Need Help Finding the Best Rental Car Deals?

Even if you’ve rented a  vehicle in the past  each time feels like  the first time ....  there are so many little details to remember and questions to answer to help make a decisions.


Here are a few  tips that  may  help you navigate the  world of car rentals.



1. Shop around online first. Check multiple travel Web sites to  get a see  what’s available. Check the rental car companies’ Web sites  to see whether you can get an even cheaper rate there.

2. Hunt for deals. Be sure to  check for weekend discounts or special weekly rates. If you are shopping online, be  sure to look  for little areas where you can enter a “promotional code” or “discount code.”   You may  find a coupon code that can save $$ on your rental. You  may even find discount codes through organization memberships and other affiliations you are already familiar with.


3 Opt for a smaller vehicle . Do you really need a larger car? Go compact whenever possible.  Rental  companies often run out of economy models because they’re the most popular, so  they will often try and  steer you  toward an upgrade in the hopes that you’ll cave in and pay for it. Just say no. You  will most likely  get the upgrade anyway for the economy price.


4. Gas up. NEVER  prepay for gasoline – and then don’t forget to fill the tank back up before you return. Failure  to do this, will resulting  paying much more than the market price for the gasoline you owe.

5. Be on time. If you return your vehicles  late, you may be  charged  as much as a full day’s rental, sometimes at a rate higher than before. If you are going to be late,  remember to call the agency and explain your situation. It may help. Also, find out if  you might have to pay additional fees   if you  drop the vehicles  off early.


6. Avoid airport fees. If you  are renting  from an  airport, you are  likely to pay extra fees such as airport surcharges, drop-off fees or taxes levied by local governments. Consider renting from a suburban location if at all possible to avoid at least some of those costs.

7. Supply your own car seat. If you are  traveling with children, you can save as much as  $10 a day by providing your own child safety seat rather than renting one from the rental car company

8. Take photos of vehicle  before it leaves lot. Bring your camera -that's has  a time and date code on it, and walk around that car before you ever leaves the  parking lot and photograph all  angles of the vehicle. It only takes a few minutes. Doing this assures that  it's not just your word against theirs. You will  have evidence with a time and a date stamp on your photo verifying you  didn't create that scratch on the fender or that  ding on the windshield.