Tips for Hiring a Rental Car

By Ben
General

Sometimes renting a car is unavoidable, you might need one on a family holiday to get around easily, or perhaps you might need one during a business trip to get to meetings and see clients.  In order to have the smoothest experience possible when renting a car, make sure you adhere to the advice in this blog post, which if followed correctly will keep you on the road and out of trouble with a less than desirable service.    



Firstly, research the companies and choices available to you, don’t just go for the first company you see, or the cheapest.  Look at the types of vehicles available, a wider choice generally means the service is more likely to be reliable, as it means they have a wide range of clients.  


Once you have chosen a company, make sure to choose a car you are comfortable with.  Try and find the same or similar model to your own car, don’t choose something you are unfamiliar with or uncomfortable with as you will be a much safer driver if you are comfortable and not distracted.  For example, if you drive an automatic, it would be advised to rent an automatic and not a manual transmission.  


Don’t be afraid to ask questions.  Ask when the car last was last serviced, who you should contact if you run into any problems, if you are provided with any emergency supplies and if you can test drive the vehicle first.  It is also important when you first start the vehicle to listen for any strange noises.  


When you have chosen a car you are happy with, it is important to familiarise yourself with all the controls before you start, such as the air conditioner, radio, lights, wiper, and fuel hatch to make sure they all work, as to lessen any potential distraction (and embarrassment) for you once on the road.  Pretend you are moving into a new apartment, do all the maintenance and damage checks you normally would, including checking for any marks or scratches, take photos on your mobile if necessary.  Ensure that the tyres are inflated and have enough tread.  Check the odometer to see how many kilometres the car has done, as this will be an indicator of the likely performance of a car. 


Like driving in any car that is not predominately driven by you, make sure the seat is comfortable for you and all mirrors are correctly adjusted.  


Finally, remember once you are on the road that this is an unfamiliar car so you should take your time to get used to it, braking early to adjust to the vehicle’s brakes and acceleration.  If you are driving in an unfamiliar place, ask the people at the rental service about the area or turn your GPS on before you leave. 


If you have any questions, comments or any experiences you would like to discuss leave them as a comment, we’d love to hear from you!  


Safe Driving, For Life.


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