The summer months are prime holiday times for UK travellers. Whether you’re off to Faro for some relaxing time by the pool or off to the USA for that huge road trip you’ve been planning, once it hits July, you’re in holiday mode.
With so many people heading abroad, we wanted to give a refresh of our top tips for collecting your hire car. These are busy months and the increased volumes of UK travellers can add some extra things to think about.
Be prepared
With the extra volume of people arriving at holiday destination airports in the summer months, the easiest way to make sure that your collection goes smoothly is to simply be prepared. Here’s a quick list of things to think about and have ready for when you’re about to collect the car.
- Check your papers. Have a good read of all the details listed on your pre-paid car hire voucher. If anything isn’t correct or there’s something you don’t understand, give us a call.
- Know where you’re going. All details of where to find your car hire provider can be found on your pre-paid car rental voucher. Make sure to give these a quick read before arriving so you know exactly where you’re going.
- Have your pre-paid car rental voucher ready. We email you this voucher when your booking is confirmed but if you can’t find it, you can view your booking on our site and download it again. We recommend printing this voucher out but if you can’t do that, having it on your phone should be ok.
- Are you deposit ready? If your booking requires a security deposit to be left on a credit card, make sure you’ve got a valid credit card in the name of the main driver, the pin number for that card, as well as enough available funds on the card to cover the deposit. The deposit won’t be withdrawn from the card most of the time, it’ll just be ringfenced until the rental is over at which point it’ll be released.
- Expect some queuing. This isn’t fun we know, queuing at the desk after a long flight can be the worst feeling. However, with so many travellers, queues are sometimes inevitable. Queues normally move quite fast so hopefully, you won’t be there too long.
While you’re at the desk…
You’ll have some paperwork to sign and some forms to fill out while you’re at the desk and unfortunately, this can sometimes take a few minutes. Because of this, we recommend giving yourself enough time to read through everything and make sure it’s all ok. Don’t make it so you have to rush to be somewhere.
- Like we mentioned above, make sure you’ve got all your paperwork ready and waiting when you get to the desk, this will help speed the process up.
- Don’t be afraid to politely decline any offers of local extras or local insurance that you don’t need. You’re free to take them if you wish but these are optional most of the time. If you’re unsure, call us straight away.
- Don’t be fooled by all the car hire jargon. We’ve got our very own car hire jargon buster right here for that.
- Remember that unless you book a “Model Guaranteed” vehicle, you’re not guaranteed the specific car make and model that you booked. You are however guaranteed a car with the same space, general size and specs. Car hire normally works on car groups which are explained here.
Just before you drive away…
We know you’re excited to get in the car and drive away into that sunset but taking a few minutes to really look over the car can save you a lot of trouble. Especially in the summer months, there will be more than enough light to see all around the car.
- Look for any scuffs, scratches or marks on the outside of the vehicle, report these to the rep and make sure they’re noted. Take photos all around the car and especially of any pre-existing damage.
- Check the interior for damage, even if you consider it to be just normal wear and tear, you’re always better off just making sure the rep is aware and you’ve got photo proof.
- Check how much petrol is in the tank, does this match your fuel policy? Either way, make sure to take a picture of the fuel gauge as a record for when you return the car.
- Check all the tyres have enough tread and are properly inflated.
- Check all the lights work, indicators, brake lights and full beam and dipped headlights.
- Finally, check all the gizmos in the car work. Check the aircon, the radio, climate control to make sure it’s all working properly
It’s helpful to do all of this before driving away in the car, whatever you find, let the rep know and make sure that it’s properly noted down.
Collecting your hire car isn’t always a stress-free process. However, when properly prepared and you take the time to make sure all is in order before you drive away, you can alleviate a ton of stress down the line. If you’ve ever got any issues or problems while collecting your car, please don’t hesitate to give us a call before signing anything!
