Iron rules about renting a car
Wrote
and edited: Yair Bar-Zohar
Date: 01.07.2004
Recently updated: 02.02.2010
A rented car abroad – Advantages: comfort, transportation from one
place to another, freedom to travel independently, the option to
stop at any time of the day, the option to reach places where
public transportation doesn’t, cheaper (sometimes) than organized
trip and public transportation. The profitability of renting a car
rises when the number of passengers rises.
It's very recommended (yet not mandatory) to work with
international rental cars companies
because they can solve any problem around the clock and they have a
large variety of new cars. The only disadvantage is the high price.
The price in local companies is quite cheap, but their downsize is
that their service is not always available, so you'll need to check
if the renting point is open at the time and day reserved.
The advantages of the big/international (and known) renting
companies:
Deploying branches: when you're driving with the rented car and
everything is fine, then there's no problem and you are satisfied.
But in life, everything doesn’t always go according to plan, and
sometimes there are car failures, and then the problem begins:
Where is the nearest branch, whether the workers come to you or you
come to them. I had a serious failure with the car when I was in
the Niagara Falls. I rented at a known company, and even then,
I had to wait for about 12 hours for an alternative car, it
took from me a lot of nerves, and the other car was malfunctioning
as well. I have lost 2 days of my trip ( don’t forget that wasted
time is wasted money). What do I want to say? That you need to
choose the company with the best deployment.
You need to check when the place is open. It is better to take the
car keys from the workers and not counting on the luck that others
put them in a box (though most of the time there are no problems
with that). Not every company (especially the small ones) open
their branches for a long period of time and they don’t always have
an airport branch. In cases like this, you have to wait several
hours for the opening (mostly in the early morning hours). Again
don’t forget that wasted time is wasted money.
It is very important to choose your renting company directly and
not trough a travelling agent because they usually offer sales that
others cannot compete with, and if you belong to any big
organization like "hever" or the teachers association, you might
get a discount up to 15%.
Favorite
client in big companies: when you reserve a car, you usually get
the car you asked for and only rarely get upgraded. Why not be a
favorite client without payment by signing up for it in the
company's website (not every company has one): pay for class B (for
example), and get a class C free. As a favorite client you wait for
the car no longer then 10 minutes, and you don’t wait in line. In
case you do need to wait longer, most places will give you a
refund, from my experience.
1.
The count of the rental days
begins when your lease form gets stamped at the car receiving
station. A delay of an hour and above is being considered an
additional renting day. The reserve and the following computerized
reports
allow a delay of up to 59 minutes in the return. A delay above 59
minutes, even if it's because you waited in line, means another
renting day. Day=24 hours.
2.
It's important to be precise in the
reservation form with the driver's name, the location where you
take and give the car back, when you take the car, and most
important the flight's number (since you've made your reservation
in advance, the renting company is expecting you at the time you
have written. if there is a delay in the flight, they have your
flight's details and can track it accordingly.
Your car will be saved for you 2 hours after the
ordered
time, in case you haven’t given away your flight's details.
You cannot change those details abroad. Changing the time of the
takeoff requires changing the
approximate time of taking the car and You'll
need to verify that the information is known to the renting company
(if you won't
inform them, there's
a big change you will have to wait for a long time).
3.
A big part of the insurances offered to the renter of the car when
he gets the car is only a suggestion and not really mandatory.Pay
attention and don’t sign any form without checking it's content
before you receive the car, in order to prevent unnecessary
payments in the future.
4.
When you rent a car, take in account that it's not recommended to
rent one in crowded cities (like: New-York, London, Barcelona,
Paris, Las-Vega, etc) unless you plan to drive outside the city.
5.
Match the type and size of the car to your
needs, and to the number of the passengers (SUV\Van\Station\Private
etc). Also match the gear's type, and air-conditioning. Take the
size of yours and others personal luggage in account. Check the
current car fleet in the car's category you've ordered.
Recommendations:
2-3 people – class
B
car. 4 people – minibus with 6
seats, lots of space. You can have class C
as well. 6 people – minibus with
9 seats.
When more than 2 passengers are in a car, it is best to take a car
with space for +2 passengers
(luggage, equipment,etc).
This prevents
unpleasantness regarding luggage storage.
In the
summer (for example Italy), order a car with air conditioning, and
at ski areas in the winter, order a 4X4 car (better grip of the
road) with snow tires + chains, and with enough
trunk
for the ski equipment.
6.
A 2 doors car is cheaper than a 4 doors car
(same size and car, just less doors). It will be abuse and lack of
consideration to the other passengers in the back if you drive a 2
doors car with 3 or 4 people.
7.
