When you decide to go to any travel for any purpose such as vacation, holiday, business etc. one of the most important issues you need to have fixed is renting a comfortable car. It is important to keep in mind some of the issues:

There is no a unique travel agency at top

Most major international car-rental agencies have their offices in the USA. It is impossible to say that any one company is the best as you may have good experiences or bad experience with the same company in different cities. Therefore, it is important to know how to check out the services they present before any trip.

Automatic transmissions are must be

Rental cars normally come equipped with automatic transmissions, air conditioning and a CD player. If you request a standard transmission, the rental company will probably have none available when you arrive as they are extremely uncommon. If you are travelling with children under 2-years of age make sure you have a child’s car restraint seat or request one from the rental agency. It is illegal to carry small children in a car without safety restraint seats in most states.

No Requirement for International driver’s license

For a travel an international driver’s license is not required in the US. You can usually rent a car and drive with a valid driver’s license from your home country. An international license may be helpful in convincing the car rental agent that you really have a valid license when they cannot recognize or understand your license. Some rental agencies will not rent cars to anyone less than 25 years old. Other agencies will rent to young people but will charge a higher fee. Some agencies will not rent to anyone over 71 years old. Be sure to check on these restrictions if you are in these age categories.

Car rental prices may vary according to area

Car rental prices are very competitive in most states and no single agency has the best prices every time. Prices change frequently and every agency offers many special promotions and competitive priced deals. If you spend some time shopping for the best price, you can often save money. So, do your homework and do some research.

Keep in mind, You can shop for bargain rental prices

Car rental prices are most competitive in major tourist destinations like California and Florida. You can find some real bargain prices if you shop for the best deal. Some travel agencies offer special package deals that include airfare plus car rental or hotels plus car rental. You can now compare those deals against the best rates offered by all of the US car rental agencies through World Choice.

Car rental insurance is not a matter of bargain

Car rental agencies always offer collision damage waiver insurance (CDW) and theft insurance at exorbitant prices that can significantly increase the price of a car rental. You should not risk driving without insurance, but you can usually get such insurance at a much lower price. Check your automobile insurance at home to see if it will cover driving in the US, or use a credit card that provides free insurance when you rent a car. The American Express Dollar Card and some bank charge cards provide such insurance for free when you use them to rent a car. Check with the credit card issuer to be sure it provides such coverage for USA rentals. The American Express Company and some other travel agents offer special travel insurance that provides CDW coverage at a much lower price than the rental agencies.

Have a fantastic and safe trip

”It’s a lot of money to go out and buy a car,” said Mr. Scheiner, a marketing consultant in Philadelphia. ”Two of my kids are in college, so I’ve got a lot of other expenses right now.”

It used to be that people rented a car only after landing at an airport or when their own car was in the shop. But in today’s world, more people like Mr. Scheiner are renting for a variety of other reasons. In response, car rental agencies are opening more locations and offering a wider variety of vehicles. Getting the best deal requires planning ahead, knowing how to avoid unnecessary fees and, often, looking into lesser-known agencies.

This is the first year that the number of neighborhood car rental locations exceeds those found at airports, said Sherb Brown, publisher of Auto Rental News, a trade magazine. He attributed the shift to what he called personal rentals. ”It’s something people are more prone to do,” he added.

The reasons include needing a bigger car to haul children to a sports competition or a more dependable car to take on longer trips. Some renters may also want to avoid exceeding a mileage limit on a leased vehicle or to minimize wear and tear on their own cars. Or maybe they just want to drive a Jaguar or a Hummer to a special event.

”People have such varied lifestyles these days that it’s hard to do everything with one vehicle,” said David E. Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. He also said that more people were finding the cost of owning a car onerous: ”Add up the purchase price plus taxes and parking, and a lot of people decide to just rent a car when they need one.” The American Automobile Association estimates the average cost of owning a car at 52.2 cents a mile, or $7,834 a year, based on 15,000 miles of driving.

