Knowing what you need and what you don’t is not a problem limited to car rentals. Knowing the difference between your needs and wants is a life skill few of us get right or “want” to get right. However you can save a lot of money, loans and headaches if you get it right.
In the case of car rentals it is a matter of understanding what extras you can afford and are going to significantly improve your trip or experience and what is really a waste of time.

This article will tackle this question by listing some of the most important things you need when hiring a rental car. It is not a long list, this will help you see how much of our choices are wants not needs.

1.)    You don’t need a rental car. Well, this one is not necessarily true, you might need a car rental. But it does help us to ask ourselves if we really need it, or we are just used to having the freedom of a private car. In Nicaragua, where I currently live hiring a car can be a great idea or the worst you ever made in a business or pleasure trip. The bus system although not very comfortable is excellent and can take you to virtually any part of the country you want to visit in reliable vehicles that are prepared for the bad terrain that makes up most  of the country. Unless you have some very specific needs and objectives you are probably better going by bus and taxi. Of course you will need some understanding of Spanish and how the country bus system works. The lesson here is that sometimes with a little effort we can find cheaper ways of carrying out an objective. Could this be the case with car rentals?

2.)    You need insurance. This is an important point. Without insurance you can screw your life never mind your holiday. In many states and countries driving without appropriate insurance is a criminal offence. There are some countries you really don’t want to try out the prison system, take my word for it. However you only need adequate insurance not redundant insurance cover. In most cases car insurance policies and credit cards will cover car rental insurance. Check out if this is the case. If it is, forget those expensive car rental insurance fees.

3.)    You need fuel. Work out what is cheaper, if to get a full tank and fill it when you come back or to let them re-fuel it (some companies subsidize your fuel).
That is pretty much it. You might need a map, which is often complimentary. The rest are extras that you might want to get and they might be great deals. If you can afford them, great! If you can’t don’t get them you don’t need them.

Mistake 1.) Do not think all car rentals are pretty much the same price, they are not. There is a lot of variety in prices and services. You can save substantial amounts of cash by being smart and understanding how car rental companies work.
The truth is that car rentals give you a break if you make things easier for them and if you understand how their business works. If you do not, they are going to make you pay for it.

Mistake 2.) Go for airport car rentals. There is not arguing they are very convenient. However airport car rentals are going to cost you more. The prices are generally higher and they always add an airport fee which can range from $10 to $30 dollars, if not more. This is because airports charge car rentals a tax or fee for using their space, tourism boards often charge a fee for every customer at an airport also. You can avoid this fee if you are just willing to wait till you get to your hotel or get public transport to Downtown.

Mistake 3.) Don’t check the extra fees. We are on holidays or on a business trip, no time to sweat the details. Big mistake if you care about how you spend your cash. Extra fees often make up  50% of your car rental fee if you are not careful. You have extras like GPS, child seat, ski rack, radio CD, fuel, etc… Some of these extras are useful or even vital as in the case of the child seat. It does pay thought to check what you are buying and if you really need it.

Mistake 4.) Go for the insurance package your car rental salesperson recommends. Big mistake! Car rental insurance is often more expensive than your car rental fee. It is also a fact that car rentals make more money on their insurance than their car rental fee. Just work out the math. The average car rental insurance is around 25$. Multiply that by 365 days and you have a year insurance fee of over $9,000. Obviously this is an oversimplification, cars don’t get rented every day, nor does everyone go for the $25 insurance but it gives you an idea of the profit margin on these insurance packages. You  can nearly by a new car on the “supposed” yearly insurance. Check if your car insurance or credit card insurance covers car rentals. They are very likely to do so.

Saving money is not easy when you don´t understand how something works, in fact the opposite, losing money, is the most likely. This is not a foregone conclusion if you are only willing to spend some time and effort understanding some basic ways to save money on your car rental. These tips are by no means rocket science or complicated to put into action, most are just plain common sense. The “hard” part is to put it into action.

Plan ahead.

