Hiring a car is deceptively simple if you’ve never had to do it before. That’s typically how the companies get as much as they can out of you; they take advantage of what you don’t know. Many of us think of it as an A-to-B transaction: You book a car, you arrive at the rental, you pay a deposit, and you drive away, happy as can be. In reality, you might deal with everything from intense upselling to small return and insurance details that result in massive fines.
Fairview car hire in Heathrow is straightforward if you know the ins and outs. We can help with that.
Fuel Policy
Your rental company will almost certainly have a policy in the contract for petrol levels on return. That policy will tell you where your fuel tank should be before you return the car to the company. Usually, a failure to comply means you’ll be charged more, so you don’t want to overlook this!
A common policy is the full-tank one. Here, your rental car has a full tank of petrol when you pick it up, and you’re expected to return it the same way. This one is fairly easy; you can ask at the rental where the nearest petrol station is right before returning the car.
In a similar policy, the rental might ask you to return the car with exactly as much petrol as it had when you picked it up. In this case, you pay for what you’ve used and no more, which makes it a particularly good option for travelling on a budget.
What’s the Starting Condition?
There’s a key similarity between renting a car and renting a flat: You’ll want a record of how it looked when you first acquired it. When renting a flat, it’s crucial to take extensive pictures of damage and unusual features to ensure you’re not blamed for them later on; the same applies to your rental car. Be sure to give both the interior and exterior of the car a thorough inspection for any dents, scratches, discolorations, and other abnormalities. Make sure these photos are timestamped and demonstrate that it’s impossible for you to have caused the damage. That way, when returning the car, you can demonstrate that you’re not responsible.
What’s the Plan?
There are a range of broader considerations you’ll want to have before choosing your rental vehicle. It all has to do with your destination. A car hire for the Lake District is very different to a rental for down town London. You can certainly drive the same car in both locations, but one experience will be much more comfortable than the other. Here are some questions to consider before booking:
- How much time to you expect to spend in the car itself during the trip?
- What will traffic conditions be like where you’re driving?
- What will your parking situation be? Will you struggle to find parking for a larger car?
- What will the weather be like? Will your car get very dirty throughout the trip?
So now you know the ins and outs of hiring a car, are you ready to pack up and explore the open road?
