8 Untrue Myths About Car Rental Services

When it comes to car rental there are a lot of misconceptions and myths surrounding how you should find the right rental car for you and how to best protect yourself from large bills. Here we look at the most common myths in the car rental industry and explain the truth.

1. You don’t need a reservation

While you may get lucky when it comes to the car or truck that you are hoping to rent, it is always advisable that you should book ahead to make sure that the vehicle that you want is available. This is especially true if your car rental is time sensitive. For this reason, it is always advisable that you call ahead to make a booking.

2. You should only rent a car from a large company

The car and truck rental companies that you may be familiar with will often seem to be the most attractive. In actual fact, the level of service that a smaller, local operation can provide is usually higher in quality and much more personal. Also, the only reason that the larger companies are more familiar to you is that they spend their money on advertising rather than investing it back into the cars or trucks that you will be renting.

3. If the car is damaged you will have to pay

This is possibly one of the most common myths that many people believe. Rental agreements can vary a great deal from company to company so you should make sure that you have understood exactly what level of insurance that you will have before you get into the car or truck. This can save a lot of money later.

4. I can drop the car off and pick up any time of the day

You should always check the opening hours of the car and truck rental company that you’re planning to use. You should be especially aware of this during any holidays. A holiday could cause an office to close earlier than their scheduled hours.

5. It doesn’t matter if I use a credit or debit card

Using a credit card will allow you to book your car or truck with greater ease in most cases. This can be a huge weight off your minds as credit card companies often include some level of insurance when it comes to payments.

6. You will always get the exact car that you booked

While car and truck rental companies will do all they can to ensure that the car that you have booked will be available when you come to pick it up occasionally there is a need to substitute the car for another one. If this happens you will usually be offered a free upgrade so that you have not lost out at all.

7. You can rent the car or truck for as long as you want

If you think that you need to rent the car for longer than you have already booked this is usually not a problem, however, it is always worth checking to be sure. By taking the time to keep in touch with the rental company you will be going a long way to ensuring that there are no surprise fees or charges when you come to pay your bill.

8. Anyone can drive the car or truck once you have rented it

It is very common to only have one person to drive a rental car so that you’re covered on the insurance. Once again, you need to make sure that you have read the insurance details on the car to ensure that whoever is driving the car is covered.