When it’s time to go on holiday, there are so many arrangements to be made you don’t want to forget anything. Worst of all is waiting until the last minute and haphazardly handling critical details, so when you arrive, nothing has been taken care of, and it’s possible you could be without the service of a Leiebil.
That’s a very real possibility with renting a car if you don’t take the time to book at least a few weeks before it’s time to go, especially if you’re traveling to Europe from a country outside of that region.
Each country and the varied agencies will have their own set of requirements when it comes to renting an auto as well as driving in their country – check details for car rentals specifically in Milan at goautos – leiebil i Milano (translation Go Autos – rental car in Milan). The suggestion is you can get the best deals booking ahead.
In order to do so, it will be necessary to find out the documentation the agency requires. Still, the advantage of scheduling the booking well ahead of time is that you can get the car you need (particularly if you require an automatic transmission) on the dates you’ll be visiting.
An extra few weeks will also be needed to read up on driving in the country. Learning how other motorists in the country drive will at least prepare you somewhat for what to expect.
Plus, it’s crucial to understand road signs, traffic patterns, roadways, and speeds. Having a bit of a heads up on the driving conditions can help prevent potential damages to a rental car, and ultimately that’s the goal.
Helpful Tips When Driving A Rental Car
If you’re new to traveling or at least new to going to countries in Europe, it’s wise to ensure that you try to make as many arrangements as possible well in advance since things can get missed. Once you arrive, it’s often a major hassle to fix mistakes or make changes, especially when it comes to hiring a car.
That’s something recommended to be planned roughly four weeks before it’s time to go. Doing so will avoid any missteps when you arrive and lead to a smooth process so you can move forward with your holiday or business trip.
A rental can provide the ultimate experience when visiting a location unfamiliar to you, allowing freedom and independence with exploring. The process of hiring a car can prove daunting even if you’ve done it a multitude of times. Let’s look at a few helpful hints that might reduce some stress.
● Age limits are followed closely
The age limit for renting a car in Europe is 21 regardless of whether you have a valid license at a younger age or a clean driving record. There are no exceptions to that rule.
Also, anyone under the age of 25 is subjected to an additional “young drivers fee” in an effort to protect the rental agency’s possible risk for having a “liability” with a young person driving one of their vehicles.
If there’s a group of people traveling together, it’s wise to ensure you use only one person as the designated driver and make sure the individual is over 25. That will save money and take the risk away from the agency.
● One driver
In that same vein, if you do designate one driver for the entire holiday, you can again save money. Car hire providers will add an additional daily fee for each added driver.
There are times with certain companies that they’ll waive this charge if it’s a couple or a corporate rental situation. But it’s vital to contact the provider you’ll be working with to learn their specific policy.
It can become quite a lot for one person to drive the entire holiday duration. They lose out on seeing the sites and enjoying the trip. If there’s a group of friends who go and take turns driving, however, it will be quite expensive.
● Insurance
The only reason to use the auto insurance offered by a rental car agency is if you have exhaustive efforts in finding alternatives. The cost of a car hire provider is exceptionally expensive.
The suggestion is to reach out to your personal auto carrier to see what they cover for rental cars. Sometimes personal vehicle coverage will cover rentals equally to the owned car.
It’s also wise to contact a premium credit card since many provide rental car insurance benefits. In many cases, you would need to use the card to hire the car, but the insurance products are often relatively good.
● Avoid renting at the airport
When looking at tips on how to hire a car, another critical component is where exactly to find a rental. It’s simple to go straight to a vendor when you get off the plane at the airport.
The only problem is the cost associated with making that choice. The airport mandates the car hiring providers at the airport to pay fees for doing business. That means they then pass these charges on to their clients, and they can be quite costly.
There are ways to avoid this, one of which is to take a quick cab ride to a local car rental agency that doesn’t have an association with the airport. Again, if you book well ahead of time, you can locate your airport and find agencies within close vicinity that you’ll be able to get to in no time when landing.
● Don’t go offroading
While you understand the goal is not to damage the rental car. That has been ingrained into your mindset. You, of course, would never go on an offroading excursion in a hired car, but what about the small villages that are prevalent in the countries that you’ll be visiting, especially Milano and Rome.
These are awful roads that will bang a car around. Does bumping, banging, and knocking a vehicle everywhere on perhaps a cobblestone road count? Those are definitely questions that need to be asked of the rental provider.
If you do go into these areas and perhaps knock the car out of alignment or get a flat tire, of course, you can rely on whichever sort of insurance you chose. Does that mean that would then be covered, and is that sufficient? Again, ask.
● Full fuel tank
The auto rental agency will charge you exorbitantly if you take the vehicle back with an empty tank; at least, that’s the policy for most of the companies. You receive the car with a full tank, and it’s dropped off also with the fuel filler.
Even when you have already come close to your final destination, it’s absolutely worth turning around to find a closeby gas station to fill up the tank and avoid the expense you’re about to face.
● Avoid the extras
The add-ons are very tempting, but so many are excessive and unnecessary. When you book a few weeks ahead of your scheduled time to go, check with the agency as to what some of their additional fees might be and what their add-ons are.
You can avoid the extras by taking your own things with you instead of taking on those exceptional daily charges.
For instance, the providers will try to tack on a GPS navigation. Honestly, this might be extremely necessary for some people, so if you need it to guide you, so you don’t get lost, you should sincerely take that. But it’s not necessary for people who use their mobile or are tech-savvy.
The same goes for satellite radio. It’s a great option, and most of us would love the benefit if it didn’t come at such a price. Who doesn’t love listening to some great variations of music? Still, it is something you can do without.
Some alternatives will suffice instead of paying the additional daily fee. By the time you’re through paying all the extra daily fees, you genuinely won’t have a whole lot of money left to enjoy your time on the holiday.
Final Thought
Renting a car is a good investment in your holiday travels. Remember that you can invest too much, and then you’ve lost the return on that investment. In a scenario where you’re traveling abroad, you would lose money that you could be using to have a fantastic time.