subject: Do Your Homework Before Renting A Car [print this page] It used to be that rental vehicles would include a load of free miles in with their regular rental fees but these days nothing is further from the truth and with rental car companies trying to keep their heads above water they are looking for the best possible ways to increase charges to the consumer by keeping the base rates low to entice customers into renting. It is a game but one that is wisely played by those in the car rental industry.
For car rental agencies to keep prices low but allow less free miles takes some doing, so it is up to the user to make sure they understand the details in the contract they sign whether it is before or after they make the agreement to rent the car. The last thing anyone wants to do is to haggle over simple details at the airport after taking a long flight, so you need to know in advance how many miles are included and the cost per mile. It always sound like a great deal when you speak to the car rental agency representative over the phone but things can always change at the last minute, so it is vital to take care of things in advance.
The cost of additional miles and the number of miles included within the rental price are likely to be figures that you may incidentally over look but these numbers can be a significant portion of the price you are paying in the end and it is for this reason that you will need to really understand what your base rate includes. Figuring out mileage takes a little bit of rounding because if it will take you 100 miles to get to your destination then you will not only need to include 100 miles each way but you will also need to figure out how many miles you will burn through while driving around at your destination and also need to include some extra miles for any detours or wrong turns taken.
Make sure you understand exactly what the mileage is on the contract because you will almost go over that amount and the price at the counter when you check out might be a lot more than you expect. Don't allow yourself to be tricked when you get to the checkout line and need to come up with extra money when you have already spent a lot of extra money on you vacation.
It is not easy to figure out the mileage you will be using, but the most important thing is to do the best you can to get close to an accurate figure and budget your way from there. At least, do not come home from your vacation with a gigantic bill from a rental car agency.
