FamilyTipster Advice
FamilyTripster.com's Car Rental Tips
1)
Consider NOT RENTING A CAR if you’re staying in one heavily populated city.
Most of the time, you’re better off utilizing local public transportation and
taxis than having to deal with difficult traffic and parking issues. Less stress!
Remember, you’re on vacation, right?
4) PRIOR TO TRIP: Find out if you need to obtain an International Driver’s License (available at most AAA offices)
5) PRIOR TO TRIP: Find out about the country’s road signs and what they all mean; print out reference to take with you, if possible.
6) AT TIME OF RENTAL: Try and get a car without rental car agency stickers—they make for a convenient mark for thieves.
8) AT TIME OF RENTAL: Make rental agent document IN WRITING any scratches, dings, dents prior to leaving the lot.
9) AS YOU PULL OUT OF THE LOT: Resolve to take deep breaths and remain calm. Everyone in the car must verbally accept that you will occasionally get lost or off-track and that that’s part of the adventure! Agree that it will be all right to pull off the road at safe locations to get your bearings again.
10)
AT THE FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE with the vehicle, immediately call the rental
agency and exchange it—you are often responsible for even mechanical issues
(think of it as essentially “yours” during the time of rental).
11) Watch out for DIESEL engines—and find out the local language word for “diesel” and write it down on a card you keep on the dashboard. Mark the gas cap with tape or something to remind everyone who is filling it. If you put in the wrong type of fuel, you could be charged for the roadside assistance to pump it out (can be close to $1000!).
12) CARRY ENOUGH LOCAL CURRENCY for fuel refills—don’t assume stations will accept credit cards, or the version you carry.
13) PLAN ON ARRIVING AT AIRPORT/RETURN LOCATION A LITTLE EARLY, so that you can refill fuel nearby and you’re not rushed when you’re doing (14) and (15) below.
14) UPON RETURN OF RENTAL, again photograph all sides of vehicle, again with the date and time stamp on. Ask rental agent to write on return slip “no damage upon return.”
15) UPON RETURN, ask for itemized bill. If this is in a foreign language, you may have to wait until you are home to ask for a translated version (and read it), but check it over right away.
—Lisa Bergren, FamilyTripster.com, 5/23/08
FamilyTripster.com's Car Rental Tips
1)
Consider NOT RENTING A CAR if you’re staying in one heavily populated city.
Most of the time, you’re better off utilizing local public transportation and
taxis than having to deal with difficult traffic and parking issues. Less stress!
Remember, you’re on vacation, right?
- If you’re moving on from that city and want a vehicle, rent it at that time, and from a location (such as an airport) that is easy to enter and exit. Trust us, after trying to make our way out of the center of Rome, we know of what we speak.
- Find out how much that extra coverage will cost—you don’t want to be weighing the cost at the counter, and it can be HEFTY.
4) PRIOR TO TRIP: Find out if you need to obtain an International Driver’s License (available at most AAA offices)
5) PRIOR TO TRIP: Find out about the country’s road signs and what they all mean; print out reference to take with you, if possible.
6) AT TIME OF RENTAL: Try and get a car without rental car agency stickers—they make for a convenient mark for thieves.
- This might be impossible, but you can try.
- Remember that a locked car is not a safe; never leave valuable in the car.
8) AT TIME OF RENTAL: Make rental agent document IN WRITING any scratches, dings, dents prior to leaving the lot.
9) AS YOU PULL OUT OF THE LOT: Resolve to take deep breaths and remain calm. Everyone in the car must verbally accept that you will occasionally get lost or off-track and that that’s part of the adventure! Agree that it will be all right to pull off the road at safe locations to get your bearings again.
10)
AT THE FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE with the vehicle, immediately call the rental
agency and exchange it—you are often responsible for even mechanical issues
(think of it as essentially “yours” during the time of rental). 11) Watch out for DIESEL engines—and find out the local language word for “diesel” and write it down on a card you keep on the dashboard. Mark the gas cap with tape or something to remind everyone who is filling it. If you put in the wrong type of fuel, you could be charged for the roadside assistance to pump it out (can be close to $1000!).
12) CARRY ENOUGH LOCAL CURRENCY for fuel refills—don’t assume stations will accept credit cards, or the version you carry.
13) PLAN ON ARRIVING AT AIRPORT/RETURN LOCATION A LITTLE EARLY, so that you can refill fuel nearby and you’re not rushed when you’re doing (14) and (15) below.
14) UPON RETURN OF RENTAL, again photograph all sides of vehicle, again with the date and time stamp on. Ask rental agent to write on return slip “no damage upon return.”
15) UPON RETURN, ask for itemized bill. If this is in a foreign language, you may have to wait until you are home to ask for a translated version (and read it), but check it over right away.
- Keep the original foreign-language version too so someone can compare/contrast if there’s a discrepancy. Happy travels!
—Lisa Bergren, FamilyTripster.com, 5/23/08