Car rental abroad gives freedom to travelers and saves money.
TIP #1
Choose a simple car
In Bulgaria, in May 2020, I took a Renault Clio for a week, manual transmission, maximum speed — 150 km / h from the hill, mileage — 26 thousand kilometers.
In a week, we rolled 1500 km, the consumption is about 5 liters per 100 km. The rent cost some comic money: without gasoline it turned out 75 €. Since then, I have been gasping and groaning when trying to rent a car somewhere else.
We saw the whole country in a circle, driving along the route Sofia — Plovdiv — Burgas — Varna — Plevna — Sofia, with many stops along the way. We spent the night in the apple orchard, fearing that someone from the locals would steal the caps or steal us along with the car, in the woods by the road, hiding the car in the bushes. But more often, of course, in hostels.
The car coped with all the tests and was so undemanding and easy to handle that now I know which car I will buy myself as a workhorse if I decide to buy. Of course, there is nothing to do more than two in this car: you will suffocate and will not fit. But for traveling with a loved one, beloved or a good friend — perfect.
TIP #2
Avoid unscrupulous distributors
In Antalya, through the aggregator, I booked a car from a local distributor with the purchase of insurance with full coverage of the aggregator. A credit card for freezing the deposit did not pass “randomly” on the spot, although the car payment with the same credit card passed. And according to the rules, if without collateral, buy insurance with full coverage from them, which, of course, cost significantly more than from the aggregator.
I think this is a way to get additional rental income, since everyone knows that the entire margin of this business is embedded in insurance. And the impudent tourist went: leaves a deposit and buys insurance from the aggregator. They have minimal exhaust — just from rent.
TIP #3
Take a rented car on video during registration
Even before you have signed the documents, be sure to slowly and in good light take video of the whole car in a circle and from the inside in detail, with a special emphasis on the little things. So that everything is visible and it is clearly clear on the video that this is the moment of issue.
At least several times it helped to save a significant amount of money. In many, especially eastern countries, attempts to withdraw 50-100 dollars for some small scratch, which is a hundred years old, is a special sport for distributors. As soon as they begin to present, you open the video, and the questions are magically instantly removed.
TIP #4
Find out all the technical characteristics of the machine
There was a case in Cyprus: we went to Ayia Napa from Larnaca to the local pretty beach. On the way back we get into the car — it won’t start. 15 minutes of dancing around her in the heat under 40 degrees Celsius, with a child who is nine months old — and, lo and behold, she got started. We didn’t get home, we decided to have lunch in the center of Larnaca. From there, she went to the service already on a tow truck. The car was replaced for us, we drove the rest of the vacation to another one.
And so we fly away, my husband rents the car. We are told: “Why the hell did you fill up a diesel car with gasoline?” The husband shows the contract, where the word “gasoline” is circled several times by the manager. That is, we were strongly recommended to fill it with gasoline. “Did the word “diesel” bother you on the gas tank?” – “Not if the manager insisted on gasoline.”
In short, they paid a fine of 100 € . I wouldn’t pay at all: I’m not that experienced a user, I didn’t have diesel cars. It is said with gasoline — I would fill it with gasoline. And period.
TIP #5
Not all managers of rental offices should be trusted
There was a funny case when renting a car in Belgrade. We were going to go on the route Serbia — North Macedonia — Albania— Montenegro — Serbia, and 95% of Belgrade rental offices found in Google Maps simply did not have insurance covering Albania. And, accordingly, they did not agree to rent a car. In the end, for more or less acceptable money, there were two offices, one of which even gave a normal car on the machine.
We arrived at the car pick-up point at Belgrade airport to conclude the contract. The 2020 Renault Megan station wagon was waiting for us — the very thing for the mountain Balkans, yeah. But in general, the car is fresh and good. My driving experience at that time was about three weeks, so when the manager asked: “Can I help you get out of our cramped parking lot?” I answered in the affirmative.
Next, the manager gets behind the wheel, abruptly backs up and flies the bumper into the fence post. The bumper is strictly in the center of the soft-boiled, plus the fasteners on the left side are partially broken. I have never seen such a sharply saddened person. The guys didn’t have a replacement car, so they drove a battered one. Fortunately, the bumper did not come off with the ends on the road.
When returning the car, the same — still sad — manager came. I didn’t inspect the car at all, returned a couple of change coins and thanked that the bumper of the car remained.
TIP #6
Take cash and a credit card with you on the trip
On each trip, we rented a car in different countries, there were never any difficulties or problems. In Western Europe, it is important to book a car online in advance at a large office, such as Avis or Hertz. Usually then you can find cheaper with different discounts and promotions. In less “civilized” countries, in the south of Europe, in Asia, it is often cheaper to rent at a local counter.
In the south of Thailand, they took a car from a local rental office without a website, it was almost twice cheaper than “world” brands. In Greece, on all our trips, we rented from the locals, it also came out cheaper than from Hertz or Avis. It is important to have both cash and a credit card with you for collateral. Large offices block the amount on the card, small ones, on the contrary, prefer cash.
TIP #7
Do not drive too close to the state borders
We took a car in Italy, Turkey, Croatia, Cyprus, the USA and Kyrgyzstan. In general, no problems, everything is always clear and without surprises.
But there was a funny case in Kyrgyzstan. We drove up to the border with Uzbekistan in the city of Osh in a rented car to pick up a friend who was crossing the border on foot. We stopped near the checkpoint, 200 meters away, and waited. A friend came, but the car wouldn’t start — we did this and that, everything is useless, as if it broke irrevocably. They started calling the rental office, and it turned out that we drove too close to the border and the car was automatically blocked, since under the terms of the lease it was impossible to cross the border. The situation was explained, the car was unblocked remotely, and we drove further through Kyrgyzstan.