5 Tips for a Flawless Car Rental Pick-Up (Avoid Common Issues)

Picking up your rental car should be an exciting start to an adventure. Yet, the car rental pick-up procedure can often be stressful, requiring quick decisions under pressure. Aggressive upselling tactics, rushed car rental inspections and generally being put on the spot to make decisions can be really frustrating. Nobody wants to spend extra money on things they are not fully familiar with. That’s why this guide will equip you with tips and tricks for a smooth car rental pick-up, helping you avoid unnecessary charges and even secure a better deal.

In this section you will find the most valued car rental tips as it saves a significant amount of money, because people tend to give in to the rental agents persuasive upselling tactics! Before heading over to pick up your rental car you should know what kind of coverage is included in your car rental service. We highly recommend booking through our discount link, because the full coverage offered there is usually the best on the market. It covers the whole car exterior (including windshield, wheels and tires) as well as things like taxi, towing expenses, lost keys and many more. Most importantly, it costs 2-4 times less than buying insurance at the counter.

You can also choose to use your credit card’s car rental insurance or any other car rental insurance provider, just make sure that you know the claim procedure if you need to use the insurance service. With full coverage booked through our link, the procedure is as follows:

1. The car rental company will charge your deposit and/or ask you to pay for the damages. The amount to pay will never be higher than the deductible amount in your booking confirmation voucher. You might get an admin fee which would be on top of the deductible amount, but don’t worry, because the full coverage insurance will cover it!

2. After logging in to your booking you will have to submit a claim and provide the required documents.

3. The platform states that claims are solved within 48 hours. From our experience, they are solved much faster and customers receive their compensation within 24 hours.

Car rental companies are very enthusiastic about selling you their full insurance packages at the counter. You are likely to hear that your third party insurance is not valid with them and that you must purchase their full insurance. That is simply not true. Your full coverage is valid for you and you have no obligation to purchase any additional products from them. Our guide to full insurance in Sicily explains how full coverage and the deposit on your card work together. You will even this warning in your confirmation email. Driving in Italy? Our car rental in Italy guide covers deposits, ZTL zones and motorway tolls.

You might want to make a video of the car’s exterior or take pictures of existing damages. However, full coverage, if selected, will compensate for any damages. While you can verify damages in the pick-up section of your agreement, weather conditions like darkness, snow, or rain might hinder your inspection. Late arrivals add another risk: some desks hold your booking for only an hour after the agreed pick-up time. Our guides to car rental at Bari Airport and Trapani night arrivals show which desks wait for delayed flights. There are some items which are not covered by your usual car rental coverage. These car rental tips will save you money!

1. Safety equipment. In most countries it is mandatory to have first aid kit, warning triangle and a fire extinguisher in your vehicle. Also, these items can be easily missed by car rental agents as it requires them to perform additional actions to check if they are present in the car. We highly advise you to check for these items during the car pick-up.

2. Boot cover. Some cars may come with removable retractable boot covers. Sometimes they are removed to make more space for luggage and are fairly often left at hotels and apartments. Interior items are not covered by full coverage insurances and you could get charged for it if a car rental agent did not mark it as missing after a previous customer.

Autorentwiz tip: If these items are missing, rental companies may be reluctant to provide replacements, as they might not be available. Instead, ask your agent to mark these items as missing in your contract, or send them an email with a photo confirming their absence at pick-up. Do not rely on verbal agreements, as they are often insufficient proof if you are charged for the missing items.

When you book a rental car, you are actually booking a car category or class, not a specific model. Car rental models are classified by ACRISS car classification codes. This is one of our favourite car rental tips, because the car classification is so broad and you can easily get a much nicer vehicle!

These codes are not visible when you make a booking and you won’t know what car you will receive until you arrive at the car rental counter. Rental companies wait until after bookings to prep their cars, and that means you get to choose from 2-4 different options!

So now that you have different options to choose from, here is what you should pay attention to the most:

1. Mileage. Getting a fairly new car can be more exiting. You’ll also more likely find features such as Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

2. Size. In EDMR class you can have Volkswagen Polo and Toyota Yaris. Polo will have a boot space of 351-litres and Yaris will have just 286-litres. That is a 22.73% difference in boot space and can make a huge difference if you are travelling with more luggage.

3. Fun factor. Different countries can provide you with the thrill of driving a car model which is not present in your home country. Why not be more adventurous and drive something unusual. 🙂

Want a massive car selection? Search through our discount link, from budget-friendly cars to luxury coupes, and find your ideal rental with Autorentwiz’s expertise. Message us to get an offer from a car rental expert!

Disclosure: I (Simas, founder of Autorentwiz) worked with Discovercars as a car rental supplier with ADCRent. They have been the most fantastic partner out of all the platforms we were working with. Autorentwiz earns a small commission at no additional cost to you if you book via our affiliate link. I also encourage messaging us to get advice or a personal offer tailored to your needs. We are always happy to consult you regarding any car rental questions.

When you choose your rental car it will either come with a full-to-full or same-to-same fuel policy.

Full-to-full means that you will receive your vehicle with a full tank of fuel and you will have to return it full as well.
Same-to-same means that you will receive your vehicle with unspecified amount of fuel and you will have to return it with the same fuel level or more.

If your car rental has a full-to-full policy, then you might get offered a full fuel tank option at the counter. This means that you can basically return the car with any level of fuel in the fuel tank. So what is the point of such service? Well, if you will be running on a tight schedule on your car return day and don’t want to go through a car petrol station then this option will definitely save you some time. Also, if you feel nervous about going for a fuel up in a foreign country then this service will also be beneficial for you

On the other hand, this service will cost slightly more than a full fuel tank in that country. If you choose this service, the rental company hopes that you will return with some fuel left in the car and will be making money from the difference of what you paid and what the refuelling costs.

The car rental agent might be pushing this service to you saying that it costs the same amount as filling up in the petrol stations so make sure to use this car rental pick-up tip!

We recommend choosing this service on three occasions:

1. Journey is planned very precisely and you know, that you will return the car with almost an empty fuel tank
2. You are terrified of fuelling up the car in a foreign country
3. You will be rushing to return the car and do not want to deviate from your plans

If you are travelling in Europe, you can check the fuel prices before you make the decision as well.

Want a better car rental deal? This car rent pick-up insider tip could save you money and upgrade your ride, even after you’ve confirmed your booking.

Let’s imagine that a rental company has 1000 cars in their fleet at one given location. Now try to picture how the reservation chart for them might look like. The image should have a lot of booked days and some tiny gaps when there is a day or two between each booking. Car rental managers love it when you can switch around assigned vehicles so that it eliminates unnecessary gaps in between.

When you arrive at the car rent company counter, ask your agent if there are any special upgrade offers today. You might be able to grab yourself a higher class car or a premium model for much less than you would’ve paid during the booking process. Of all the add-ons offered, upgrading to a more enjoyable ride is often the most worthwhile.

Here is a short version of our most important car rental tips. Feel free to print it out, screenshot it or take it with you in whatever way is most convenient for you. We advise you to cross out each tip and move on to the next during your car pick-up procedure:

1. Make sure you have full coverage, understand its terms and decline any offered additional cover at the counter.
2. Ask what kind of vehicles you can choose from.
3. Ask if there are any special upgrades available for your booking.
4. Decide if you want to get a full fuel tank optional service.
5. Inspect if the vehicle has a first aid kid, warning triangle, fire extinguisher and a retractable/foldable boot cover.

Are you interested in getting an offer from Autorentwiz? Message us here to start a chat with one of our car rental experts.

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