Ava Santa Barbara Car Rental Common Mistakes to Avoid When Renting a Car

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Renting a Car

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One thing for sure, renting a car can play a significant role in ensuring that you have hassle-free travel experience.Unfortunately, if you make the wrong decision when choosing your rental car, the consequences can be costly. Here are some of the common mistakes that you should avoid when renting a car;

Not Looking for Options

There are a plethora of car rental companies in the market scattered almost everywhere and offering different categories of vehicles. It’s a good thing as the prices too can vary. All you need to do is take time, do your research, and compare different car rental rates. Look at the services that each company provides and decide the one that best suits your needs.

Getting Extra Car Insurance

One mistake that most folks do is paying insurance twice. You don’t have to buy insurance if you don’t have to. In fact, most people have insurance coverage for personal vehicles, and if you’re already covered, you don’t need more insurance cover from the rental company. Therefore, you need to review your insurance policy or even consult the insurer to ascertain whether your insurance covers rental cars.

Choosing the Wrong Fuel Replacement Option

car hireRarely does the gas get included in the car rental price? At the start, you need to choose from the three available gas options. You can opt to fill the tank yourself as the one you received the car, you can also decide to let the car rental company fill the tank for a set rate, or lastly, you can prepay a flat fee at the outset that enables you to return it with fuel at any level but without a refund for the unused gas. Therefore, the best option is to fill the tank yourself.

Returning the Car Late

Depending on the company’s terms, returning the car late can result in extra expenses. Some can be flexible with the drop-offs, but most of the companies feature strict deadlines. Some even go as far as charging for an additional rental day if you’re late for only minutes. Therefore, you should always return the car on time and be aware of the car rental company’s late returns policy.

Furthermore, it’s wise to check if the car is automatic or manual, erase the Bluetooth history once you’re done with the car, and always avoid renting a car at any airport.