If you are anything like me you are likely to leave things to the last minute. This is not a good idea when trying to save money on a car rental. Plan as early as you can. This will allow you to find the best deals and take advantage of the better prices car rental companies give to reservations.

Look for discounts.

Discounts are out there for those that take the time to look for them. Email the car rental companies and ask for the special deals and discounts available. Visit their website and see what discounts are available. Discounts can also be obtained by being a member of AAC, AAA and other driver associations, even some credit cards come with in-built discounts. All these methods can provide discounts ranging form 5% to 30%.

Make various bookings.

Do not limit yourself to one booking. Most car rental will allow you to make a booking without providing credit card or ID information, like Hertz and Avis. If you find a good deal, book it, and keep on looking for a better one until you can´t. Then you can cancel the reservations that don´t cut the mustard.

Check out travel search engines.

Big travel websites like Orbitz and Kayak often have great deals for car rentals. Always spend a couple of minutes scanning their best offers. Because of the bulk reservations these big companies arrange they can often offer better prices than we can ever get.

Look for insider connections.

If you have a friend or colleague that has connections or works in a car rental company they can often get “friends and family” prices. This only works if you are close enough to your “friend” or cheeky enough to ask.

Learn about insurance coverage.

In most car rental operations half the fee is the insurance. Last time I hired a car, the rental fee was $35 and the insurance was $50. This often is redundant as your car insurance and credit cards will more often than not cover the insurance provided by the car rental. Take some time to understand what the insurance coverage offered means and what you can save on and what you need. A few minutes of good decision making can save you a lot of hassle in the event of an accident.

Compare and save using smart Car rental services online

If you have to rent a car, why spend more than you need to? No reason right? However many of us are paying over and above the best rate simply because we don’t invest a little time and effort in finding the good deal we deserve as top paying clients. The secret behind a saving money on your car rental is to use the internet in a smart way. This article will help you compare and save using car rental services online.

The insurance.

One of, if not THE most expensive parts of car rental is the insurance. Find ways to sidestep these fees. For example you can find out if your personal car insurance covers for rental cars. You can also look into what insurance coverage you will get by paying for the car rental online with your credit card. Often we have duplicate insurance through our car insurance or credit card that can easily be avoided saving up to 50% of the car rental fee.

Rental period.

Decide how long you will need the car. We an often spend more than we need by simply not calculating properly how long we need the car for. Another problem is when we rent a car on a daily basis and end up keeping it a week. We then pay the higher daily rate when we could have made juicy savings on the weekly plan.
Add on fees.

Discuss with the car rental company any add on fees that might be included and either avoid them or try to get a discount. Add on fees include airport fees, insurance for additional drivers and fuel charges.
When you get a good deal, reserve it. Reserve fees are often much cheaper than walk in fees. If you find a good deal get it while you can and reserve it, you don’t know how long it will last.

Stand for your rights.

If you reserve a certain car type at a certain price and when you arrive to pick it up they are suddenly out of stock demand a complimentary upgrade. If they will not agree (and you can afford to lose your reservation) walk out, the car rental company will likely want to keep you business.

Bigger is not always better.

Decide what size of a car rental you really need. If it is not large enough you will get frustrated and probably waste time, if it is too big you are just wasting money on extra car rental fees and fuel. It pays to plan ahead and decide what kind of car you need.

Go online.

Most major car rental companies provide discounts if you book online. Take advantage of these savings and book from the comfort of your home.

As you can see there are many ways you can save money on your car rental if you do it the smart way. Get smart and follow these tips the next time you book a car rental.

Hiring a rental car can be either great fun or an enormous expense and waste of time. Which outcome you experience is highly dependent on how you manage your side of the deal. It doesn’t mean things can’t go wrong but you will be greatly increasing your odds of success.

I have never been a fan of checklists. I used to think that outside of specialized fields like airplane maintenance engineers, checklists were for the anal retentive obsessive compulsive people that need a list and an order for everything. It turns out my assessment was true but it is also true that having a checklist of important steps and procedures can help you to make sense out of chaos and save yourself a lot of trouble in the bargain.

