It's hard to overestimate the helpfulness of
car rental companies when it comes to long trips that require you to go around a lot. Car rental brings convenience to any type of trip, whether business, vacation, family or simple holidays. And since car rental companies are present in virtually any big and medium city across the planet, you can easily make your trip more exciting and flexible wherever you go. Still, it often makes a huge difference which car you choose to rent and how much you have to pay for it. In order to make car rental quality the last of your concerns during the trip, consider the following helpful tips on how to get the best vehicles at a fair price from car rental companies:
Don't go for the cheapest options
One of the first intents most travelers tend to have about car rental is to go with the cheapest cars for their trip. It may seem like the small and cheap cars that usually carry the lowest rental rates offer good economy, but it's a very common misconception. Small cars may have a lower gas mileage, but they often lack essential safety features, don't have much space for luggage and can't fit many people, which isn't very convenient when traveling with friends or family. As a rule of thumb, medium class cars tend to cost just a few dollars on top of the lowest rate, but this is a totally different class of comfort and convenience. And it also tends to carry extras such as GPS systems right off the factory. So don't be fooled by the false economy of the cheapest rental vehicles, and aim for something slightly more expensive and more convenient.
Assess your needs
Before addressing
car rental companies you have to define your actual needs for the trip. Will you be traveling along, with your spouse, business associated or entire family? Will the car be required for long drives or just local getting-around? Will you need a lot of space for luggage? What are the local gas prices? By answering all these questions you will be able to define which car type you will actually need during your trip, and it will be easier for you to shop around.
Choose a non-smoking car
Even if you're a smoker, it is still recommended with non-smoking vehicles for a number of reasons. First of all, non-smoking cars tend to be in a better condition, lacking the odor of chemical deodorants so common in cars used by smokers. Non-smoking cars can also cost less with most car rental companies, so it will be a good economy for your budget. And if you're very eager to smoke a cigarette every now and then, you can simply make smoking stop occasionally and admire the surrounding views outside the car.
Shop around
Comparison shopping is a very good thing in virtually any domain, car rental included. Depending on your destination, you may encounter a fierce competition between car rental companies for your money, and that's certainly a great thing for you as a customer because the offers will usually come at real market prices. However, by shopping around between companies you can find even more competitive deals, even if there are only several companies on the local market. Thanks to the Internet, doing this requires only just a few minutes and you can check out the offers from car rental companies from any part of the world.
Consider the extras
If you have special needs with your car, such as GPS navigation, entertainment system, hand controls, top racks, child seats and other extras, you have to be very picky about which company you end up getting the car from. Car rental companies will have different prices for all the extras, so if you're want to take them, make sure to review the respective costs apart from the base rental rates. It's rather common that the base rates are virtually identical while the cost of extras varies by dozens and even hundreds of dollars. So keep this in mind when shopping around and planning your trip.
