Cheap car rental: how not to be fooled? 6 tips for drivers

Have you found a car rental offer for 4 euros per day? Do you feel happiness overload? Well, it might be too early to be happy, as the total price upon the return might increase drastically. And the cheap car rental will be not so cheap after all. 

4 EUR per day for the SUV rental? Amazingly cheap car rent, right?

This article will help you not to be fooled and avoid unplanned expenses for car rental services.

Cheap car rental: is it really possible?

Let’s think: is it really possible to rent a car for 4 euros per day? The answer is simple: yes, it is. It might be that car rental companies compete intensively on brokers’ lists.

The lower the price, the higher the ranking of the rental company and thus more customers who will choose that particular rental company.

Currently, when the flights have fallen tenfold, car rental companies are using this strategy. After all, it is better to receive 5 euros per day for a car, because the alternative is…

Well, the same car that takes up parking space and generates zero revenue. Actually, it’s not a zero,  it’s a loss, because someone has to clean that 40-centimeter-thick layer of snow from the roof of the car. Well, they had to do it at least twice.

It would seem that cheap car rental is a win-win for both drivers and car rental companies. But is it really a mutually beneficial deal?

You’d say special times require special prices. Yes and no. There have always been car rental companies whose activities may not seem very fair to some of us.

So.

How to choose a reliable car rental company that does not charge extra?

First, check the reviews of the car rental company.

If people felt cheated, they would definitely share it publicly. Studies show that to mitigate one negative feedback requires at least seven positive ones.

But here is the other side of the matter: if all is great, the car is clean, the managers are nice, everything is really cool, only a handful of people will share their happines in public. By the way, they could do it more often.

Second, read the car rental rules carefully.

Please read the document before signing it. Usually it can be found online.

In addition to some of the rules, which are recognized worldwide,  some car rental companies will come up with the idea of including additional fees, for example, airport fee.

Or a car pick-up fee. Or insanely high fee for canceling a reservation or keeping the car on hold if the flight is delayed.

At TopRent you can cancel your reservation free of charge until the last minute and we will definitely wait for your delayed plane to land.

Third, find out if car rental company applies tolerance when returning the car.

That’s how long you can be late and not pay rent for an extra day. By default, this is one hour.

Fourth, some companies charge a fee for some type of payment card.

You can find this information  in the rental rules. (TopRent has never applied or does not apply such a tax. After all, it’s the 21st century, diversity and democracy, Watson).

Fifth, it is recommended to take photos of the car from all sides before driving, especially in places where scratches are visible.

And take photos once again after returning the car. No, not for memories. Photos will be very helpful if your card is charged for damage at the end of the rental period.

If you failed to maneuver to the store or accidentally got into a neighbor’s car, let the rental company know and discuss what to do next.

But if  the company tries to charge you with imaginary violations, the photos can save several hundred euros. By the way, scratches up to 2 cm are usually considered standard depreciation and you will not have to pay for them if you choose a reliable car rental company.

Sixth and the most important is a good vibe, which is created by the environment, communication with managers, interior colors, shapes and even smells.

We don’t really pay for things, we acutally pay for emotions and that good feeling.

So we wish you a good feeling when ordering a car and when you pick it up and drive.

Cheap car rental will be really cheap if you rent a car from a reliable car rental company.

Here you will find TopRent car rental offers.