Roy Zinkil, a mortgage banker in San Diego, says that he doesn’t own a car, but that he rents one every Thursday through Monday to ”run to the store and the cleaners and do all those errands you do on the weekends.” He rides a commuter train to work during the week and pays $128 a month, or $1,536 a year, in rental fees. ”I put pencil to paper and saw that it was a better deal for me to rent.” Mr. Zinkil said he gets good rates because he rents on weekends, is a regular customer at a rental location within walking distance of his office and is willing to take just about any car that’s available: ”I’m not picky; it’s transportation.” Indeed, he has much more options than an average driver.

Weekend rates are often less than $30 a day and sometimes as low as $10 — though the price depends on many inputs, including the size of the car, the location and the agency. For example, the weekend rates at Enterprise, where Mr. Zinkil rents his cars, are as much as 50 percent less than the cost during the week.

Peak travel periods, of course, vary by region, so prices can bounce accordingly. Florida, for example, may have higher prices in the winter, while many other areas will have higher rates in the summer. And rates can be much, much higher inside cities like New York, where many people don’t own cars. The prices can often climb there on weekends, when city dwellers want to escape to more pastoral places.

Renters are almost always better off getting a car from a suburban location, where rates are often lower than they are within cities.

And you may want to avoid airport locations, because they may tack on all sorts of surcharges, drop-off fees and tourism taxes that can balloon the bill. If you can make your reservations two weeks or more in advance, you’ll usually get a better rate and will have a better chance of getting the kind of car you want, when you want it.

Popular travel Web sites like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity can help you do some comparison shopping and may offer better rates than those on the rental companies’ own Web sites. But travel sites may not offer some of the lesser-known brands, so you may want to check carrentalexpress.com and TravelNow.com, which offer the rates of smaller, independent agencies.
Neil Abrams, president of Abrams Consulting Group, a car rental research and consulting firm in Purchase, N.Y., said, ”Independents often have the same cars and level of service,” not to mention competitive pricing.

There are solutions yet. One way to lower the price is to take advantage of available discounts. Some are obvious, like those for American Automobile Association members or other discounts associated with using particular credit cards or membership in frequent-flier programs. But you can also get a markdown through affiliation with professional organizations like the American Medical Association, the American Bar Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, as well as university alumni associations. Sam’s Club and Costco members, for example, can also save on rental cars.

What if youwant to skip paying the extra $9 to $20 a day for insurance if your own car is insured? David Snyder, vice president and assistant general counsel for the American Insurance Association, a trade organization in Washington, said that most car insurance policies extend collision and liability coverage to a rented vehicle: ”Check with your insurance agent,” he said, ”but usually the terms of your policy apply to your rental the same way they would apply to your own car.”

But, he added, there may be other charges associated with an accident in a rental vehicle that your car’s insurance policy does not cover, like the rental agency’s administrative fees and costs associated with the time the vehicle is out of service. ”That can add up to thousands and thousands of dollars,” Mr. Snyder said.

THESE charges are covered by most rental agencies’ collision insurance, which they often call a damage waiver. If you don’t have car insurance because you don’t own a car, your credit card company may cover damages to a rental, but probably does not offer liability protection. Most car rental companies let you buy collision and liability insurance separately.

You need to be careful. To avoid disputes over damage, walk around the car and inspect the interior before driving it off the lot. Something as small as a scratch on the bumper can end up costing hundreds of dollars. ”Even though car rental locations are on every corner now like a Starbucks, cars aren’t coffee cups,” said Mr. Abrams, the car rental consultant. ”Rental companies are going to hold you responsible for damage.”

Source: KATE MURPHY, New York Times

Please remember that when you arrive at an airport in a foreign country that not everyone will speak English, so be patient. Most of the Avis outlets will have English speaking staff on duty so this should not create a problem for most travellers. The rental agreement document will be available in the English language at all of the major Avis outlets in Europe. The terms and conditions relating to rentals will be available in the language at all Avis offices throughout the world.

