Every experienced traveler needs to rent a car. The lease itself is always preceded by doubts/fear/apprehension/ignorance/inexperience, and so on. We’ll tell you how to rent a car for travel and how to use the rental with the maximum benefit.
Required documents
To book a car at a European rental office, you need a passport and an international driver’s license.
Two factors will affect the rental price when booking: age and driving experience. Most rental companies are wary of drivers under the age of 21. Desirable experience – 3 years. You will also get a car if these two conditions are not met. It’s just that the range of offers will be significantly narrowed.
How to choose a suitable rental
First, decide whether it is more convenient for you to book a car – in advance on the Internet or the spot. In most cases, it is much safer to open the site tab of one of the verified companies in Europe. For example, rentluxecar.com. This way you will be 100% sure that you will get what you want on the spot.
However, if you are flying to a small, quiet island or, for example, to Montenegro or Bulgaria, the best rent price will be negotiated on the spot.
Online car rental services in Europe can be divided into three groups.
The first group consists of aggregator sites that help you compare prices from different companies and offer discounts at the same time.
The second group is large international companies. Their prices are higher than those of small national rentals; but most travelers prefer a user-friendly interface and a proven logic of services, discounts, and bonuses.
The third group of rentals is the most numerous. These are small regional services. Prices for small operators may be significantly lower than for international players. However, in the fight for reputation and quality of service, large and medium-sized international companies come out as winners.
Which car to choose?
In each of the rentals, you will find up to 6-7 different car types. There are two issues left to solve. First – how many suitcases should fit in the trunk? Second – is there a long-distance trip waiting for you or a short trip?
If you are going to travel with a company, and the road takes several hours, it is best to book a minivan or coupe at once.
Making a reservation
When making a transaction, you need to pay the amount of rent and insurance. Be prepared for the fact that some rentals can hold the deposit on your card until you get the car in the parking lot or even before it is delivered.
Anyone who plans to drive will have to show their driver’s license and passport. The company will ask you to pay for each driver separately. It will be included in the contract and insurance.
Types of insurance
When renting a car to travel around Europe, most of the cost will be taken up by insurance. Some drivers still refuse it. However, another country is always an additional risk of getting a fine.
Although different companies have different names for insurance, the essence remains the same. There is partial insurance that covers only part of the costs in case of trouble on the road, and there is a full one. Full insurance is usually 20% or more of the total rental price. With this form of insurance, your car may even explode — you still will not owe anything.
However, be careful on the road — no insurance does not save you from fines for traffic violations.
Secrets for the thrifty
Try to choose and rent a car when the company’s office is” already “or” still ” closed. As a rule, this time is from 5-6 PM to 8 am local time. During business hours, rental services often play with the price.
Be sure to inspect the car before signing the contract. Mark all the scratches and dents, try to push the pedals, open and close all the locks. Everything will take 15-20 minutes. Act calmly and steadily. These minutes before a long journey help to save a couple of hundred euros in your wallet and a great mood after the trip.
Choose a hotel where there is parking for guests. So you will save yourself from the unnecessary worry for the safety of the car.
If you have planned a trip to several regions of Europe, you will definitely find yourself on a toll road. For an additional cost, you will be stuck on a special glass sticker with a chip. Cameras on highways count the sticker on the go. You can save travel time or pay for all sections of toll roads in advance.
If you were given a car with a full tank, you must return it with a full tank. Otherwise, you will have to pay a fine: up to 14 euros for each missing liter.
For the luxury of leaving a car in any city on your way, and not at the starting point, you will also have to pay a significant amount — up to half the cost of the entire rental.
In both Europe and the United States, renting a car with a manual transmission will be cheaper by an average of 120 euros than automatic.
