Hiring a car for the first time can be an exciting, but daunting, thing. In some cases, it’s a necessity and when you want to take full advantage of your time away in a new country, it’s a must! It doesn’t have to be as daunting as you initially fear though. We at Zest want to make your car hire experience as smooth and as pain-free as possible. We’ve put together our guide on facts and tips you should know before embarking on your car hire journey. Don’t forget that if you ever have any queries, we can be contacted for assistance. Our Reservations Team are on hand to help.
Photo by: jayzynism/Adobe Stock
Before making your car hire booking
Age requirements
Different suppliers will have different restrictions set on the ages of drivers that they will hire to. Each will set a minimum and maximum age. Should you fall outside this bracket, the supplier would impose either a Younger Driver Surcharge or an Older Driver Surcharge. Where these charges would apply to you, we don’t show available vehicles. Should you get a quote on our website and an error messages displays saying there are no available vehicles for your age, this means that you would be subject to the surcharge. If you want to discuss this additional cost, please contact our Reservations Team and they’ll be able to advise on who could hire to you and what any additional charges would be.
Vehicle categories
When making your car hire booking, please be aware that you are booking a category of vehicle rather than a specific make or model. The image and model shown is representative of the category you are booking. This is why it says “Or similar” next to the category title. It can be difficult to guarantee a specific make or model as supplier’s fleets are constantly changing. The vehicle you receive on collection should be of a similar size and specification to the one booked (number of seats/doors, luggage capacity, transmission).
DVLA code
If you have a UK licence and are looking to hire in the UK, some suppliers will request that you obtain a code from the DVLA to share your licence details with them. This code will allow them to see what, if any, convictions or points are associated with your licence. You can learn more about this and hiring in the UK here.
Credit card and security deposit
All the suppliers that we work with request that a credit card in the name of the main driver is presented on collection of the vehicle to authorise a security deposit. You should not assume that you can turn up with a debit card to pay the security deposit. Your credit card should have an available limit on it to cover the security deposit that’s advised of throughout the booking process. Read more about why you need a credit card here.
Remember: You will need a credit card to rent a car. You cannot place a booking through Zest without acknowledging that you own one. Checking the box, knowing you don’t have a credit card, is not advised.
Photo by: alice_photo/Adobe Stock
Documentation need for rental
When collecting your hire car, you are required to present some form of ID, usually your passport, and your driver’s licence. The supplier may also require proof of address. It’s important that the details on these items are up to date and all correlate. Failure to present your driving licence can mean that the vehicle is refused to you and you will be charged for the whole hire. Ensure you can meet the requirements stated within the terms before you place your booking.
Insurance
All bookings through Zest include Collision Damage and Theft Waiver (CDW) with zero excess liability. The CDW comes with either no insurance excess or Excess Reimbursement Insurance (ERI). Each quote result will state which form of CDW is included. With no insurance excess CDW, the required security deposit will be lower. AS ERI is a reimbursement insurance, any excess for repair costs needed will be deducted from the security deposit which is why this is higher.
CDW is a standard car hire insurance policy. There are parts of the vehicle that CDW excludes. It is possible to purchase additional insurance to cover these excluded parts. We have partnered with an external company which are able to provide this insurance to residents from certain countries. If you are eligible to purchase their top-up insurance, this will be offered to you on Step 2 of the booking process on our website.
Rental conditions
It is vital that you read the rental conditions before you place your booking. These terms contain all the information you need to know about your rental, such as;
- Security deposit required
- The type of CDW included
- Licence requirements
- Fuel policy that the car will be hired with (these vary between supplier)
- Mandatory charges (if any)
- Optional extras (such as toll transponders, border exits etc)
Locally payable charges
In some cases, your booking will incur mandatory charges. These are charges set by the supplier that you must pay when collecting the vehicle. For example, at Faro Airport in Portugal, if you’re collecting your car at the airport, you will have to pay a mandatory Airport Surcharge. All mandatory charges are noted alongside available vehicle categories when looking at a quote result.
Submitting your booking
It is not advisable to book your car hire a couple of days before you are due to travel. In the case that this is unavoidable, please telephone us to discuss your requirements rather than making your booking online. We work on a request basis with the suppliers that we operate with and so they must confirm the availability of your chosen category for your requested dates of hire before your booking is confirmed. This avoids any potential frustration that could be caused by the category not being available when you arrive to collect.
Remember that by submitting your booking you are acknowledging and confirming that you’ve read the rental conditions and terms of hire. We strongly recommend that you do familiarise yourself with these!
Payment
Payment for your booking is taken once it has been confirmed by the supplier. The price you see quoted is converted from GBP as we are a broker based in the UK, and will be the amount you pay in your currency. Any locally payable charges will have to be paid on collection of the vehicle in the local currency.
