Automobiles - Where & How To Rent

When traveling by airplane, you often times will find yourself in a location in which you need a car. If you're in a metropolitan area, then you should take advantage of public transportation as best you can! But obviously, that's not always the case. Whether you're traveling domestically or internationally, knowing exactly where and how to pick the best rental car is important. As someone who has rented a lot of cars in a lot of countries, let me share some of my tips and tricks!

1. Where To Start

As with everything on the internet, if you don't have an idea of where to start your search, just googling "rental cars in..." can be a bit overwhelming. Personally, I always start with Hotwire. I moved from Los Angeles to New York (then to DC and back to NY) a little over nine years ago and with the move came getting rid of my car. Having not had a car for over nine years, but still needing to make road trips to visit family and friends, I've had to rent a LOT of cars over the years. I've found more times than not that the rates I get on Hotwire are better than any other site and most times lower than renting directly from the car rental companies.

A great thing about Hotwire (or similar sites like Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz, etc.) is that you get a ton of options. These sites will give you options from all area airports, city center locations, all classes of vehicles, and both manual and automatic transmissions (more on that below). Depending on where you're driving, having the ability to choose from a large selection of cars is nice. Having the ability to choose between an airport pick up or a different location is great too because the prices can differ greatly depending on where you pick up.

Depending on the location you're traveling to, sites like Hotwire, Expedia, and the like might actually not be your best bet. Say you're traveling to a small country or an island. Here you might find that rental cars are not easy to come by or that the location only has one rental car company that isn't listed on travel sites. If you know your destination is slightly off the beaten path, doing an initial search using the location name and "rental cars" is a good first step. I recently ran into this problem while planning a trip to Bermuda. I tried searching on Hotwire to no avail. I then searched "Bermuda rental cars" and discovered that rental cars don't exist on the island! Instead the only thing you can rent is either a Vespa (or similar scooter-type vehicle) or what I call a mini smart car golf cart. For reference, this is what we'll be renting in Bermuda:

Photo credit: Renault UK

Don't worry, there will most definitely be a post-Bermuda blog post with plenty of pics of that ride! If I hadn't done the further search I would've been very frustrated that no rental car options were coming up for Bermuda. Understanding the location you're going to is always helpful when planning logistics.

2. Manual vs. Automatic

For all you non-Americans out there, having to discuss manual vs. automatic will probably sound insane. However, for us born and raised stateside we pretty much all only drive automatic transmission vehicles. I learned how to drive a manual car (or as we say "stick shift") when I was in high school as an "in case of an emergency" situation in which that is the only vehicle available. But learning how to drive manual and actually knowing how to do it are two completely different things!

Why this is crucial when picking a rental car is because outside of the US, since everyone drives manual transmission vehicles, rental cars will predominantly be manual. When searching for a rental car, it is always important to click the filter option that only shows results that have automatic transmission. Making note of whether the vehicle you're renting is manual or automatic is very important not only for the driving aspect, but also for the price. Unfortunately for us non-manual drivers, automatic vehicles are usually more expensive. Why? I'm not sure, but if I had to guess it's because there aren't as many automatic vehicles in their inventory and only tourists rent them. And what does that mean? Money! As tourists we have to suffer the reality that we will be charged more for things simply because we can be.

Also when searching, if the site you're on does not offer a filter to weed out the manual cars, make sure you are 100% certain the car you choose is in fact automatic. I recently had to cancel five different car reservations because for some reason there was no filter for transmission, but every car was either listed as the car type with "Manual" in parentheses or just the car type. I assumed (never assume!) that meant that the cars listed without the (Manual) next to it meant it was automatic. Wrong! After the five failed attempts, I ended up going directly to the rental car company's website and booking through them. It cost about $10 more, but at least I knew I had an automatic car reserved. Having shown up to a rental car office in Scotland only to find out I had booked a manual and the automatic was $50 more (yes, almost as much as the one day rental total for the manual), I learned my lesson!

3. Know the Rules and Regulations

It should go without saying, but before booking a car you have to make sure you know the rental car company's regulations and the rules of the road where you're traveling. If you're renting a car overseas, the country you're in may have different requirements than renting a car in your hometown. I will be renting a car in Spain next weekend and I have to show my passport, my driver's license, and a valid credit card. At some airport locations they will ask you for your flight information. In other places, the age restrictions to rent a car will vary (for example, you must be 25+ in the US to rent a car). There are also added fees for border crossings in some countries. Knowing all of this before you book will make the pick up process so much smoother.

