1. Check for damage. Walk around your car and take a good look. Many Consumer Traveler posts have discussed giving a rental car a good once-over before leaving the lot. Many of these stories have been illustrated by stories of customers getting billed for damages they didn’t cause.
While unseen damage on the car is probably the most expensive thing that can go wrong with a rental, there are other important issues that affect travelers. Here are three more examples from the last month of personal experience.
2. Make sure that you know how to drive the car you are renting. Learn if there are any unusual operation issues. Most rental cars are relatively standard and boring models. So it’s not that different from driving at home. Dollar-Thrifty and National-Alamo let travelers select their choice of car within a category, allowing the choice between comfortable and familiar, and “test-driving” a new model.
Sometimes, either through an upgrade or just the randomness of the universe, you can end up with a car that is very different to drive than anything you have driven in the past. Last year in Canada, Hertz had only electric cars left. However, the agent was very good about giving me the basics so I only stalled it a few times.
Recently, in Hawaii, a friend and I were given a keyless car where the transmission seemed off. There was no driver’s manual in the car, and since we were only there three days with minimal driving, we decided to deal with it. When we commented to the return agent about the problem, she said, “So no one told you that the car has manual and automatic modes?” No, no one told us. She laughed and said, “Oh, this happens all the time.”
In our case, no harm done (we think anyway). It could have been a much bigger problem in a more trafficked location or at higher speeds.
In addition, newer cars can have all kinds of bells and whistles, making even a simple thing like dealing with lights or opening the gas tank complicated.
3. Check the fuel level. Without accusing rental car companies of cheating, I can say that my experience is that they are very casual on what constitutes full when you pick up the car. With Dollar Rent a Car in Miami, the tank showed full, but it was barely at the “F.” Plus, it was late and I was tired. I didn’t want to hassle it. But, it only took about 10 miles of driving to see that the tank wasn’t full at all. It was down almost a quarter tank when we got to our hotel less than 30 miles away.
If a tank really is full, the indicator should show above full. This isn’t a huge thing, but with companies requiring that a car either be returned full or that a hefty refueling charge be paid, it means you’re likely to buy the rental car company some free gas at ever increasing prices. (In our case, I tried to leave it in a similar state, but realized we still probably put in a couple gallons extra. )
4. Read the contract carefully. Check insurance and optional items. These is getting harder and harder with the new online contracts many companies have. We rented with Avis for a day in Miami after a red-eye flight. The car was in my husband’s name and he wanted to take care of the paperwork.
The agent was particularly chatty and perky. At one point she asked my husband if he wanted “maximum protection” with insurances. He responded, “No, I’m covered through my insurance, just the bare minimum.” So they printed up the contract, and after staying out of the way I asked to see it when we got to the car. Sure enough, the agent had added “basic loss-damage waiver.”
I suppose my husband’s comment, “the bare minimum,” could have been misconstrued, but I also believe that car companies try hard to sell insurance any way they can.
I have to wonder, how many people sign up for insurance they don’t want or need? With most renters over 40 being at some stage of needing reading glasses and many car rental pickup locations being on the dark side just being able to read what you’re signing can be a challenge.
In any case, we had it removed. But, I doubt they would have done it when we returned.
No doubt Consumer Traveler readers will have other suggestions, so please share them, along with any similar experiences you might have had, in comments. Forewarned is forearmed.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
