Some time ago doing anything online was taboo, e-commerce was chimeras. Those who bought online were seen as fearless.
And for travel it was the same thing.
Now instead we do everything online and when we start organizing a trip on our own, we realize how the internet has made our life easier. We reach information very quickly and we can optimize everything. In traveling itineraries, even more during a road trip, it is necessary to define the times well and try to fit everything together.
In addition to reaching information, the internet has allowed us to organize ourselves in advance even with reservations. Flights, hotels, but not only, even when we rent a car it is extremely convenient to do everything from home and present yourself directly at the car collection desk at the airport with the sheet already printed. 10 minutes of practices and then we become "masters” of our car.
Useful tips for renting a car
1 - Rent through online portals
This is a fairly simple advice and I imagine you all know. Renting a car online allows us to compare the costs and rely on intermediaries such as Rent A Car Doha (service that I almost always use) that analyze all the possible rental companies for the period and place where the research is done.
2 - Pay attention to credit cards for short-term car rentals
This advice was born almost by chance among a chat between friends. Whenever you rent a car (online or not online it makes no difference) you need to guarantee the car with the deposit
At the end of the withdrawal of the car at the rental desk I have heard many times people bewildered by the bail application; if they had read my post on “How to hire a car “they would not have been caught off guard.
3 - The location of the check-in counter: inside or outside the terminal?
It seems like a big banality but it is not. When you rent a car online, be careful to read, when booking, where you will have to go to attend to the rental formalities.
The check-in counter will be inside the terminal so you can go in a short time to pick up the car or the acceptance is in another place than the terminal. And in this second case, how far is it?
These little things have a great impact on the times and also on the various misunderstandings with the rental companies. It is not something to be underestimated and I realized this during my trip to Mexico. Arriving at the Cancun airport I had to take over the car but the company with which I had rented was not present inside the terminal, it was necessary to go out and wait for a shuttle to take you to a parking area far enough from the arrivals.
4 - Subscribe to complete protection for stress-free travel
If you book a car online with the intermediaries I mentioned in point 1 of this article, during the booking you will be asked if you want to protect your rental with a "Full Coverage".
What does it mean?
A basic rental expects to leave a security deposit of around 1200 euros (varies according to company and country) at the time of taking over the machine. Deposit that is returned to you when you return the car at the end of the trip (with the times I explained to you in point 3). If an inconvenience occurs during the rental period, you will be charged. I don't know the dynamics because fortunately it never happened to me but the bail serves as guarantee for the damage that you have caused. The fact is that money is being withdrawn from those around 1200 euro as initial as the excess of the damage is up to you.
5 - Insurance coverage, do not load another one
At the time of paperwork at the tourist car rental desk you may be asked to take out insurance coverage. They are not necessarily aware that you already have a possible Complete Protection (provided that you bought it beforehand during the online rental phase) then they will ask you if you want to subscribe to their insurance.
6 - The Drop-Off or One-Way, pay attention to the increase in costs
But how nice it is to start the journey in one place and finish it in another completely different one, miles away from the starting point. Beautiful yes, but economically unsustainable.
When you rent a car at point A and always return it at the same point A, you do not have to pay any additional fee.
When, on the other hand, you rent at point A and want to return it at point B, then things change. We have to pay the “Drop-Off ", also called the "One Way “fee because leaving the car completely in another place, we are taking advantage of a service that we have to pay.
7 - Machine too dirty -> Warning!
What do you want to be a little sand on the windshield of the car, nothing like that, right?
Well no. Or rather, it depends. I have rented a car so many times and before my on the road trip to Morocco I had never been forced to go and wash the car before returning it. Well, maybe because it had never happened to me before having been in the midst of several sandstorms mixed with water. My fiat black Panda was anything but black.
8 - Anticipate the return of the car by half an hour
This last suggestion stems from the fact that the procedure for returning the car follows a fairly uniform practice between the various countries and between the various companies but it is necessary to be cautious in order to avoid arriving late to the controls and the gate. Several times I found slow and listless employees, other times I simply returned the keys without looking at the car at tourist car rental.
