The Complete Guide to Choosing the Right Car Rentals

In a very short time, car rental service has become the need of many residents and visitors. With time, traveling has become difficult for people without their personal vehicle. Now, there are different ways to go about it. For instance, you can go about hiring a taxi. But it is expensive and can be awkward to travel with some unknown person. The same goes for say ride-sharing services. Car rental services allow you the privacy you need.

5 Things to Consider While Renting a Car

Whether you rent a Honda or any other car to go for a vacation, a long ride, or any other purpose, your journey will be hassle-free if you consider the following things:

1. Prefer paying through credit card while renting a car. Rental car providers check the credit score of people to make sure they can pay any charges. If a person uses a credit card, he or she won’t require a credit check.

2. If your kid if below 25 and will be driving the rented car, you will be charged more. No matter how good your kid’s driving record is, rental companies usually treat them as a potential liability to their car.

3. If you are in a group and all can drive, then the number of drivers should be kept to the minimum. The rental companies will charge for all. It is always better to keep the number of drivers to 2.

4. Check whether your personal car insurance cover rentals.

5. Fill up the fuel tank before returning the rented vehicle. You need to know how much rent you would have to pay, before say you go and rent a Porsche..

Different car rental plans for You

Every person has different needs and a different style to deal with things. This applies to car rental services also and considering this fact, car rental companies have come up with different rental plans. It is their approach to be more customer-centric. A wide variety of car rental plans are available for customers.

No car rental company is bound to launch any specific rental plans. Different companies have different plans, suitable for them as well as to their customers. Some of the most common plans practiced by car rental companies in the United States are as follows:

• Pay per minute: A customer going for this plan is charged according to the time duration. Suppose that a company charges $0.5 per minute, then the rental charges will be $30 per hour. Remember that these charges are usually exclusive of taxes, etc.
• Hourly plans: In hourly plans, a customer is charged hourly. Some common hourly packages include 1-hour package, 3-hour package, and 6-hour package.
• Per kilometer plan: In this plan, the customer is charged according to the distance traveled.
• Daily rental: The customers with this plan are charged on the daily basis. A particular distance is fixed by companies and if that distance is traveled in a single day, the customer is charged for next day. This plan is very common for people who rent the car for at least one night.
• Two-day rental plans: This is also one of the most popular plans. People who spend their weekend outside their town prefer this plan the most.
• Long duration plans: Depending on the usage and requirements of the customer, some companies even offer weekly, monthly, or yearly plans. You could go in for an unlimited mileage plan if you want to go long distances.
• Corporate Plans: For corporate customers, special corporate plans are offered by companies. Some discounts are provided to corporate customers.

The Car Classes You can rent

Car rental service is not only about the freedom provided to its customers. It is also about the kind of style people want to portray via rented car. Many people have a car of their own but they go for car rentals, why? Because the car they own is not the one they want to show. Yes, car rentals allow people to drive luxury as well as non-luxury (the budgeted ones) cars without purchasing them. Whether you own a car or not, you can always travel in style. The various cars class you can rent are as follows:

• Economy cars: Economy cars are most suitable for downtown areas having busy traffic and condensed parking spaces. You can expect the best mileage from economy cars. An example of an economy car used by rental companies is Mitsubishi Mirage.
• Compact cars: These cars provide wonderful gas mileage and are quite easy to drive. Nissan Versa is one example of a compact car that car rental companies use.
• Intermediate cars: These include cars like Hyundai Elantra and from this group, the basis shifts to style and preference rather than mileage. These cars have more space for luggage and passengers which small cars fail to provide.
• Full-size cars: When people require more leg space and more boot space, they search rent a Toyota and go for full-size cars like Toyota Camry.
• Premium cars: If you are searching for rent Nissan, it usually means that you are interested in borrowing a premium car. Premium cars provide comfortable seating and a lot of room for luggage. These cars are mostly preferred by business travelers.
• Luxury cars: Luxury cars have rich interiors and a high performing engine along with ample space for luggage and passengers. People looking for luxury car rentals usually search rent a Ferrari.
• Convertible cars: To enjoy a trip in the most stylish way, people often search rent Ford and go for Ford Mustang. A convertible is best when riding along Pacific Coast Highway or in the deserts of Southwest. People also use convertibles to explore the New York City. Premium Elite cars: The cars like Audi A6 fall into the category of premium elite cars. People looking to rent a Rolls Royce or an Audi are usually the customers who love to travel in premium elite cars and space, mileage, etc. doesn’t matter to them.

How to save on car rentals?

There are many people who spent hugely on car rental from a company and their friends spent very less on the car rental from the same company. This is because the car rental prices usually fluctuate heavily. Here are some tips which are helpful in saving on car rentals:

• Prepaid is the best way to get your cars cheaper. Booking early can help you get the best deals.
• To save more money, longer car rentals should be preferred. In car rental industry, companies charge higher for a short duration and lower for a long duration. So, rent a car for a longer duration but remember not to return the car early otherwise the company will re-price the rental charges towards higher side.
• Do not avail the rental services at the airport. The companies providing car rentals at the airport adds daily airport tax to the bill. This tax can be up to 25 percent of the whole rental. Money can be saved by availing the rental services from the same company but away from the airport. This airport tax is not charged when the rentals are dropped at the airport, so a rented car picked from anywhere can be easily returned at the airport.

Tips to make sure that your rental goes smoothly

This is mentioned above also that car rental allows you to go wherever you want to and whenever you want. At the same time, always remember that picking a wrong car can possibly ruin your trip. Here are some tips which will help you select best car rentals and save some money as well.

• Choose a car that suits your needs. Do not focus only on the looks of a car but consider other factors also, such as can you comfortably drive an automatic as well as a manual car, the number of people going with you, the purpose for which the car will be used, the rental duration, and most importantly your budget.
• Before booking a car, search the market for best-priced car rentals. When you find the one in your budget and matching your needs, gather more information about the facilities it provides and thoroughly check its terms and conditions. Finally, confirm the time of pick-up and drop-off.
• While collecting the car, take its photos from different angles. Note that photos should have a time and date stamp on them. Note down the emergency contact number and thoroughly read the rental contract. While returning the car, make sure that the fuel tank is completely filled.

These simple tips will help ensure that you fund the right car rental for you, and do the most of your time!

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