Following last week’s quick overview of how to choose the best hire car for your holiday or business trip, here is part two in our sizzling serialisation of the: Car Rental Roadmap.
This week we have prepared an informative expose of how car hire prices are constructed. This topic is of interest to anyone looking for a good deal because the anatomy of a car hire price is more complex than many people expect. After all it’s reasonable to expect the price you’re quoted is the price you will pay. Sadly suppliers differ and this is not always the case. So we thought if you know what should be included then you’ll be better prepared to properly compare quotes from different companies. After all we endeavour to make our prices as all-inclusive as possible so have nothing to hide!
What car hire prices are made of:
- The Type and Size of Car you choose
- Length of Rental: Do remember that cars are generally rented out in 24 hour periods
- Customer Service: How easy will it be to get hold of someone if you need assistance? Do you have a 24 hour phone number to use in an emergency or just an email address?
- Destination: Are you planning to collect and drop off your vehicle at different destinations? If so there is likely to be a ‘one-way fee’ levied on your booking
- Extras: If you need to hire extras like child seats, luggage racks or snow chains you should expect to pay for them arrival in addition to the hire of the vehicle. Budget for these costs by asking for a quote prior to travel.
- Flexibility: What will happen if you need to cancel or change your travel plans? Some car hire companies levy cancellation and amendment fees and the amount is variable. Auto Europe prices include free cancellation or amendment with no administration charges up until 48 hours prior to your designated vehicle collection time.
- Fuel: Check the fuel policy as some car hire contracts will charge you for a full tank of fuel regardless of whether you use it or not. What’s more this charge is often made at the collection desk so is not included in your initial quote. Look out for contracts which allow you to buy your own fuel, i.e. you return the car with the same amount of fuel as when you collected it, just check whether you are on ‘full-to-full’ or ‘empty-to-empty’. Prices vary on what fuel is included, please read the terms & conditions of your booking to confirm.
- Insurance: ‘Insurance included’ generally refers to basic collision damage, theft protection, fire and liability for injuries or damages to persons or things outside of the vehicle, only. Please remember to check the approximate excess amount you’ll be liable to pay on any claim as it can vary widely from hundreds to even a thousand pounds or more. Remember you can protect yourself against excess payments and excess waiver policies purchased prior to departure are usually significantly cheaper than those on offer at the collection desk
- Mileage: Most car hire quotes include unlimited mileage, double check this is the case.
- Surcharges: Possible surcharges include: a late collection fee if you need to collect a hire car outside of normal working hours, (hours vary between suppliers and locations), naming more than one driver for the duration of your rental, extra insurance.
- Taxes: UK taxes are normally included in car hire quotes but it’s worth checking if the ‘local’ taxes for your destination are included.
Members of staff on the car hire collection desk are very likely to try and sell you extras such as excess insurance and fuel but you do not have to buy anything you don’t want to. Try to understand what your booking does and does not include prior to travel so you can make an informed choice.
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Log on next week, same time and same place, for an overview of how to read your Auto Europe booking voucher. If you can’t wait seven days, or would like to read more, then simply click here now.
