Your Options When Renting a Car

Your Options When Renting a Car

04/28/05

by David Glendinning

There are a few ways to ensure that you are finding the right car from the right company at the right price. All it takes is a little research, a few questions, and the willingness to look at all of your options.

Airport Operators

When you are looking for a car rental company, the first place everyone looks is, of course, at the airport. With companies such as Hertz, Avis, National, and a host of other familiar names, it is a logical place to start. However, while you are considering these companies, you must also consider their business. Car rental companies are at the airport because they are catering to business travelers. This means travelers who want to get their car fast. Obviously, the ability to get your car quickly is a big bonus and, since you are going to be at the airport anyway, you will be at the rental counter of a reliable, reputable rental company
lickety-split.

If you are a member of a rental company's premium club, these locations will suit your needs. You can usually get special discounts on car rentals as a member of a premium club and you may even be able to go directly to your car, bypassing the lines at the rental counter. Some premium clubs have free memberships, though others require an annual fee to be a member. If you do a great deal of traveling and vacationing, you should join a premium club to save a few dollars while you can still have the convenience of airport rentals.

As well, car rental companies at the airport often run specials in conjunction with airlines or credit card companies. See if your airline of choice is partnered with any rental companies, as you may be able to get some special deals through them. Also, check in your next credit card statement for coupons or special deals that you can use by paying with that particular credit card.

Unfortunately, since car rental companies at the airport are designed for business travelers, they are also designed for people who are using their companies' expense accounts. This means that business travelers usually have more leeway on price. They are not paying for their rental car, their company is. Those on vacation,
however, are looking to keep the costs down. This means that you may need to look for another rental company that is not right on the airport.

Off Airport Operators

One way to save some money on your rental, is to check out a few other companies that are farther away from the airport. As they are not quite as convenient for the traveler who has just arrived and they do not need to pay as much to lease their property as the high-profile companies, they will often rent for much less. As well, they need to provide good rates in order to attract your business. Competition is tough in the rental car world and the smaller the company, the more they need to provide lower prices in order to bring in customers. A larger company knows that if you do not rent a car with them, someone else will. Thus, they are not quite as concerned about bringing in as many people as possible.

Some smaller companies may have a shuttle service from the airport or even your hotel, but you may need to pay for your own cab ride to their location. Or they may even pick you up at the airport with your rental car. Give them a call and see how you need to get there or if they will come to you.

In addition, airport rentals may add a surcharge to their rates. These rates can run as high as 20% in some locations, so the few extra dollars to take a taxi downtown can save you money from the airport rental. These surcharges may not show up in the quoted rate. Find out what they are before you rent.

Once you have found some good rates, you may want to call some of the rental offices and find out if they have unadvertised specials at their locations. Franchised offices often have special rates designed to attract the locals and you can use this to your advantage. With a few phone calls, you may be able to find a car rental special that will save big money. Check in the Yellow Pages for their numbers. You can find national and international Yellow Pages either on line or at your local library.

Use the Internet

However, you may not even need to call around for rates. Thanks to the Internet, you can compare the rates for several different companies with just a few mouse clicks. There are numerous travel web sites out there that are plugged in to the various car rental companies and their rates.

Since car rental companies know that you will be rate shopping, they are willing to provide specials designed to entice you. In fact, many of these sites will have specials available that can only be found on travel web sites. For very little effort, you can find some very good rates.

If you do choose a rental company through a travel web site, be sure you know how to get to the rental location. There is no point in spending hours waiting for a shuttle that is not coming. And there is no harm in giving someone a call just to make sure you can get to their office from the airport.

David Glendinning owned a car rental business for over 8 years. Get the eBook "Car Rental Secrets Revealed" at http://www.carrentalsecrets.com