subject: 4 Things You Need To Remember To Check When Hiring A Car Abroad [print this page] Considering hiring a car next time you're on holiday? Check out these 5 helpful tips to make sure the process goes smoothly.
1. Inspect the car itself - when you hire a car, you're obliged to look after it in the best way that you can. Hopefully, you'll never be in such a situation that you'll cause a lot of damage to the car, but if the company see even a noticeable dent or deep scratch on it, you're likely to face some type of fee.
As this is apparent, it's imperative that before you drive the car away from the hire company, you check it both inside and out and ensure that the company have a written record of any existing damage.
What you also have to keep in mind is that when you're doing car hire Spain and driving off the main roads, there's a good chance that the car will get scratched or suffer more wear and tear than if you were on the roads.
Generally speaking, as long as the hire company are aware of where you're going and that there's a chance the car will come back slightly scratched - which they are likely to have taken into consideration when deciding on which car to hire you - you shouldn't face any problems when you return the vehicle.
2. Look at the insurance document - whether you're carrying out car hire Spain, Turkey, America or Australia, it's important that you check the insurance document that the car hire company provides, in particular the excess sections and coverage exceptions.
For example, if you're hiring a car on the assumption that the excess is going to be affordable and hire it without checking, you're going to be in for a shock if you're in an accident and it's in fact 1,000 pounds.
Similarly, although hire companies shouldn't allow drivers under the minimum age stated on the insurance policy to drive the car, it does unfortunately happen and when it happens, it's just as much your fault as it is theirs.
It may seem like a small thing to consider, but when you realise any claim will be completely void if you have an accident and are underage, it becomes obvious just how serious it is.
3. Fees and charges - as mentioned in point 1, if you return your hire car to the company and there is noticeable damage to it, chances are you're going to face some type of fee. However, this isn't the only fee that you could potentially incur.
Whilst the company is likely to make these fees clear to you, one of the most common is a late return charge. What this means is that if you have hired the car and agreed to have it back before the office closes at, for instance, 5pm but don't return it until 5.30pm, you're going to face a fee for doing so - and unfortunately, these fees aren't often simply a few pounds.
4. Ask about breakdown cover - you've hired a car and you're driving around the local area. One of the worst things that could happen is you break down. Not knowing exactly where you are and not speaking the local language, the one thing you need to ensure you have in place to prevent situations like this happening is breakdown cover.
Depending on where you are in the world will depend on the type of cover that you receive and it may simply be the phone number for an English speaking garage. However, even if you have to pay extra for it, some form of breakdown cover is essential.