And for travel it was the same thing.
Now instead we do everything online and when we start organizing a trip on our own, we realize how the internet has made our life easier. We reach information very quickly and we can optimize everything. In traveling itineraries, even more during a road trip, it is necessary to define the times well and try to fit everything together.
In addition to reaching information, the internet has allowed us to organize ourselves in advance even with reservations. Flights, hotels, but not only, even when we rent a car it is extremely convenient to do everything from home and present yourself directly at the car collection desk at the airport with the sheet already printed. 10 minutes of practices and then we become "masters” of our car.
Useful tips for renting a car
1 - Rent through online portals
This is a fairly simple advice and I imagine you all know. Renting a car online allows us to compare the costs and rely on intermediaries such as Rent A Car Doha (service that I almost always use) that analyze all the possible rental companies for the period and place where the research is done.
2 - Pay attention to credit cards for short-term car rentals
This advice was born almost by chance among a chat between friends. Whenever you rent a car (online or not online it makes no difference) you need to guarantee the car with the deposit
At the end of the withdrawal of the car at the rental desk I have heard many times people bewildered by the bail application; if they had read my post on “How to hire a car “they would not have been caught off guard.
3 - The location of the check-in counter: inside or outside the terminal?
It seems like a big banality but it is not. When you rent a car online, be careful to read, when booking, where you will have to go to attend to the rental formalities.
The check-in counter will be inside the terminal so you can go in a short time to pick up the car or the acceptance is in another place than the terminal. And in this second case, how far is it?
These little things have a great impact on the times and also on the various misunderstandings with the rental companies. It is not something to be underestimated and I realized this during my trip to Mexico. Arriving at the Cancun airport I had to take over the car but the company with which I had rented was not present inside the terminal, it was necessary to go out and wait for a shuttle to take you to a parking area far enough from the arrivals.
4 - Subscribe to complete protection for stress-free travel
If you book a car online with the intermediaries I mentioned in point 1 of this article, during the booking you will be asked if you want to protect your rental with a "Full Coverage".
What does it mean?
A basic rental expects to leave a security deposit of around 1200 euros (varies according to company and country) at the time of taking over the machine. Deposit that is returned to you when you return the car at the end of the trip (with the times I explained to you in point 3). If an inconvenience occurs during the rental period, you will be charged. I don't know the dynamics because fortunately it never happened to me but the bail serves as guarantee for the damage that you have caused. The fact is that money is being withdrawn from those around 1200 euro as initial as the excess of the damage is up to you.
5 - Insurance coverage, do not load another one
At the time of paperwork at the tourist car rental desk you may be asked to take out insurance coverage. They are not necessarily aware that you already have a possible Complete Protection (provided that you bought it beforehand during the online rental phase) then they will ask you if you want to subscribe to their insurance.
6 - The Drop-Off or One-Way, pay attention to the increase in costs
But how nice it is to start the journey in one place and finish it in another completely different one, miles away from the starting point. Beautiful yes, but economically unsustainable.
When you rent a car at point A and always return it at the same point A, you do not have to pay any additional fee.
When, on the other hand, you rent at point A and want to return it at point B, then things change. We have to pay the “Drop-Off ", also called the "One Way “fee because leaving the car completely in another place, we are taking advantage of a service that we have to pay.
7 - Machine too dirty -> Warning!
What do you want to be a little sand on the windshield of the car, nothing like that, right?
Well no. Or rather, it depends. I have rented a car so many times and before my on the road trip to Morocco I had never been forced to go and wash the car before returning it. Well, maybe because it had never happened to me before having been in the midst of several sandstorms mixed with water. My fiat black Panda was anything but black.
8 - Anticipate the return of the car by half an hour
This last suggestion stems from the fact that the procedure for returning the car follows a fairly uniform practice between the various countries and between the various companies but it is necessary to be cautious in order to avoid arriving late to the controls and the gate. Several times I found slow and listless employees, other times I simply returned the keys without looking at the car at tourist car rental.
