Renting a car abroad can sometimes be very useful in certain countries. Indeed, during your travels, you will certainly have noticed that to visit certain countries, the car can sometimes be essential if you do not want to waste too much time on public transport.
Also, car rental while traveling allows you to be completely free on your schedule, without being conditioned by the bus or train times.
To avoid trouble when renting cars abroad, this article brings together several tips. It is also the fruit of my experience in terms of car rental abroad.
Give Preference To Large Car Rental Chains
When you want to rent a car abroad, choose the large car rental chains located worldwide. These large chains already guarantee the reservation's reliability; you are much more likely to find your car correctly when you arrive.
Also, the cars rented by these large chains are often (I often specify) more recent but above all better maintained than cars rented by independent rental companies.
For example, I remember a car rental in Pakistan through an independent rental in Lahore. I got back was not necessarily very young, but above all, the tires were, for example, strongly deflated. I have never encountered this problem with large car rental groups.
Also, the big car rental companies almost always offer packages with unlimited mileage, convenient for car rental abroad during a trip;)
Avoid Booking Directly With Large Rental Companies
When you want to rent a car abroad from an international rental company such as Carlay Car Rental or Budget, for example, you have two possibilities:
- make your car rental reservation directly on the rental company's website
- make your reservation with a website negotiating the best prices for a car rental
The second solution will cost you much less, up to 2 times less.
For the second case, I opt- systematically to pay for my rental car abroad at the best rate.
For that, I always go through Rental Cars. In a few clicks, Rental Cars gives you the price per rental company and vehicle category. Very convenient!
Rental Cars offers the same booking possibilities as car rental companies:
- Choice of departure/arrival cities
- Choice of schedules
- Possibility of taking out additional insurance
You will end up with a Carlay Car Rental car at a price two times cheaper than if you had gone through the rental company's website;)
You have to print the RentalCars voucher and present it to collect your vehicle. Simple and efficient!
Zero Deductible Insurance
When you rent a rental car from a site offering negotiated prices, you will be offered zero deductible insurance. In the event of an accident, your excess will be refunded even if you are at fault.
The big rental companies offer this same service and always more expensive than for the sites with negotiated prices like Carlay Car Rental.
However, there is a fairly significant difference between these two insurances:
- the large rental group offers genuine zero-deductible insurance: in the event of an accident you pay nothing
- the site offering rates negotiated with large groups offer you the reimbursement of your excess in the event of an accident; In other words, in the case of an accident you would have to advance the deduction sum, fill out paperwork and then be reimbursed
As you will have understood, zero-deductible insurance from large rental companies is preferable but more expensive. I'm not giving you an idea of these prices because it depends on the rental companies, but we can go from single to double.
Zero deductible insurance can be reassuring when you rent a car abroad: you can be sure that you will not run into the risk of paying 200 or 300 $ deductible in the event of an accident.
It should also be noted that certain bank cards (such as Visa Premier) include reimbursement insurance for the excess, subject to having paid for your rental with your bank card. Find out how not to pay for an option you already have with your bank card.
I take this opportunity to stress the importance of choosing the right bank for traveling. This is essential for insurance-linked to the bank card but also to reduce payment and withdrawal fees.
Change Departure / Arrival City
When making your reservation, you can specify your departure city and your arrival city. Sometimes if you specify a departure city different from the arrival city, the rental amount will be higher; it depends on the distance between the two cities. Sometimes, you will not even be able to return your rental car to an agency other than the one where you collected your vehicle.
It is easy to look at these possibilities on the Internet and compare prices. Indeed, during a trip, it may be interesting to collect your rental car in a first city, make a circuit and return your rental car in a different city without having to return to your point of departure. This is all the more true when traveling abroad with a low-cost airline, allowing you to take two one-way flights without paying more.
Looking for the best rent a car in Lahore? Carlay Car Rental is just right for you. We provide excellent car rental services with an affordable price range and provide all the necessary services to make our customers ride better.