Car Rental for Your Vacation

Car rental agreements are as common today, as buying an air ticket. And while we often complain of how badly the airlines treat us, many dubious practices and customer rights abuses happening daily in the car rental industry, go unnoticed.

Why? Mainly because the victims, usually a naïve first time hirer, can only himself to blame. Yes, thought it may sound harsh, it's mainly the lack of a common sense and total carelessness that becomes a huge headache for the business' customer.

Some travelers have frightening stories to tell; about how their car rental resulted in severe financial loses. Others remember being turned away from the car collection point, without the car that supposedly they have booked many weeks earlier.

These sad cases are not limited to the US. It happens in many countries, all over the world. And if you have thought that dealing with a large car rental company is safer than with a small, street corner operation, you are badly mistaken.

Yes, the large companies, be it Avis, Hertz, Eurocar, or others, will try to give you "something" to drive off. This may not be the size B that you have booked. "Sorry sir, your booking can not be realized. We have run out of cars in your preferred class. Please accept our apologies, and agree to a car size C."

More Car Rental Resources

What do you do? You accept, and show up at your best friend's wedding, in Mazda series 3, instead in BMW 323. Worse still, the reception staff may not even say "Sorry!" With the pay the service desk clerks receive, little doubts, they don't feel very enthusiastic about their customers...

And just when you were thinking that small car rentals must be better, I'll have to disappoint you. Some fly-by-night operators set out to scam innocent victims, who put too much faith in the integrity of small business owners.

As has been frequently reported, they will give you a car that has numerous dents and scratches, only to demand that you pay for the paint job, to rectify the damages that you haven't done. Unless, you have checked the duco thoroughly, before signing the rental agreement.

Another common trick is to give you the keys to the car that is not road worthy. If the engine stalls somewhere 100 miles from the car yard, you'll have to engage an expensive towing service, normally not covered under the car rental agreement with smaller renters. On some occasions, you may even be blamed for causing the breakdown, and asked to contribute to the repair costs.