As a guest in a foreign country, virtually everything comes with a giant price tag for you, even car rental and insurances that come with it such as; collision damage waiver insurance, car rental excess waiver insurance and a couple of others.
The good news is; there are several techniques you can employ to reduce the cost of renting or insuring a rented car abroad but before I take you across the most relevant of them, allow me to spell out some potentially confusing terms.
Collision Damage Waiver Insurance
This insurance reduces the amounts a car rental company can charge you for damages. It often covers only the bodywork of the car but leaves you liable to bills for damaging parts like mirrors, wheels, tires, engine, undercarriage, and accessories such as GPS.
Car hire excess insurance, on the other hand, takes care of the extra charges you incur for such damages or theft.
Now to list out our top tricks and see which ones most applies to you.
1. Don’t Buy More Insurance Than You Need.
This is the first and most basic factor you can tweak; have a clear program of operations in your host country, even if it’s a simple holiday.
Take some time to calculate so you’d know how long you’ll need a rented car and as well how much insurance coverage you need. This protects you from making last hour errors and being liable to charges such as Early Return Fee, Late Return Fee, and Cancelation Fees
2. Avoid Redundant Accessories.
There’s always an option for a rental package that leaves out accessories, and contrary to company advice, they are pretty good too.
All you have to do is avoid using accessories and even if you must, try improvising by bringing your own. Your mobile phone can serve the purpose of a GPS, or better still you can bring an actual GPS to fit. Even an item as bogus as a baby seat is allowed to be carried as baggage aboard most commercial airlines.
3. Avoid Picking Up Your Car From The Airport.
It’s agreeably more convenient to have a car at your disposal right from the airport; however, you are open to rental surcharges for premium location if you do this. As a cheaper alternative, you may look around for local rental depots at your destination.
4. List Yourself As The Only Driver.
A rental vehicle licensed to more than one driver often comes with an extra fee. In some cases, this could be a painfully large amount which cannot be undone. The only drawback to this measure is that; benefits such as that offered by collision damage waiver insurance doesn’t cover whatever damages occur during possession by another driver if eventually, another person has to drive your rented car.
5. Save on Fuel
Choose a fuel-efficient vehicle, and as well make sure you are returning the vehicle with a full tank. A fuel-efficient vehicle ensures your fuel doesn’t burn off too quickly, and a full tank return makes sure you don’t pay the exorbitant amounts rental companies charge per liter of fuel not refilled.
6. Evade Late Return Fees.
A 59-minute grace, that’s the best any rental company offers a customer. If the extra hour is complete before you return a rented car, you’d pay a full day’s rate, which could have been avoided.
7. Excess kilometer fees.
There’s often a limit to how far you can take your rented car. If the distance limit is exceeded you’d end up paying the excess kilometer fee as it would be recorded in the mileage of the car, and on a company installed meter, in case the renter is tech-savvy enough to adjust the millage.
8. Report All Damages.
This is a quick and easy way for your rental company to surcharge you, especially if you didn’t notice the damage
9. Be Sure To Read Contract Terms Once It Is Issued Before You Sign It.
Renters often fall into unnoticed expenses as their interest is in the car they are renting and not in the paperwork. An example is a rental company that makes roadside assistance cover an automatic alternative to a collision damage waiver insurance. If any of these events occur, the bill on your voucher would be less than what’s being requested.
You can only correct this error before leaving the office, lest whatever amounts you have been charged, becomes unchangeable.
10. Report Your Delays
In an event of a flight delay, be sure to inform your rental company as some of them don’t only cancel your reservation, but also charge you for keeping them committed.
Final thoughts
Local renters are also liable to rental expenses you incur as an expatriate; however, your rates are inflated because you are exempted from several national benefits.
At the same time, companies tend to capitalize on your potential for desperation in completing whatever assignments you have in their country. While keeping these in mind, and staying aware of the points noted above, it’s quite unlikely you fall into unnecessary expenses.
However, it’s important to keep an eye out for a clearer view of what the situation may be per company and country.
Thanks for reading.
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