Photo by: Photographee.eu/Adobe Stock
Collecting your hire car
Delays
If you are no longer able to collect your hire car at the time you have booked, due to a flight delay/cancellation or other reason, you must contact us as soon as possible. Even if you have supplied us with your flight number, it’s best not to assume that the supplier is able to track this. Not all suppliers will hold vehicles in the event of delays so it’s always advisable to contact us immediately so we can make them aware and request that they hold the vehicle.
Inspecting the vehicle
You should always make sure you look over the vehicle before you drive away from the supplier. Take photos of pre-existing damage and make sure the supplier has appropriately made a note of these. Familiarise yourself with the controls and ask the supplier any necessary questions.
It’s important that the supplier has a record of pre-existing damage to ensure that they don’t try to charge you for damage that wasn’t caused during your rental period.
It’s also worth taking a photo of the fuel gauge, especially if the fuel policy is return with same amount, so you can take another to compare when you return the vehicle.
Signing the rental agreement
If you’re pushed for time or feeling stressed out then the last thing you want to do is read through reams of small print. Unfortunately, we recommend that you always read the rental agreement before you sign it. Too often were hear that a customer has quickly agreed to unnecessary additional insurance because they’re in a rush and signed the paperwork to accept the charges. If there’s anything on the rental agreement that you’re unsure of, query it before you sign the paperwork. If you think you’re being charged for something extra, phone us before you drive away. We’ll be able to question the supplier regarding this and reverse any unnecessary charges. It’s very difficult to resolve these kinds of issues post-rental so it’s imperative we’re contacted at the time.
Photo by: Kar Tr/Adobe Stock
The most important thing about hiring a car for the first time
If you’re unsure about anything, always contact us at the time so we can offer support and assistance.
We offer 24/7 emergency telephone support for all our customers on-rental as we appreciate certain issues can be easier to work to resolve at the time rather than retrospectively.
We offer car hire in over 1300 destinations worldwide. Head to our destination page to get a quote for your holiday car hire.
Written by Jessica Juby.
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Good morning,
Im Portuguese, can i hire a car in your site from to portugal?
Hi Paula,
Thank you for your comment.
You can absolutely rent a car through us, but just to make you aware our website currently only displays in English.
If you have any issues booking, please let us know!
Kind regards,
Katherine
Zest Car Rental
Pour text : Payment
Payment for your booking is taken once it has been confirmed by the supplier. The rental cost must be paid for in GBP as we are a broker based in the UK. Any locally payable charges will have to be paid on collection of the vehicle in the local currency.
Buton tour booking site, i am from Canada and the price is in $C (Canadian dollars). is IT realy in Canadian dollars, no surprises for me to book my hire car?
Hi Yvon,
Thanks for reaching out to us!
Yes, you’re right – the price you’re seeing is what you would pay in Canadian dollars. There won’t be any surprises when you book your hire car, don’t worry!
If you have any more queries please don’t hesitate to reach out again.
Kind regards,
Katherine
Zest Car Rental
Your website seems to say that I cannot rent with a Canadian driver’s licence.
Is that correct?
Hi Esther,
This will depend on which country you’re booking for, but you may most likely need to apply for a International Driving Permit. An IDP is a form of driving license that enables you to drive for leisure in foreign countries and should cost $30.00 CDN.
Hope this helps,
Jake
Used gold car for 25 years, but they wanted 1,227 euros for what you offer for under 500.
If you you continue to offer these prices, we will use you forever.
Hope we get a good experience when we collect and drop off the car booked with you.
WHAT A SAVING
Regards
Colin & Ruth xx
Found your car hire information very interesting and am considering your price and terms for collecting a car from Alicante Airport.
I have a clean British paper lincense. Please confirm this is suitable with my passport to hire a car from Centauro this May for 7 days. Also that no D V L A endorsement record will be required.
Many thanks.
Dear Mr Benwell,
Thank you for your comment. I have checked the terms of hire with Centauro in Spain regarding driver requirements and these state as follows: “Upon collection, present your valid EU-issued driver’s licence to the car rental provider. You must have held this for 1 year or more. If your licence was not issued in the EU, you must also present an International Driving Permit. You will also need to provide your passport as additional proof of identity. UK licence holders do not need to obtain a DVLA code to share their endorsements prior to collection.”
This section can be found on our website when you first get a quote by clicking “View rental conditions” and also throughout the booking process wherever there is a link to view the terms and conditions.
We have checked with Centauro directly to confirm that they will accept the paper driving licence that was issued before the photocard was introduced, and they have confirmed that they will hire to you with this previous style licence.
Kind regards,
Jessica
Zest Car Rental