Renting a car when you go on holiday is often essential if you want to be a minimum independent on site and enjoy every corner of the chosen destination. However, it is often a source of anxiety for travellers who are afraid to leave feathers there and get ripped off. If everything goes well overall, here are some tips that should allow you to drive quietly wherever you are, without ending up out of the woods at the end of your holiday.
The vehicle category
Most of the time, when renting a car for the holidays, you choose a "basic" car, i.e. a city car or a compact car, which can carry an average of 4 passengers. The price difference between the two is minimal, the city car, the cheapest, is generally smaller than the compact and rather suitable for city traffic. The typical model of a city car is a Fiat 500 while the compact corresponds more to a Peugeot 206. A little larger in size, the compact allows you to drive in the city as well as on the road. Of course, these vehicles are the most popular and it is usually necessary to book them early enough, especially if you need them during a school holiday period
However, even if you manage to book this category of vehicle on time, it is not uncommon for the owner to tell you, sorry, that no more vehicles in the category you want are available, and that there is no longer a compact or city car. However, as if by chance, it only has much larger vehicles left, such as a large family car or even a minivan of the utility type. Attention: trap! Don't give in and demand to have a vehicle in the reserved category, because the rental companies are simply trying to "get rid of" cars that nobody wants, because they are often unbearable and they are a dry loss for them. Moreover, by agreeing to rent such a rather cumbersome vehicle, you expose yourself to risks of damage when manoeuvring, such as scratches in car parks for example and it will then be up to you to pay the costs, even if you have been accommodating by accepting the change of category!
So really, don't let yourself be intimidated, even if it means asking for your reservation to be cancelled if necessary and getting a little angry. You will see that, as if by some miracle, your interlocutor will eventually tell you that a car of the category you booked has just returned to the garage and that the problem has finally been solved!
The kilometric rate
Some car rental companies offer low-cost cars on the web, but very often the mileage rate is low and beware of unpleasant surprises if you have not read the information on this subject properly when booking! Generally, car rental companies offer a fixed price of 100 to 300 km per day and up to 800 km for a weekend, but if you leave for a longer period of time we strongly recommend that you rent a car with an unlimited mileage package. It's a little more expensive, but at least you won't have to pay any additional costs related to the extra kilometres and that can quickly cost you. Remember that the extra kilometre is 0.50 euro on average. 100 kilometers more is already 50 euros...
The rental contract
Read the contract and everything written in small print carefully. Ask your landlord what is included and what is not. If you want to cross borders, you should know that most rental companies have exclusions on this subject, written in very small letters, so it is better to know beforehand, because in case of an accident in a country where you were not allowed to go, well do not count on the rental company to send you a tow truck and it may even be that the insurance does not work..
Insurance policies
The basic rental contract generally includes third party insurance and theft/damage insurance, but the problem is the deductible, i.e. the amount that remains at your expense even in the event of a problem. It can be very high, from about 600 to 800 euros. It may therefore be useful to take out comprehensive insurance that exempts you from any deductible in the event of a problem. But it will be more expensive... Be aware, however, that if you have paid for your rental with a Gold Visa/Mastercard/American Express card, your card insurance will automatically reimburse you this deductible in the event of an incident or accident. It will be sufficient to send them a detailed report with all the elements and supporting documents. It is then necessary to count a delay of one month to be refunded
Finally, in all cases, a deposit is retained on your card at the time of rental, in the event of non-return of the vehicle or for the payment of the deductible. Normally, if everything goes well, this deposit is not debited from your account, it is simply "virtually retained". Check however that it was not charged after... it happens that some small unscrupulous renters do it by pretending that there was finally a problem on the vehicle, etc., but be reassured it is rare !
In fact, the classic deposit scam involves those who leave a cash deposit... It is often small rental companies who ask for cash on the pretext that they do not have a CB terminal. But this is to be avoided at all costs, as there is no guarantee that you will get your deposit back later and there are many scams. If the landlord does not take the card, forget it and go and rent in a big store, certainly more expensive, but much safer!
The inventory of the car
It's another classic trap: you make the inventory too quickly and realize much later that there was damage that was not your fault... To avoid any problem, we recommend that you take your time when checking the vehicle's condition. But if you're in too much of a hurry, the trick is to take a picture of your vehicle from all angles with your smartphone. The photos taken in this way indicate the date and heure ; they will attest to your good faith in the event of a dispute when the vehicle is returned.
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