Special vehicles (Jeep, Van, Sport, etc) need
to be ordered far in advance. Otherwise, you won't have that kind
of car to rent.
8.
Days count: sometimes it is cheaper to rent a
car for a week and return it after 5 days then to rent a car for 5
days. There is no refund in unused days.
9.
In most cases, ordering a car from your home
country is much cheaper than ordering in the USA or Europe.
10.
Compare renting prices between big airports
(or nearby airports) and cities. Renting a car at Kennedy airport
is almost double the price of renting the same car, at the same
company in
New-Ark airport, New-Jersey.
Its important to know that at airports there have port
taxes.
11.
Young drivers, below the age of 24-25: at the USA, most of the
renting companies don’t rent to those under the age of 24 or 25.
Those who does, rent for drivers at the age of 21 and above, but
charge for extra daily (between 10-40 dollars a day. The sum of
money depends on the renting place). Few are the companies who rent
for drivers at the age of 19 and above (and charge from them 20
dollars additionally).
12.
We advocate you plow the market, check, compare and only then
order. It's recommended to start the trip at the country that has
the lowest renting prices compared to the others.
13.
It's always good to order the car from a company that is known in
your country, its cheaper.
14.
When you order a car, the company undertakes to the ordered car's
category and not to the type of the car.
15.
It is important to make sure what are the unique add-ons, that you
must pay when you order.
16.
Ask for a diesel car (check diesel prices at
the destination country – it's
not always cheaper than regular fuel, but in most cases, they are).
In some areas, the price of the diesel is significantly lower than
regular fuel (the gaps between the prices can come in some
countries to 50%). Also consider the fact that you can drive much
more (almost double) kilometers in a diesel tank instead of regular
fuel.
17.
Payment at home- it is cheaper to order at your home country than
abroad. The place where it's cheapest to rent: Europe – Germany,
USA – Florida.
18.
It's a must to compare the kinds of insurances and benefits (full
tank, sunroof, etc). You should ask how much you must
add, if you return the car
in a different country from where you rented it, find out how much
is the extra insurance with you move to eastern Europe countries,
what is the Deductible in case of an accident, etc. You need to
make sure there are no safety limitations: traveling on ferries,
entering certain countries, especially in the east, entering Italy,
Mexico, age limitation, etc.
Its very recommended to make an extended insurance against
accidents with a third side insurance, as well as an included
Deductible insurance, in addition to the mandatory ones(theft for
example). Other than then, there is no need to pay for any
insurance program.
Insurance Codes:
CDW - Collision Damage Waiver: insurance for the rented car and for
the other car. There is Deductible.
SCDW- Deductible included insurance for the rented car and for the
other car.
Many Companies
don’t give you the Deductible included in the rent itself, charge
you about 5-6 Euros per day, and if god forbid there is any damage
to the car, you begin a tiring journey: You pay a fine about 400
Euros Deductible without any right to appeal, When you get back to
your home country, you start negotiating with the company, fill out
forms and eventually, they pay you back the money, but a lot of
time pass till you reach there and along the way, you get very
annoyed. There are some companies that do include the Deductible
and save you a lot of money.
PAI - Personal Accidents Insurance.
TP - Third Person Liability Protection: insurance against all kinds
of third person faults (theft for example).
STP – Deductible Included – not mandatory but recommended.
SLI – expended third person insurance (recommended only in the
USA).
You can cancel the add-ons within 24 hours.
CDW TP – all the offers are included (there is a deductible –
different in each country).
It's recommended to order the add-ons in your home country.
The insurance company is exempted from paying you any compensation
if the car keys were left somewhere by you and thus allowing or
making the stealing of the car an easy job.
The insurance companies won't
pay the full value of the content of the cargo inside the car if
the keys were left inside or if you
didn’t lock the car properly.
None
of the insurances above cover for damages to the panes, tires and
to the lower part of the vehicle.
19.
International driving license + valid Israeli
driving license:
Remember!! Not every country acknowledges the Israeli
driving license. By Israel laws and other places around the world,
it is stated that the national driving license is the international
one. The insurance companies won't acknowledge the international
driving license abroad because
it's
a result of an agreement between ministers and not the result of
the law, and that being so, they are not insured with Lloyd's.
Their policy demands international driving license along with the
national one. There is also a situation that certain authorities
are not aware of the law existing in their country. Therefore, its
best to take both driving license (international+national).
Places you can get an international driving license: MEMSI, and
some of the mail branches. Anyway, it's preferable to get the
license near the date of your flight so you'll have more time to
use it.
20.
Make sure that you have an international credit card. Most of the
renting companies doesn’t allow taking their car without giving
them your credit card number to ensure payment for every damaged
made to the car or for an empty tank needed to be filled.
