Cheap car rental; car hire with Autoeurope is a great bargain!

Renting a car is a daunting task in many ways. Not only do you need to find a cheap bargain but also one that provides you with a good car and great insurance. Different car rental companies have different policies and it can sometimes be hard to know what is what. There are many different options as to how you want to make your car rental purchase. You can rent the car directly from the car rental company or you can go through a car rental broker. At particular times, one might suit you better than the other.

Autoeurope is a cheap car rental broker that also brokers for cheap flights, hotels, transfer services and similar. They have a wide network of car rental services around the world and brokers for car rental companies like AVIS and Dollar. They have many different car options, add-ons and insurances.

The following applies if you are renting your car from Europe, different policies applies if you are living elsewhere in the world.

Standard rate:

Take your pick from various sized cars, ranging from mini / economy to SUVs and convertibles. Chose a pick-up location that is convenient to you. Their pick-up locations are mainly in airports and downtown. Then chose the car that suits you. Do check what insurances are included but often you have the insurance you need for the car but personal injury covers are excluded. The rate also incorporates taxes and unlimited mileage.

Refundable excess:

There is an option to rent a car with a slightly higher price and then get a refundable excess policy. You will then be reimbursed for any excess paid to the supplier in the event of accidental damage. This means that you can then decline to sign-up for the supplier's additional excess reduction insurance when you collect your car rental. As with most insurances, there are exclusions as to what is included in this policy. For example, broken windscreens and damage done to the roof of the vehicle is not included. It is advisable to always double-check with the company as to the exact policies.

Gold rate:

The same applies for the gold rate as for the standard rate with the additional extras of 3 additional drivers and a tank of petrol included. This option is mainly open to Europeans renting a car in the US.

Guaranteed best rates:

Autoeurope provides great rates for car rentals but sometimes other providers are just that bit cheaper. Autoeurope then operates a guaranteed best rate policy. If you find a cheaper rate for exactly the same car hire as the one you have with Autoeurope, you can fill in a form and you will be reimbursed the difference. They might even beat the other price somewhat.

Voucher:

If you decide to rent the car with Autoeurope, you will receive a car rental voucher after you have paid the fee. It will include all the information needed and tell you with what car rental company you will be hiring the car. You have paid the rental in full, so all you have to do on the day is to go to the car company and hand over the voucher. Do keep your own copy so that you have it if needed when you return the car. This can provide useful if you already paid for a tank of petrol and they didn’t take note of that when you got the car.

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Where to find a good car rental

The expression; it is a jungle out there fits perfectly when it comes to car rentals. It doesn’t matter if you are renting from a company themselves or through an online broker. It is hard and difficult to fully understand the prices and what you get for your money. When it comes to renting a car you need to know so much more than what kind of car you will be picking up. You need to make sure that you have all the relevant insurances, otherwise the rental if you have an accident will prove very expensive indeed.

The best option is probably to first familiarize yourself with the main car rental companies. There are a few big ones out there such as AVIS, Hertz, Dollar, Budget and Alamo. See what they offer in terms of cars, insurance policies, free mileages and any extras and what they do charge you. Once you know what you ought to get and how much it costs, then you can go on to the online broker sites and see if you can get a better offer.

There are even more brokers out there than you can imagine. Type in cheap car rental and you will have no trouble finding websites to visit. Are they all the same you might wonder? Of course not, they vary. I have only ever used one online broker, Autoeurope, and I can say that I have been happy with them so far. Perhaps you can give some tips as to other ones?

There are of course other ways of renting a car a bit cheaper. Do a combo for instance, when you book your flight or hotel, book your car rental then too. More often than not you will then be able to get a good package deal rate. Especially if you are using a broker site like Expedia or Ebookers.

I will get back to Autoeurope and their car rentals in more details later on. In the meantime, has anyone ever had trouble with them?

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