Can You Find The Cheapest Car Rental Online?
_Renting a car in a country as big as the great United States of America is often a necessity. You've landed at some city airport but your destination is several hours away in state? You need a rental car. The only problem is – cars aren't cheap.
And all too often renting them does not come cheap either. However, if you know a few tricks of the trade there is no reason for you to pay through the nose for the many benefits of hiring a rental car.
How to Get the Best Deal
So, what is the best way to find cheap car rentals? It really depends on your situation. A lot of businessmen need to rent cars and as such their businesses have deals set up with the rental companies offering a discount.
Check with your boss or supervisor to see if this is the case with you. If you don't have a deal set up, or you are traveling for personal reasons then this clearly is not the option for you. Instead you should know that the best way to find a good deal is not in the phone book or out pounding the street: it is by logging online.
Cheapest Car Rental? Get Online!
All of the big car rental companies have websites. These websites are thoroughly informative and will fill you in on all the options that are available to you. At this point you should take out your wallet.
Don't look at how much money you have in there yet, we'll come to that! No, what I want you to do is take out all your cards and spread them out in front of you. Line up your credit cards; then start foraging further. Are you a student? Perhaps you serve in the United States Armed Forces? Are you a member of any club or organization? Much like other businesses, credit card companies and clubs or organizations often negotiate deals for their members with car rental companies.
This might only amount to 10% or so but it is well wroth your time to become fully acquainted with all the deals that you are entitled to! Rather than looking up the deals on all the individual cards themselves go on the car rental company website. they should have a list of 'affiliated partners'. If they don't - email them!
Know Your Requirements!
Now, let us look at the ways in which you can save some money by finding the best deal. Think about your requirements. Do you need to rent out the hottest looking convertible or the most commanding pick-up truck in the showroom, or could you handle driving a tiny European car? The bigger and more expensive the car the more expensive your daily rental figure will be.
Also, you will have to pay for all the gas you use and you will probably have to return the rental car with a full tank. Your pick-up truck might look the business but it is a serious gas guzzler. The efficient European cars however will cut your fuel bills and save you fist-fulls of dollars. Think now about the requirements of your journey. Can you return your car to the branch where you originally hired it from?
Or do you plan on driving to another location and leaving the car there. If it is the latter, be prepared to be hit by what is called a 'one way fee'. This is levied because of the inconvenience the rental company has in returning the car to its original location. This fee is usually over a hundred dollars, which is severely irritating.
Do you really need to drop it off at another branch? On such considerations are the cheapest car rental deals founded!
Rental Car Insurance?
After you have negotiated the best deal available to you there will inevitably come a point when the hire company offers you rental car insurance. There will be several options available to you, from the most basic fire and theft packages to fully comprehensive ones. Predictably the more extensive the cover the more you will be expected to pay.
This will bump up the price of the car rental a decent amount - so be prepared. You will certainly ask yourself: is it worth it? Honestly? It absolutely is. I know this from bitter personal experience. By not taking out rental cover to save a few dollars, I ended up having to pay over a thousand dollars to repair the damage caused by a relatively minor bump.
Not taking out insurance is a huge gamble and you could end up paying thousands of dollars because you wanted to save a hundred dollars or so. You've been warned!
Seriously Cheap Car Rentals
If you have to rent a car to go from A to B then the one way charge can be a real pain - but you can see why the rental companies charge them. However, their relocation problems can actually secure you unbelievable deals. If you are flexible with your rental requirements you could end up renting a car for as little as a dollar a day - with the fuel thrown in for free. How? Get online and search for relocation rental notice-boards.
Rental companies need their cars redistributed, and they will cut you a serious deal if you can do it for them. You can ever send the relocation company (the middleman in all this) your travel itinerary and they notify you if anything comes up! Well worth firing off a quick email!
And all too often renting them does not come cheap either. However, if you know a few tricks of the trade there is no reason for you to pay through the nose for the many benefits of hiring a rental car.
How to Get the Best Deal
So, what is the best way to find cheap car rentals? It really depends on your situation. A lot of businessmen need to rent cars and as such their businesses have deals set up with the rental companies offering a discount.
Check with your boss or supervisor to see if this is the case with you. If you don't have a deal set up, or you are traveling for personal reasons then this clearly is not the option for you. Instead you should know that the best way to find a good deal is not in the phone book or out pounding the street: it is by logging online.
Cheapest Car Rental? Get Online!
All of the big car rental companies have websites. These websites are thoroughly informative and will fill you in on all the options that are available to you. At this point you should take out your wallet.
Don't look at how much money you have in there yet, we'll come to that! No, what I want you to do is take out all your cards and spread them out in front of you. Line up your credit cards; then start foraging further. Are you a student? Perhaps you serve in the United States Armed Forces? Are you a member of any club or organization? Much like other businesses, credit card companies and clubs or organizations often negotiate deals for their members with car rental companies.
This might only amount to 10% or so but it is well wroth your time to become fully acquainted with all the deals that you are entitled to! Rather than looking up the deals on all the individual cards themselves go on the car rental company website. they should have a list of 'affiliated partners'. If they don't - email them!
Know Your Requirements!
Now, let us look at the ways in which you can save some money by finding the best deal. Think about your requirements. Do you need to rent out the hottest looking convertible or the most commanding pick-up truck in the showroom, or could you handle driving a tiny European car? The bigger and more expensive the car the more expensive your daily rental figure will be.
Also, you will have to pay for all the gas you use and you will probably have to return the rental car with a full tank. Your pick-up truck might look the business but it is a serious gas guzzler. The efficient European cars however will cut your fuel bills and save you fist-fulls of dollars. Think now about the requirements of your journey. Can you return your car to the branch where you originally hired it from?
Or do you plan on driving to another location and leaving the car there. If it is the latter, be prepared to be hit by what is called a 'one way fee'. This is levied because of the inconvenience the rental company has in returning the car to its original location. This fee is usually over a hundred dollars, which is severely irritating.
Do you really need to drop it off at another branch? On such considerations are the cheapest car rental deals founded!
Rental Car Insurance?
After you have negotiated the best deal available to you there will inevitably come a point when the hire company offers you rental car insurance. There will be several options available to you, from the most basic fire and theft packages to fully comprehensive ones. Predictably the more extensive the cover the more you will be expected to pay.
This will bump up the price of the car rental a decent amount - so be prepared. You will certainly ask yourself: is it worth it? Honestly? It absolutely is. I know this from bitter personal experience. By not taking out rental cover to save a few dollars, I ended up having to pay over a thousand dollars to repair the damage caused by a relatively minor bump.
Not taking out insurance is a huge gamble and you could end up paying thousands of dollars because you wanted to save a hundred dollars or so. You've been warned!
Seriously Cheap Car Rentals
If you have to rent a car to go from A to B then the one way charge can be a real pain - but you can see why the rental companies charge them. However, their relocation problems can actually secure you unbelievable deals. If you are flexible with your rental requirements you could end up renting a car for as little as a dollar a day - with the fuel thrown in for free. How? Get online and search for relocation rental notice-boards.
Rental companies need their cars redistributed, and they will cut you a serious deal if you can do it for them. You can ever send the relocation company (the middleman in all this) your travel itinerary and they notify you if anything comes up! Well worth firing off a quick email!