I don’t know about it you, but I love to drive. I love the freedom that it affords - particularly when you are on holiday and want to explore the surrounding areas. Don’t get me wrong, local transport is also fun! Check out my blog on travelling in Mexico with the locals. When it does come to hiring a vehicle though, it is best to be prepared for all of the tricks of the trade to not get conned out of having to pay more money than you need to. So here are my top 5 tips for you when you come to hire that next vehicle based on a number of years of experience with hiring vehicles abroad.
1. Check the car before you drive off!
I have found that often hire companies in foreign countries give you cars that are full of scratches, chips and in one case for me, the whole wing mirror cover was no longer attached. Based on this, it is highly advisable for you to check the car thoroughly before you drive off through the gates. Most of the time, you will be given a piece of paper which marks on where the major damage has already been recognised. Check this through and make a note of any ones which are not there. If you do spot some new ones, then make it known to the hire company before you leave. The worst thing would be for you to come back and they try to claim that you have caused damage to the vehicle. It may be late at night when you pick up the car and you may be tired after a long flight, but this will save you headache and stress later down the line.... on that note, carry a little torch with you in your hand luggage if you are picking up a car on arrival at night. It definitely comes in handy!
2. Take photos of any damage on (and in) the car
An extension to the previous point. If you have had the misfortune of using a company as unprofessional as the last one that we have used in Spain, you may know that they will not tell you where the scratches and dents are when they give you the vehicle. They leave it up to you to try and photograph all of the damage, and when you take the vehicle back, you have to prove that the damage was not done by you. Now this for me is a complete and utter con, so please do not be caught out. Luckily for us we took extensive photos of the car both inside and out, despite it being at night, including photos with the company logo and building in the background to try and negate any possible implication that we had doctored the photos afterwards. I decided to take photos when I took the car back too, just in case they decided to try and pin any future damage onto our hire. As I said - totally unprofessional company. Better safe than sorry though, right?!
3. Check for limits on mileage
There are some companies that will have finely written in the small print that there is a limit to the number of miles or kilometres that you can do whilst hiring the car. If you go over this, then you face a hefty fine which most of the time seems to be on a per mile / kilometre basis. It is better to be prepared on this beforehand so that you can either (1) up the mileage if you know that you will be travelling far and to give you that extra piece of mind, or (2) keep it but at least know that you should keep an eye out.
4. Ask for your receipts
Dependent on the type of car insurance that you will have taken out when you hire the vehicle, you may be asked for a credit or debit card which will be used as ‘insurance’ in the event of damage. This will typically be in the range of £1500 (give or take). This value will be blocked on your card so that you will not be able to use it for the duration of the holiday. When you take the car back and they say that it has been cancelled they should give you the receipt to show that it has been void. Do not accept anything else. An illegible signature at the bottom of a form implying that it has been cancelled is not really good enough. It might be a little bit of extra paper in your luggage, but again it will be piece of mind in the long run.
5. Check for any compulsory regulations for the country
This would be useful to know even if you are driving your own car in a foreign country. There are different regulations for each of the countries in Europe. It is a good idea to know about these before you go so that you can at least be prepared if something is missing in the car if you are hiring. If you get stopped by police, it won’t matter if you are hiring the vehicle (or a foreigner), you will get a warning and most likely have to pay a fine.
Triangle: Across all of Europe you will need to have a triangle in your car in the event that you are to breakdown. Please check before you travel. In Spain, for example, you need to have two triangles in the car. These should be provided by the hire company so again, check before you leave with the car at the beginning of the trip.
High Visibility Vests: Certain countries require there to be a high visibility vest per passenger that is in the car. Again for cases where you are to break down, it is useful for every passenger to be visible to the breakdown services and to other road users.
Driving in Winter: If you hire a car in the winter months, then certain motorways require there to be snow chains available for the vehicle. This is particularly true in mountainous regions such as in Italy, and this is not limited to high mountain roads - this is also applicable to some motorways. You can hire snow chains from the hire company, or ask if they have winter tyres installed on all of their vehicles and whether you would therefore need the chains.
Breathalyser: If you are travelling through some countries such as France, you will need not one but two breathalysers in the vehicle at all times. I would think that you would need three as if the police do stop you and then ask you to use one, you will then be driving illegally. Who knows!
Driving Licence: In a lot of countries across Europe it is compulsory to carry your driving licence and a form of identification (such as a passport) with you at all times. This is particularly important if you have the misfortune of being pulled aside for a routine check by the local enforcement officers.
Some general tips: if you struggle to remember which side you refill on, there is a little arrow next to the fuel gauge symbol on the inside of the car which points in the right direction. You may have already known about this, but I once I discovered this little nugget of information, I have to say that I found it very handy.
So, I hope that this provides some ideas for when you next hire a car abroad. Are you planning on hiring a car soon? Happy driving and exploring!