Rental car: 10 important tips for your trip

It also pays to compare when renting a car. The offers of the various rental car providers and brokers vary, sometimes considerably. You can quickly save a few hundred francs. But be careful: When comparing, check whether the offers are identical and include all the necessary services. Often, particularly low-priced offers lack extras that have to be purchased at a high price on site.

Book your rental car early
Especially during the high season, prices can rise sharply. Therefore, book early. With certain providers, free cancellations are possible up to 24 hours before the rental start. So if a last-minute bargain still presents itself, you can cancel the existing booking and reserve a cheaper car.
A car can also be rented directly on site. However, the demand in popular vacation countries is high during the peak travel season. Therefore, it may be difficult to get a car. In addition, price comparisons on the spot are usually tedious.

Select the tank regulation Full/Full
Full tank when you pick up the car, full tank when you return it: This arrangement is usually better than the "full/empty" option, where you give the remaining gasoline in the tank to the rental company at the end of the trip. With the "Full/Full" option, however, make sure that the tank is really completely full when you hand it over. Otherwise, you will be charged a service fee for refueling in addition to a high fuel price.

Check the insurance coverage of the car
Ask the vehicle rental company for the insurance documents and study the scope of coverage. In many cases, it is worth taking out comprehensive insurance. Important: The car insurance for the private vehicle does not cover damage to the rental car!

Car rental insurance advice
If several people drive the car, they must all be insured. Especially abroad, this is often not automatically the case. Often, local rental companies try to sell their customers additional insurance when handing over the vehicle. Therefore, before you leave, check whether you already have rental car insurance (for example, by booking the car online) and what damage it covers.
Do you not agree with the insurance offered? Then reject it. Ask for alternatives - even the landlords in the vacation home are competing with each other.Are you going on vacation with your private car? Here, too, it's worth checking your insurance coverage. If necessary, you can adjust the coverage for a trip abroad before the start of the journey.

Smartphone serves as navigation system
Thanks to various apps, it is now possible to download maps offline and navigate comfortably in them. This not only saves space in your luggage, but also time-consuming downloading to your sat nav. You can also do without the sat navs offered by rental companies for a surcharge.
It is best to take your own child seat from home for your children. Many airlines transport child seats free of charge. On-site rental, on the other hand, is often expensive.

Check the coverage of your credit card
As a rule, you will not get a rental car without Visa, Mastercard and Co.: both for payment of the booking and to leave a deposit. Only in exceptional cases will the deposit be accepted in cash or by debit card. Therefore, make sure that the coverage of your credit card is sufficient to charge the amount to be deposited.
Attention: The card must be in the name of the driver. Otherwise, the car may not be handed over to you.
Also important: Depending on the provider and destination country, there are different age limits. Young drivers (usually up to 25 years) and seniors (from 75 to 79 years) often have to pay a surcharge.

Give yourself enough time for the pickup
Especially during the high season, long queues form at the counters of the car providers. Therefore, you should plan enough time for the receipt of the vehicle. If the rental company does not have its station directly at the airport, there is often a transfer to the parking lot in the shuttle bus. This wastes a lot of valuable vacation time. Therefore, check the location of the station before booking.

Study the local traffic rules
Mandatory seat belts for dogs in Spain, no stopping at red-marked curbs in the U.S. - if you don't want to catch a bus, find out about country-specific traffic regulations in good time. Also find out what to do in the event of a breakdown or accident. In non-European countries, you should have an international driver's license.

Checking the condition of the vehicle before starting
Before driving off and in the presence of an employee of the car rental company, check thoroughly whether the car is in perfect condition. Especially tires, underbody, lights, windshield wiper and the air conditioning system as well as the fuel level should be checked.
Have even minor damage (dents, scratches or paint damage) or heavy soiling noted in the contract or in the handover protocol. Otherwise you may be held liable later for defects caused by the previous tenants.
You should also obtain written confirmation of the condition of the car when returning it. It is also advisable to take photos of the vehicle with your smartphone when accepting and returning it.

Punctual return during opening hours
Certain rental companies already charge a delay of a few minutes as a full day. Therefore, return the vehicle in good time and during opening hours. This way, the vehicle can be checked immediately and a handover protocol can be handed over to you.
If you return the vehicle outside opening hours, document its condition with as many photos as possible. Attention: You are responsible for the car until the station opens again.

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