Name on credit card must be identical to invite the vehicle (it
registered) to identify the main driver, a driver's license law.
If name is not identical to, the rental company may request cash
bail for hundreds of euros / dollars or disagree car rental
21.
Make sure that you have the right renting car voucher.
22.
In every rent there is a registration payment that costs about 9
dollars in case of cancellation.
23.
Payments made abroad: road taxes, equipment like baby chair, ski
roof, snow chains, additional driver insurance or a young driver
insurance, insurances expansions , harbor taxes if they weren't
paid in your country, traffic fines, highways taxes, etc.
24.
Always check and look when you leave the car rent agency: when
you receive the car, even before you get it out of the company's
parking lot, check the car from all angles ,make sure that the car
is in perfect condition (and if there are damages, make sure to
write them down in the lease form, otherwise you will be charged
when you return the car and the price won't be cheap. Also make
sure that you have a spare tire, that the tires are fully filled
with air ,and that you have everything you need to change a tire, a
safety triangle, and a full gas tank (make sure what kind of fuel
the car uses or else it costs repairs). Check if the car's
license/warranties are in the car (usually in gloves cell). If one
of them is absent, go back to the agency. Besides the fact that you
must have these papers in the car (sometimes you need to show them
when you cross the border or when an accident accurs or when a
police officer stops you at the side), there are good chances that
the car agency won't be able to make new papers for the specific
car, and they'll change your car. With a little luck – they will
upgrade it. Check for the driver's tools (tires keys, an elevator
and a warning triangle). Check the amount of gas in the tank (by
watching at the fuel-meter). Ask to receive instructions about
operating the car's systems: opening the hood\trunk,
location of the driver's tools' ,operating the handles (near the
steering wheel), ask about the different buttons inside the car,
about locking the car (ask to receive the secret password) in case
there is central lock controlled by a remote.
In some
countries, it is mandatory to have a reflecting light jacket inside
the car, in case you need to stop at the side of the road. If you
hadn’t received one, demand for it. Personally, I prefer buying one
at the nearest gas station and taking it back home. Make sure that
you have fully read the leasing rules, including the parts that
appear at the bottom of the leasing voucher.
When you are at the rental company, check that you have
written the address and phone number of the return point, in order
to avoid uncertainty and unnecessary delays. Also, ask for a map
that would help you find the return station. It's very much
recommended to take the road maps at the rental station, they will
help you. Ask the workers there for instructions on the map on how
to get out of the area, to the destination direction.
25.
On the roads: crossing between certain countries requires buying a
sticker at the border station, which allows you to drive on that
country's roads. Driving on those roads without the sticker might
get you a fine. In any case, its recommended to ask for one when
you get the car. Make sure that you have a parking clock that
allows you to park the car for several hours. If you don’t have
one, you should buy one. Make sure that you have a stamp for
driving the roads (some countries demand it). Again, it's
recommended to buy one if you do not receive it from the rental
company.
26.
Returning the car: return the car with a full tank!! And no funny
business, or else you will be charged an excessive price of a full
tank
from
your credit card. Pay attention, some of the airports in Europe
close their gas stations at noon, so fill the tank close to the
airport. Keep the voucher you got from the renting company even
after you have returned the car – just in case there will be some
problems. Return the car to the return location you have declared
when you took it, since returning it in a different location might
affect the lease program of the company and they might extra charge
you. Demand to have a copy of the
lease contract at the end of the process, and make sure you've got
confirmation that you returned the car without any damage. Keep
that copy to clarify if something goes wrong.
Most of the central airports in Europe have a service box
when the renting station is close, and you need to put the keys and
the lease contract inside it. In that case, you won't get any
confirmation of returning the car, no refund will be given back
to you due to partial use of the coupon if you return the car
sooner than determined.
27.
Any
commitment or/and oral promise given abroad doesn’t require the
renting company at your home country to follow.
General rules:
Please follow the traffic laws accepted in the county where you
drive. Traffic laws vary from one country to another, regarding the
driving speed allowed, signs, traffic lights, directional movement,
parking, road signs and more. Fines in most of Europe countries and
the United States, even parking fines, are not normal. If you get
caught and get a fine, pay it before you leave the country, because
the car's renting company will charge you for additional expenses
beyond covering the fine.
In case of a malfunction, accident or car theft, please report the
renting company. Please demand the emergency number of the company
(usually printed on the lease contract). In case the rent includes
road services, make contact with the renting company to get an
immediate help or a car exchange. In cases like accidents or car
theft, you must also report the local police. You must keep copies
of everything in case of a claim...
Keep the car locked, and take valuable belongings and hand bags
each time you exit the car. In case you have rented a GPS system,
remove it every time you leave the car.
It's recommended to print this article.
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