Car Rental Tips and Mistakes Every Traveler Should Avoid

Renting a car can be a good or bad experience depending on you. If you are going to a foreign country and you have an international driving license, you would like to drive by yourself. Why wouldn’t you? It’s cheaper and provides you with freedom. You can move around everywhere you want to. Getting a taxi will only prove to be a burden for you. Therefore, a lot of travelers tend to rent a car according to their plans.

So here are a few tips for you, if you are going to do that too.

1. Find a rental company

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Instead of going for any rental company, you should do some homework. Not all rent-a-car companies are equal. Therefore, you should spend some time and learn details about them. Look for the services that each one of them offers. For example, if they offer insurance or not. And also whether they would be able to come anywhere if you encounter a problem.

The later services are also equally important. Imagine you are in a foreign country and something happens to the car. All you can do is to contact the rental company. Therefore, it is important to confirm this from them before renting the car. And if you are in Limburg, you can check out this website.

You can rent the car in Maastricht, Heerlen, Sittard or even in Roermond. They offer different options to choose from and different services too.

2. Refill the gas before returning

You have to pay for everything, even the gas fuel. Therefore, if you return the car with an empty gas tank, the company will charge you for that. And because they have to send their car for refueling, they might charge an extra amount. That is why it is better to refuel it before returning. In this way, you will be able to prevent the extra charge.

3. Check the car before taking it out

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A detailed and thorough checkup of the car is necessary. It is possible that the vehicle is damaged somewhere and the renters are also not aware of that. Before making your bill, they will go through the car again and charge you for any damages. Therefore, you should also do the same. Check all the existing damages and it would be better if you take pictures. This will be proof for you.

4. Abide by the rules

Rules are made to break, this is not the right thing to say and practice. Otherwise, you will pay the penalty. So if you have made a promise to return the car at a specific time, do it. Delaying it will only cause problems for you.

The extra payment will be added to your bill. Furthermore, the payment after drop-off time will be more expensive. Therefore, you should follow the rules and return the vehicle on time.

Things that you should avoid

1. Not deleting your data

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If you do not want your data to be used by others, you should delete it before returning the car. Nowadays, people connect their phones with cars, which makes a lot of things easier for them.

However, this connection will sync all your contacts too. Thus, the details of your contacts will be saved in the care system.

If you do not want others to benefit or take your personal data, you should delete it. If you are renting the car for a few hours, avoid connecting and synchronizing. But even if you have done so, make sure to delete all that data before returning the car. This is for your safety and security.

2. Exceeding the maximum limit

You might not be aware of this, so confirm it with your renting company. Not every company offers unlimited mileage per day. Various companies offer a limited mileage. If you exceed the limit, you will have to pay for it. The company might charge you per mile. So instead of doing the guesswork, confirm these things before taking the car out.

3. Toll tax

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Rental cars service providers do not provide free toll payments. So if you are passing through a toll, you have to pay there. If the toll is cashless, you should ask the company about it. Because paying the original fare is fair for you. If you do not pay it by yourself, the company will and then they will charge the rate of their choice.

So if you have got a bill that exceeds far from what you had imagined, it is because of your carelessness. Therefore, it is important to get a clear answer to all of these questions. In this way, you would be able to avoid paying extra money.

4. Getting an extra insurance

If you already have insurance, you do not need another one. Rental companies offer insurance services too. So if you are taking their car out and you do not get the insurance, you will have to pay for the cost in case of an accident. This might not sound right to you. Therefore, people do get this insurance from their rental providers.

However, a mistake that people often make is getting extra insurance. Yes, you must have the insurance plan but if you already have it with your credit card, you do not need an extra one. So whether you have your credit card insurance, you do not need to get another one.

5. Changing your locations

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If you make a pre-booking for your rental vehicle, you have to provide a pick-up location. Likewise, you are supposed to drop off the vehicle at that place too. But if you have a different plan and you get pick-up at one place and drop off the vehicle somewhere else, you will be charged extra for it.

According to our reports, changing the locations might result in adding three-times costs. So it might not be good for you and your pocket.