The very first aspect we should discuss is
whether or not to accept the insurance they will invariably offer.
Numerous car rental companies even try to "scare" you into accepting
their insurance with your rental, mentioning how much it will cost you
if you are in an accident, even if it's not your fault. Many people take
this insurance out of fear that something may happen, but they clearly
have not done adequate homework.
The reality is that you need to determine if you would be covered by the
car insurance policy that you already have on your own car. Many
insurance companies have a common policy where you are indeed covered
with the same coverages and deductibles in your rental car. But be sure
to verify, since some insurance companies have an exception where if you
are using the car for business purposes as opposed to personal reasons,
then you are NOT covered.
The other alternative is that if you
are paying for the car with your Visa or MasterCard, depending on which
one you have, you may have coverage through Visa or MasterCard. You
should find out the details, because even if they do provide coverage
for you, it may have an exceedingly high deductible or not cover things
like theft or fire.
The amount of insurance from the car
rental company could be as much as $7.50 to $12 per day that you have
the car, so it can add up quickly.
There are many other means to save
money with car rentals. Do your research to find out the rates that are
being charged for cars. If you plan on doing a lot of driving, ensure
that your contract allows for unlimited mileage, or that the miles they
permit will fall within the amount you plan to do, because the per-mile
charges are huge.
There is really not much savings to be
had by booking early, but the situation you may run into is that the car
class you want is sold out. A common tactic is to book a compact car
because the car rental agencies will routinely offer you an upgrade at a
discounted price when you get to the counter, or they may be out of
compacts and upgrade you at no additional cost. But ensure you can live
with a compact car in case they do not run out and do not offer an
upgrade!
For drivers under age 25, costs for
rental cars can be quite steep but there are numerous things you can do
to minimize the fiscal trouble of that as well.
To save additional money, investigate
some of the lesser known car rental companies. Oftentimes their pricing
is better than the well known brand names and they provide extra perks
as well, like perhaps a GPS included in the car. Don't pick out your car
rental company based on getting additional frequent flyer miles because
more often than not, there is not even close to an even trade off.
Being smart about your car rental
process will save you a bunch of money and make the experience that much
more enjoyable, and it does not need to cost an arm and a leg!
