If you are going on a flight this summer, you should of course rent a car. Unless you're in the middle of a big city, a rental car is undoubtedly the best way to explore the area.
The car rental companies belong to the tourism industry - an industry which unfortunately does not have the best reputation in the world. If you're on holiday, it's easy to feel cheated. Don't let it ruin your vacation!
Floating prices
Searching for a rental car online is like searching for cheap plane tickets. Everyone wants to find the lowest price, but ends up comparing "lobster and canary". Are the car models identical? Is it possible to compare the insurance terms? You will not see the final sum until you have gone through the entire ordering procedure. It is not certain that RyanAir will be cheaper than SAS when all the supplements are ultimately factored in. You can find the same in the rental car market.
To add to the confusion, the prices are constantly changing.
I had just searched online for a rental car. The prices were higher than normal because our holiday coincides with the joint holiday in Southern Europe. After checking various travel portals, I ended up with the relatively new rental car site Norwegian.no which I have used once before. The service is provided by CarTrawler. Unfortunately, the impression is reduced by several errors and omissions on the pages.
Had I found the cheapest offer?
Shortly after I ordered and paid a deposit, an advertisement appeared on Facebook that the rental car company I had just ordered from was offering a 15 percent discount for the month. Ouch! Had I paid too much? - And why did I get an offer just after I had ordered?
It is en thing you mustn't know before you sign the contract and drive off, - namely how much deductible you are responsible for. In a normal contract, you can be responsible for more than NOK 20 that is reserved on your credit card when you pick up the car. Then you should take out additional insurance (LDW) which reduces the excess to somewhere between around NOK 000-3000. Some companies, for example Europcar og Sixt, the deductible reduction is included in the prices. The discount company GoldCar - with more - requires additional insurance.
You can actually have the excess reduced all the way down to NOK 0, but that insurance often costs as much as the rental price itself. If you park in a shabby area, this can still be money well spent for a carefree holiday.
Another insurance you need is "glass and tyres". It is not covered by ordinary rental car insurance. If someone punctures your tires in the dead of night, you have to cover the damage yourself - maybe even a tow truck. "Glass and tyres" insurance is relatively affordable (about NOK 50 per day), and is recommended if you have to park along the street at night.
Alternative insurance.
If the rental car does not start, the rental car company will come and collect the car free of charge. But if you fill in the wrong fuel or lock the keys in the car, you have to pay for the recovery yourself. You can take out additional car towing insurance (approx. NOK 30 per day). If you are a NAF member in Norway, you do not need this insurance, as NAF also covers your rental car abroad.
Rental car insurance is quite complicated. If you haven't prepared, it's easy to get overinsured. This has created a market for third-party insurance companies that offer a kind of "non-nonsense" insurance above what the rental car companies' basic insurance does not cover. The advantage is that you are fully insured with one keystroke and can politely decline all insurance offers at the counter. In addition, the insurance from the third-party company is significantly cheaper than with the rental car company. The scheme works well in practice. Should the accident happen, you must collect documentation of the expenses you have had in relation to the rental car company.
Is it worth ordering in advance?
If the rental car companies have many available cars, there are opportunities to get a good offer without having booked in advance. Often the companies have some kind of favorable campaign that you can only get at the counter. In addition, they can upgrade you to a better car, - especially if you are a registered customer in their loyalty program and they know that you are on your way to check the prices of the competitors. You can get an offer that exceeds what you can get by ordering online. But you might as well be turned away at the counter. If your further journey is based on a rental car, you may end up with an outdated and completely overpriced car - the one that no one else wants. I have experienced both. The safest thing is to order in advance.
You never know which car you will get.
As a car enthusiast, I would like to be able to order a specific car model. You can't do that, as long as it doesn't explicitly say "Guaranteed car model". For example, if you order a BMW 1 series or similar, you might as well get an Audi A3 or Volvo V40. Remember that the counter staff will be happy to sell you something more. If you are not completely satisfied with the choice of car, you can ask if they have any alternatives. Maybe you only need to put down a couple of tens extra per day to get a car you really like. That you then mustn't be careful, is to have the total sum calculated before you accept. The staff usually only state the price supplement in rent per day. A more expensive car also means more expensive insurance - and if you have the car for 14 days, the total price can quickly become more expensive than you thought.
Rental car companies may like to use one special car model as an enticement to get customers for more ordinary cars. A special model is thus promised to several customers at the same time - a kind of overbooking. I have experienced this myself. You feel cheated when you pick up the keys to a supercar, and have to settle for the keys to a Golf and the world's stupidest excuse. The feeling of fraud becomes stronger when two hours later you observe "your" car with another driver behind the wheel.
Enjoy the rental car even if you are tricked into rolling around.
You can rent this Fiat Bærum Car rental.
Here you will find cheap rental cars:
1. Tourism portals such as Expedia.no, Ticket.no, Momondo.no or similar.
2. Via Finn.no. They use CarTrawler, which offers its own insurance via Assistance/AXA.
3. Via the airline, for example Norwegian.no. They also use CarTrawler with their own insurance via Assistance/AXA.
4. Via AutoEurope.com (offers separate insurance), Leiebilguiden.no or Rentalcars.com.
5. Via the rental car company's own website, preferably to the country you will be renting in, for example Spain. There you will often find offers that you do not get on the Norwegian or international sites.
Summary:
1. CDW or LDW reduces the deductible in case of damage and theft so that it is at the same level as you have on your car at home. With some rental car companies, the deductible has already been reduced. The insurance otherwise costs approx. NOK 100 per day. This is an insurance you must have.
2. Glass and tires. The usual rental car insurance does not cover this. Recommended. About NOK 50 per day.
3. Super insurance which reduces the deductible to 0. This means that the rent is doubled. If you are renting a car for a relatively short time, and want to be able to deliver the car quickly, it can still be defended. Certain super insurance policies also cover traffic fines.
4. Personal insurance. If you have valid travel insurance, you do not need this.
5. Extended liability insurance for third parties should be taken out in the USA. This covers you against absurd judgments in the American judiciary.
6. Extra rescue insurance in the event of self-inflicted accidents such as incorrect filling, getting stuck, locking the keys in the car. Ordering rescue in Spain or France is unlikely to ruin the holiday budget, but can be advantageously chosen for reasons of convenience - as the rental company arranges all the practicalities. Costs approx. NOK 30 per day.
7. If you are going to use the car in another country, an additional fee may occasionally be required. However, most large companies allow this free of charge (with certain exceptions), but the low-cost companies often charge an additional fee. For example, the low-cost company GoldCar requires 9 euros per day downwards limited to 25 euros and upwards to 90 euros to drive a Spanish car over to France.
8. Tank packages. You buy a full tank from the rental car company and can deliver an empty tank. Not recommended unless you have to deliver the car quickly. The cheapest is to deliver the car with a full tank (full-to-full). Map where the nearest gas station is when you drive out of the airport.
9. Airport surcharge. The cheapest cars are rented at the airports. If you collect and deliver the car close to the terminal, an additional fee may apply - usually built into the rental price. The alternative is a shuttle bus to private car parks a little beyond the terminal building(s).
10. Additional driver requires an additional fee. Price from NOK 50-100 per day.
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