Rules of the road in the location you're traveling are also good to know ahead of time. For instance, if you're going to any country that is part of the British Commonwealth (or once under British rule), the cars will have the driver's seat on the right side of the car and you will drive on the right side of the road. If you've never been in a country in which the locals drive on the opposite side of the road that you're used to, it can be quite daunting! The first time I ever drove in England was interesting. Let's just say I veered too close to the edge of the road more times than I'd like to admit since I couldn't gauge how close I was. You may also find yourself in a country in which the street lights, road signs, etc. are different than what you're used to, so knowing what to expect before getting behind the wheel is a solid plan. And if you're in a country in which you don't read the language on the signs, you need to be prepared.

4. Navigation - Use Your Phone or Rent a GPS Device?

If you're in a location that isn't your home, chances are you won't know where you're going once you start driving. One benefit of living in our modern technology world is GPS is at the ready. Long gone are the days of going to AAA or a local travel agent and getting maps printed out (hello TripTik!) or even worse, using the giant Atlas book of highway maps! We are fortunate to have a digital device that can give us directions clearly and without the need for squinting to see street names or flipping pages. But the question is, do you use your phone or just rent a GPS device from the car rental company?

There are two important factors to consider in making this decision: price and functionality. Price is always a factor when traveling because you've most likely set a budget you'd like to stay within. If you want to use your phone, it depends on where you're traveling. If you are traveling abroad, your cell phone carrier will charge a daily fee for international service (as discussed here). Also, if you don't have unlimited data, then you risk using a lot of your data on the navigation function. If you have a cell phone plan in which neither is a concern, then it makes complete sense to just use your phone. Even if there is a charge to use your phone abroad, it is important to compare that cost to the daily rental cost of a GPS device from the car rental company. If the device is more than your phone daily charge, you might as well just use your phone. However, if the car rental company offers a great deal ($5 a day perhaps), it is most likely cheaper than whatever your cell phone carrier will charge you to turn on your service abroad.

Functionality is also important because if you're relying on the navigation to get you where you're going, you have to be able to use whichever device you choose. If you're like me, you're used to using Google Maps on your phone, so when driving in a rental car it is easy to just use my phone since I understand how to enter the destination, search for locations, etc. If you have a GPS device at home (or your car has one built in), then you may be more comfortable using a device. What's most important is that you can enter where you want to go with no issues and be on your way.

Obviously if the rental car you're given at pick up has navigation built in, save your money and just use that!

5. Refueling

All rental car companies have the same rule: return the car with the same amount of gas as when you picked it up. Most times this means a full tank. When you are going through the check in process to get your rental car you are always presented with the option of paying ahead of time to return the car as is and they'll fill it up. The price the rental car company gives for this option is usually about even with local gas stations or slightly more. Making this decision can be tough, but some things to consider are what time you're returning, what your drive on the last day of your rental will be like, whether there many gas stations near the rental agency, etc. If you know that you're going to be returning late at night, you may not want to have to find a gas station and get out to fill it up. If the weather is going to be bad (rainy, snowy, freezing) when you need to return, you may want to stay inside the vehicle. If you don't know the area at all and fear you'll have to spend too long finding a gas station nearby, it may be a waste of time (and the gas you have left). Or you may be returning the car to a different location than you're picking up and you know the fuel prices will be higher there, so better to prepay the lower rate. Whatever your reasons, it can be very convenient to just return the car without worrying about filling up. However, if none of the above issues apply to you, then it's a safe bet to fill up on your own before returning. Save yourself some cash!

Knowing the type of fuel the car takes is also very important! Depending on where you live, gas may be labeled something different where you're driving. In the US we refer to gas as Unleaded, Premium, Plus, and Diesel. In other countries you may see gas listed by numbers (99, 98, 97 or 95). It can be a bit confusing if what you're used to isn't listed. All cars will have the number/type needed for the car when you open the gas gauge cover. Just look there before selecting at the pump and you'll be good to go. Knowing how the gas is measured is also important. In the US, gas is listed by the gallon. In the UK, it will be listed in liters. That can make a BIG difference in price if you think the amount listed on the sign is for a gallon and not a liter!

One last tip to keep in mind: if you're in a car you're not familiar with and you don't know what side of the car the gas tank is on, there's an arrow next to the gas pump icon on the dashboard. Whichever side it is on, is the side of the car your gas tank is on!

Bon voyage and safe driving!