Hiring a rental car falls into the important stuff category. Why? You may ask. It is not like you actually buy the car. The truth is that in many ways you do. If you have an accident that is your fault and you total your vehicle and you don’t have the right insurance you could end up having to pay a large percentage of a brand new car. Even if you simply have a small accident, or someone does a hit and run on you, you could be responsible for the repairs or for a hefty deductible fee.

This is especially the case in developing nations. In these countries the insurance market is not as competitive and even large car rental companies have difficulties getting the insurance deals they get in more developed countries.

However even in developed countries hiring a vehicle does entail risks and it is well worth spending a few minutes checking you have everything you need and are doing everything you should.

Car rental checklist.

1) Do you have a current driver’s license? You might be able to pull the wool over the eyes of the car rental representative with an out of date driver license or one that doesn’t apply to the country your are in, but if you have an accident it will be much harder to pull it over the cops that attend the scene.

2) Check what insurance your credit cards and umbrella insurance provides. This is very important because insurance is often the main expense when you hire a rental car. There is no point in doubling up your insurance, if your personal insurance covers it why buy it again. However it is important to know because these personal insurances often act as secondary insurance and only work if you have no other insurance cover.

3) Check the vehicle and take pictures. This is very important. Your little holiday, business trip or house removal could cost you much more than you bargained for if miss an existing scratch or bump and the car rental company charge you for it. Check for everything, one car rental company charged me for a missing number plate once.

Checking these three basic points, Insurance, condition of the vehicle and legal documents, could save you a lot of time, stress and money.

Have you ever rented or hired a vehicle? Hiring a rental car can be both useful and fun. In fact there are circumstances and settings where hiring a rental car is the most practical and sensible way to go. For example if you are planning to move and your friends don’t have a truck or large van, or you don’t want to trouble them, the best alternative is to hire a rental truck that is designed for the job at hand. In fact I have often hired large removal vans and done my whole move in one sweep as opposed to endless trips.

Renting a car also makes great sense when you need a specialized vehicle for a short period of time. When I worked as a manager in a construction company we hired all kinds of vehicles for short periods of times of for specific jobs. It wasn’t practical to always buy a digger, forklift or bulldozer when there was no assurance of a constant demand of jobs for them. Much better to simply hire the vehicle you need when you need it and let a specialized company maintain them.

However, as useful as car rentals are there are things we must consider before we hire one. Important points to keep in mind that could affect us and our company. Depending what choices we make with car rentals we could benefit from their use or  it might end up costing us a pretty penny.

The factors you must keep in mind before hiring a rental car that we will look at today are: 1) Do you really need to hire a rental vehicle? 2) Do you have the right type of insurance? 3) Are you getting a competitive price?

Do you really need to hire a rental vehicle?

Hiring a rental car as useful and practical as it might be can be very expensive. When going on business trips it is surprising how the costs add up with car rental fees, insurance, airport tax, gas, parking and the list goes on and on. If you feel you need to hire a vehicle take a few minutes to work out the real cost of hiring the car. Not only the base rental fee, but all the add-on expenses you can’t really avoid. Then compare this price with alternative transport methods. If you are on business, getting a taxi might save you time and money. Airports and other transport hubs often have excellent connection with other popular places. Trying an alternative route might save you money and time. When I have travelled I actually look into means of transport that allow me to rest or sleep to make up for lost sleep or to charge up batteries for the work or fun ahead.

Do you have the right insurance?

Knowing if you have the right insurance is not easy with so many insurance types on offer and the uncertainty of what actually might happen.

Are you getting  a competitive price?

In order o make sure you are getting a good price compare with other companies online by asking for as many auto car rental quotes as possible.

