People like to try things before they buy them; cars are no exception to this rule. Trying a car out before you buy it is even more important when you consider the amount of money spent on one and the time spent in one. A great many dealers will let prospective car buyers test drive a car over night, but is that really enough time to decide if you want to buy it? If not, you may want to consider your option to rent a car for a short period of time.
You will want to ask about any special instructions that are required of you while renting the car, for example, filling up the gas tank or pick up and drop off times. Not adhering to these policies can result in fees.
The rental company may offer you insurance to purchase, however, your personal auto insurance may be all you need in the event of an accident with a rental car. Call your auto insurance agent and ask before paying extra at the rental counter.
When you call, be sure to ask about price, vehicle availability, as well as any specials that the branch has to offer. It is worth noting here, that many of these companies will have special arrangements with hotels, airlines or even warehouse stores.
There are a number of choices that are open to you when renting a car. Each class of car will vary in price and gas mileage; consider this when making your decision. While many companies may be willing to upgrade you, this is not always the case. It is wise to choose the car you want and hope for an upgrade than to reserve less of a car and be disappointed when an upgrade is not offered.
It is wise to shop around when looking for to rent a car. Always find at least three rental car companies to compare, although more will be better. Be sure to ask all the companies the same questions to get the most accurate answers. Most rental car companies will have websites online to find basic information, but it is best to call as local branches may have deals that are not advertised online.
Have a credit or debit card handy to reserve the rental car with, most companies will only guarantee a car with this assurance.
In last week's article we outlined a number of tips and tricks on the most common surcharges when you need to rent a car in Spain. Apart from the already mentioned additional charges like airport surcharges, insurances, sales taxes, concession recovery fees, customer facility charges to name but a fee there are other additional charges which may be applicable depending on your travel destination or the pickup station you collect the car from. Here are some tricks about gasoline charges applied at the desk of the car hire companies in Spain.
Depending on the car hire company you are renting the vehicle with there are a number of petrol policies applicable in Spain.
There are companies in Spain who will deliver the car with a full tank of petrol and will charge you for the petrol used or you are allowed to return the car full again in which case you will not be charged for the petrol or will receive a refund in case the corresponding amount has been credited to your credit card at the time of signing the rental agreement. Please note that some of these companies may require a high premium charge (sometimes also called refuelling charge) for returning a car with an empty tank, so in these cases you'll definitely want to make sure to fill up before you return your vehicle to the rental company, unless you're really in a hurry and risk to miss your plane due to the delay of finding a petrol station and fill up the tank.
Other companies in Spain require you to purchase a full tank of petrol when you sign the rental agreement and collect the car, enabling you to return the car with as much (or as little) petrol as you wish. In these cases there is no refund for unused fuel, but it can be very convenient when you return the car at the rental station, because you can walk straight to the check in desk at the airport, there is no need to wait in line at the car rental counter for a final adjustment of the balance. You will also avoid the trip to the petrol station to fill up the tank.
A third option which is sometimes applied by smaller car hire companies without proper installations close to the airport (including refuelling services) or local offices of mayor car hire companies in Spain which are very far away from the nearest petrol station is that the vehicle is delivered with the amount of petrol it was left with by the previous customer and you are requested to return the car with the same amount of gas. This may seem convenient, as you do not have to reimburse any money at all for the petrol, but occasionally this can be rather inconvenient, especially when you arrive late at night and find that many petrol stations are closed or when you fill up the car and due to circumstances have to return the hire car with a lot more petrol than it was delivered with in which case the car hire company does normally not reimburse you for the extra fuel left in the tank.
Both John Mancini & Rudi Van Der Zalm are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
John Mancini has sinced written about articles on various topics from Dieting, Eczema and Dental Practice. John Mancini has been writing about rental cars online and offline for a long time. Visit or. John Mancini's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.
Rudi Van Der Zalm has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family Travel, Car Rental and Credit Cards. spain-travel-car.com is a popular car rental booking engine founded by Rudi van der Zalm. The site aims to help you find low-cost , Spain and oth. Rudi Van Der Zalm's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.