rent a larger vehicle.
Cut costs on Add-Ons
Decide on whether you will need insurance when you are traveling. If you have State Farm insurance and you see an “R1” on your card, that means you are covered for rentals. Any way, do call up your car insurance companies or your businesses (if you are traveling on business) and find out if you need rental car insurance. If you have a large family and lots of distractions, or if you are driving a much larger vehicle than you are used to, it is better to take the Collision Damage Waiver insurance offered by rental car companies. It would be wise to know beforehand all the different types of insurance they offer and how much they will add to your final bill. Also some credit cards automatically cover the insurance fees. Most rental car sites have telephone hotlines where you can get all your answers.
Hit rock bottom
Sometimes the prices on the website for any rental car company may be higher than the quote you may get when you call them on the phone. Decide on the less expensive option or allow them to agree to the lowest quote via whichever method is most convenient to you.
Check out what devices are in the vehicle that is costing you big bucks. GPS systems (cost around $10 a day), Satellite radios, electronic toll payers with added fees, child/baby seat that costs extra, etc can easily add up. Make sure that you only take what you absolutely need.
If you rent cars later in the day or middle of the week, you may get better deals because people are not busy with business travelers and can spend the extra time to be nice to you. The best time to get free upgrades is Saturday afternoon, when most of the popular cars have already been rented!
Use travel sites where car rental agencies rent out their unused cars. Hotwire is one such site http://www.hotwire.com and Expedia http://www.Expedia.com is another that may be able to give you good deals especially if you are booking airfare and accommodation at the same site.
Most of the rental websites given below also offer good deals in domestic sectors as well as internationally. Questions to ask are whether your driver’s license is good enough for driving in that city, the side of the road that the traffic travels, the minimum age for driving as well as any rules that you need to know about driving on their roads.
No more dough
When you are at the rental site, go through all the extra taxes and fees before you take the car out. Once you get to the car, check it out thoroughly for dents including the undercarriage. If you find any problems, notify the rental car folks immediately. Take photos of the vehicle if it had some problems before you left the lot. Also take some before you hand it back in case they come back later with damages or dent reports. While at the site, try to find some coupons or maps that may help you on the trip. Make sure you ask for a map of the state if you are going to drive through unknown territory.
When driving, make sure you take extreme care of the car unless you have complete insurance. Before you return it, clean out the car and fill it up with gas. The gas at the airport area is usually more expensive and at the rental car agency, gas is at a premium! So never allow them to charge you for fuel. Also before you leave, make sure you have the final bill in hand. Check it out and see that they have not added any more fees to it. Also, when you reach home, check (it may take a month or two) to see if your sky miles have been deposited as promised.
List of auto rental agencies that rent out cars ( domestic and international service ).
Orbitz – http://www.orbitz.com/
Avis –http://www.avis.com
Hertz –http://www.hertz.com
National – http://www.NationalCar.com
Alamo – http://www.Alamo.com
Easy Car – http://www.easycar.com
Bon Voyage! J
Some companies like HolidayCars ( http://www.holidaycars.com/static.aspx?source=norisk ) offer NoRisk Warranty