Hiring a rental car can be both great fun and a time saver when you are travelling away from home. I know of friends that also hire a rental car when they are travelling long distances to save on maintenance on their own car and share the expense with all the friends that are going on holiday. This makes special sense when the car rental is big enough for everyone to fit in one car and share with the gas. Another great advantage with car rentals is the time you save. Having a rental car waiting for you at the airport allows you to get on with your holiday straight away. However when you are going backpacking style and you are looking for bus combinations the shortest trip can take all day. Of course there is also beauty in the backpacking style. I enjoy both, and both have their place in holiday transportation styles. These are the good points of car rentals, the problem is that there are also risks that you might be forgetting. This article aims to spell out some dangers with car rentals you can avoid and might not have thought about.

The insurance danger.

With car rentals you can easily spend too much or too little on your insurance. It is quite a nightmare when you find yourself in a foreign land where you don’t understand the language or the custom in an accident where you seem to be at fault. Not having the right insurance can be a real pain in the posterior or a financial disaster for your holidays and family economy.

A little research is required to know how much insurance you need. Car rentals will get you to feel you need to insurance for everything from your luggage to migraines. A balance is required. Make sure you are insured for damage to the car in case of an accident. Check for deductibles, in many countries the deductibles are so large you risk paying out some serious cash before the insurance kicks in.

The theft danger.

In many countries car theft has become an art form and thieves specialize on naive tourists driving their spanking new SUV straight from the airport. Using all kind of tricks they will get you to stop, they will then proceed to take control of you and your rental car. With some luck they will only want to play around with the car rental.

Follow advice from your embassy and locals. Beware of driving at night, in some countries it really isn’t advisable.

Finally make sure you take a good look at the state of your car before you drive away from the car rental office. It is easy to be so excited with getting on with your trip that you forget to check the bodywork dents and scratches report. Taking pictures is a great idea to prove damage was not caused by you during the time you hired the car rental.

Planning for future holidays is nearly as fun as going on holidays. It is even more fun when you can save money on your holiday package. Depending on the kind of tourist you are you might enjoy all inclusive cruises, backpack routes, hiring a car and exploring wherever the road takes you. The options are endless and you might enjoy a variety of holiday types which you choose from depending on your mood, economy and the company you take. One of my favourite styles of holiday is to fly to a country I have never been to, get a 4×4 car rental and explore to my heart’s content. If like me you enjoy car rentals when on holiday you shall be interested in what this article has to say about holidays and car rentals.

Things to be beware of .

There are many aspects of car rentals people ignore, ignorance can be expensive, especially when you are travelling abroad and you are not used to the local laws and customs.

Insurance: Getting it right with car rentals and insurance is mighty difficult. I have read and even written blogs on what a waste of money extra insurance is with car rentals. In nine out of ten of the cases I stand by this statement. Insurances on car rentals are a great business for car rental companies making them more money than the actual rental fee. This is crazy it is like car dealers making more money from selling the Stereo that goes with the car than the vehicle itself.

However just last year I hired a 4×4 for our honeymoon in Nicaragua and went exploring beaches during hurricane season. The holiday was a blast and we had a great time driving from beach to beach. I did rip off part of the bumper and the under guard of the little 4×4. I was glad I had paid the extra 25$ a day to have fully comprehensive insurance or it would have cost me hundred of dollars to fix.\

One must also be careful of checking the rental car very well before driving off, taking pictures is also a good idea. I once hired a car and when I returned it was charged for losing the number plate although I was involved in no accident or noticed it fall off. The rental company tried to charge me 100$, fortunately I talked with the manager at the office and was able to avoid the fee.

A great way of saving money on your next car rental holiday is to search online for car rental deals. This is extremely easy by searching on your favorite seach engine. These deals combine hotel, car rental and other activities giving a reduced price. One that attracted my eye was a Drive Cuba package that included car rental and a string of hotels around the island at a very attractive price.

Plan ahead, and drive away for less than you expect.

