Summer Holiday Car Hire – How to Avoid Being Ripped-off by Rental Firms
There are two things you need to know before hiring a car.
First; don’t buy the extra insurance offered by the rental company.
Second; always be a step ahead to avoid been ripped off by the hiring firm.
If you have plans to travel this summer, then you need to start making travel arrangements, especially how you’ll move around your holiday destination.
Some of the questions you need to ask yourself are; will you be taking public transportation? Will you take your car with you? Or are you going to rent a car?
Personally, renting a car is the best option, when on holiday. It is comfortable and flexible, and thanks to the internet, you can now rent a car from a hiring company at the comfort of your home, and then pick the car once you arrive at your holiday destination.
Summer holiday car hire may be exciting as it has a lot of benefits, but you have to be very careful, most car hiring companies are out to drain your finances.
Rental companies are very manipulative; you always have to be a step ahead; here’s how to avoid been ripped off by a rental firm.
Don’t buy the extra insurance offered by the rental company
Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) and Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) are two types of coverage most rental companies will insist you buy. However, you don’t have to if you already have personal auto insurance coverage, a credit card, or travel insurance.
With let’s say a credit card, LDW and CDW become unnecessary, since most credit cards companies already provide auto collision waiver. However, the rental company will try to persuade you to buy their policy; you should be prepared for that. Don’t buy the extra insurance offered by the rental company because they are designed to favor only the company, why buy a policy when you are already covered?
Buy car rental excess waiver from an independent 3rd party
The only time you need to buy excess rental waiver is if you don’t have personal car insurance, travel insurance or your credit card don’t cover auto damages.
If you find yourself in this situation, and you are tempted to buy a CDW or LDW from the rental company. You should know that purchasing car rental insurance from an independent 3rd party is always cheaper than buying it from a car hire firm.
CDW and LDW charge you exorbitant fee daily starting from $30, most times the cost of CDW is equivalent to the basic car hiring cost, the rental company will only allocate around $4 daily for actual insurance, so you now see why insurance companies try every antic to convince you to buy CDW and LDW.
You are not bound by law to buy policies from your rental company; all you need is evidence of coverage. Buying car rental insurance from an independent 3rd party is always cheaper than buying it from a car hire firm and you’ll have various options to choose from.
Useful tips for hiring a car
If there is damage to the rented car, there’s going to be problem. Except you have a zero excess waiver, you may end up paying for damage that you have no idea of.
Before you drive off, the rental company will give you a list of damages to the car. Make sure you crosscheck the damages yourself, especially for little details like bumps, scratches, and dents. If there’s any damage not on the list, report to the company.
Take pictures to serve as evidence before you drive off. If you get to the drop-off point at night, insist that the car is taken to a well-lit room for examination.
To sum up
To enjoy your summer holiday, you need enough money to spend. It can be frustrating when car hiring companies charge you more than what you budget for car hire.
Car hire companies have their ways of extorting their clients. You have to be careful, escaping their manipulations is easy; don’t buy the extra insurance offered by the rental company because purchasing car rental insurance from an independent 3rd party is always cheaper than buying it from a car hire firm.
Don’t also forget to make a comparison between different hiring companies, read through their terms and conditions, and then choose the company with the most favorable terms. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section.
