Tips for renting a car without any nasty surprises
Planning can be tedious and we often contract services without paying full attention. We can all make assumptions or misinterpret the conditions of a service, especially when we are doing it last minute and we don’t equip ourselves with all of the information first.
Sometimes, all we want to do is pick up the car, enjoy the trip and hope nothing goes wrong. And, although more often than not things turn out okay, if you don’t want any nasty surprises, it’s best to read the conditions carefully and call if you have any queries. For us, transparency and quality customer service are fundamental values. For that reason, today we are bringing you some tips for renting a car without any nasty surprises.
Renting through a tour operator vs car rental companies
In the age of the internet, it is easy to find a dozen price comparison sites for almost any service. When we travel and are at the planning stage, we often look at several sites that act as intermediaries for booking a hotel room, booking activities or discovering an area’s tourist attractions. There are also sites that act as intermediaries between the customer and car rental company, often offering different prices, their own conditions or even their own car insurance.
The issue is that, when you contract a service through a tour operator, you aren’t dealing directly with the company that will rent the car to you, and you may miss out on important conditions or benefits. It may be that the initial price is low and appealing, but you may be in for a nasty surprise. Renting a car is a binding contract like any other, and you therefore have to treat it seriously and read the small print. One of our tips for renting a car without any nasty surprises is to head to the car rental company’s website. There you will be able to take a look at the Rental Terms and Conditions.
At Lara Cars, we like to be clear with our pricing: we include fully comprehensive insurance with no excess and unlimited mileage. This means that, as long as you follow our conditions of service, the quote is fixed and you won’t find any nasty surprises. Another advantage of renting through our website is being able to select straight away whether you need child seats, GPS…
Tips for renting a car without any nasty surprises: forward planning.
Anticipating your needs is important when choosing your vehicle properly. Some requirements are obvious, like the number of seats needed. If you are travelling in a large group, it is worth making sure the boot is big enough. When travelling with children, you often take prams and other accessories, so you may need a bigger car.
Your driving preferences are also important. If you request it, you will be able to choose between manual and automatic transmission. For an additional fee, you can also add up two additional drivers to the contract. Another of our tips for renting a car without any nasty surprises is to use the customer service department. If you have any queries or very specific requirements relating to your vehicle, contact them by telephone or email. Our team is ready to handle your needs and answer your queries. One of the questions we are often asked is about the documents needed to formalise the rental contract.
We ask for a current passport and driving licence (the physical document, not electronically) that you have held for at least two years. One important piece of information is that you must be over the age of 25, otherwise you will not be able to enter into a rental contract with us.
Now you can rent a car without any nasty surprises
If you have any more queries or would like to find out more, you can check out this blog on the 5 frequently asked questions that we usually receive. You should know that, at Lara Cars, we guarantee a fast and comfortable service so you can rent a car hassle free. You can book on our website now, what are you waiting for?