Have you ever paid full price for a service you later discovered is regularly provided at large discount prices. Annoying, right? Nothing major, no end of the world, but it is nice to get a good price on something you want or need. Car rentals are not high on the list of most enjoyed activities for most people, however if it must be done it is best to make it as economical as possible. The problem with discount searching is that it takes so much time, time better spent elsewhere. How can you find discount car rentals without wasting time and energy? This article seeks to provide simple and practical information to help you save money without wasting time.

How to check and find discount car rentals the smart way?

Some of the best and smartest ways of saving money are often the easiest to carry out. These often require us to plan ahead and prepare what we need. Other methods include a smart use of technology and shortcuts that provide access to a large amount of car rental providers with only a few quick steps to take.

1) Decide what you really need, before you check the car rental catalogue or website. We have all done it. You go online or visit the office planning to rent the cheapest car available and you end up falling for a car two categories above what you really need. It is easy to fall for this because of the smart way they advertise and present the pricing schemes. For only five dollars you can get this, ten dollars more give you xyz, and so on. It is best to decide beforehand what you need and stick to your guns.

2) Beware of unnecessary insurance. Car rentals companies will routinely make more on the insurance of their cars than the daily rental. The average insurance ranges around twenty or thirty dollars, multiply that by 365 days and you get well 7,000 dollars a year in insurance. As you probably guessed car rentals don’t actually pay that much in insurance.

3) Don’t fall for the fancy extras. Unless renting cars is your secret hobby see the whole operation as a job, you have an objective, you simply fulfill it without any fancy frills. Spend the extra cash on something you really enjoy.

4) Let the net do the searching for you. There are many websites that will send you hot deals regularly on anything from car rentals to hotels. Take advantage of this automated service and let the deals come to you.

5) If you are in a hurry for a specific deal, travel agency websites are often the best for discounts especially if you also need to get a flight and a hotel room. Grouping your travel expenses like that can add up to interesting savings if you do it the smart way.

We have all done it. You walk into the unfamiliar airport lobby and see a long corridor full of car rental companies. You have heard about most, some you don’t know from Adam. You need a car and you are running out of time. You stagger to the most inexpensive looking car rental company and ask for the daily price. Not bad at all, unexpectedly the price sounds rather reasonable. It is only when you have spent 10 minutes filling in annoying forms that you realize that the daily fee is only a small part of the big picture of car rental cost. By the time you get to the last paragraph of your encyclopedia of a car rental contract you are hit with an alphabet soup of initials that compose the insurance section, CDW (collision damage waiver), LDW (loss damage waiver), PAI (personal accident insurance), PEC (personal effects coverage) and ALI (additional liability insurance. All these insurance coverages are far from self explanatory and are often followed by a second tier of coverage levels.

Renting a car is in itself stressful in one considers the consequences of totaling a car rental in case of an accident. We are scared of the possibility of losing or damaging the car rental. The car rental company knows this and will sell you every car insurance and his dog in an effort to quench your thirst and hunger for security.

One way to save money on your rental car insurance is to check what coverage you already have thanks to your corporate insurance, credit car insurance and so on. This will help you to not double up with car insurances. Car insurances actually make up nearly as much profit for the rental company, the rates are form 20 to 200 % of the total cost of hiring the car.

It is also a good idea to check the place you rent the rental car. Local governmental authorities often charge taxes on car rentals in an effort to fund local projects. Avoid locations with a new sports or convention arena like the plague your credit card balance will thank you.

Beware of fancy gimmicks thrown your way when renting you rental car. GPS, sun roof, ipod connection are all cool gadgets but will you really use them and justify the extra cost of your rental car.

Careful with gas “fees and extras”. Choosing the cheapest option is often safe in this respect. Plan for enough time to fill up the tank and save on the astronomical prices car rental companies charge for filling up your rental car’s tank.

When travelling aboard  make sure your credit card and corporate auto insurance still apply, sometimes they are restricted to your place of residence.

The rule of thumb to follow in these matters is the Goldilocks  principle, not too much not too little, but just right. You need insurance and some fees you can’t avoid like airports fees but there are many unnecessary fees you can and should avoid.