When you pick up your rental car it will already be full of fuel. You will have the option of returning the vehicle with the tank fully re-filled or you can pay for a full tank upon collection. This option of course saves the worry of finding somewhere to refuel before you deliver the car. In Malta and Cyprus this does not apply and you will be required to pay for the petrol or diesel straight away.

Check carefully all around the car for any damage. If you find some then check that it is fully recorded on the documents before you accept the car. If you find damage that is not recorded then it must be reported to staff before you drive away.

If you have never driven in the country before expect the driving habits of other motorists to be different to those that you might expect at home. Keep calm and be considerate.

Upon the return of the vehicle make sure that a staff member checks for damage in your presence. Check carefully that the final charge is correct. This is the total figure that you should have to pay with no surprising comebacks later.

You might not find out this is happening when you hand over your driver’s license, but most agencies disclose it somewhere on their Web site. (Most importantly they’d claim that you already acknowledged this when signing the policy form).

Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz and Thrifty all check their customers’ driving records through Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) databases — at least sometimes.

“I’m not sure that it’s done every single time, but enough that it warrants being included in our policies,” said Jason Logan, a spokesman for Dollar and Thrifty. Among the major car rental companies, Enterprise is an exception to this trend. “We do not run a D.M.V. check on drivers,” said Christy Conrad, an Enterprise spokeswoman. “We inspect the driver’s license to check that it’s ‘facially valid.’ ”

Neil Abrams, president of the Abrams Consulting Group, which works with the car rental industry, said that some companies began doing these checks more than a decade ago, and that over time the technology linking Department of Motor Vehicles records has improved — and gotten more affordable. Even so, he questioned whether companies check every customer for every rental. “There are 100 million rental transactions a year in the industry, domestically,” Mr. Abrams said. “That’s a lot of driver’s licenses that have to be validated.”

Many companies list on their Web site reasons they might reject a customer based on his or her driving record, which include things like operating a vehicle without a license, driving under the influence of alcohol (D.U.I.), driving while intoxicated (D.W.I.), or being involved in two or more accidents in the past 36 months. (A friend found out his driver’s license had been suspended — for unpaid parking tickets — when he tried to pick up a rental car, even before the D.M.V. notice arrived.)

So, the point is, if you’ve had any convictions for driving violations within the last three years, you can check whether your record might prevent you from renting a car by calling a company that provides this service to the car rental industry, TML (800-388-9099). TML charges $9.95 to run a driver background check, though some states do not allow this, including California and Pennsylvania.

We wish a clean history of background for your licence

However there’s a tip about how you can avoid that extra fee the next time you plan to share the driving when renting a car. Some companies, including Avis, Budget and Enterprise, waive this fee if the additional driver is your spouse or domestic partner; Alamo, Hertz and National do as well, if you join their frequent-renter program. So, it is wise to play the game according to the rules.

Avis and Budget have the most flexible policies, waiving the fee if the additional driver (regardless of sex) is the renter’s “spouse, mate, life companion, significant other” or domestic life partner. If you’re renting a car for a week, that savings can help you defray another source of sticker shock that is tougher to avoid these days: high gas prices when you fill up.

We wish an enjoyable travel

Actually many companies have long refused to rent to anyone under 25, which is already a known fact. But there’s actually good news on that front: Avis, Budget and Hertz have all lowered their minimum driving age to 21 since last summer, while Dollar, Enterprise and Thrifty have had that policy for a while.

The bad news: most companies still charge an extra daily fee for renters age 21 to 24 — typically about $25 a day, though, depending on the company and location, it can be much higher. For instance, New York and Michigan both have state laws requiring companies to rent to anyone 18 and older, but in New York, the under-25 surcharge can be more than $100 a day. Only for rich young people

That said, these age-based fees can vary quite a bit, and some agencies waive them if you’re renting through a corporate account, so it’s worth shopping around. Also, don’t assume the same rules apply overseas, since many United States companies have lower age limits in other countries.

Actually if you’re traveling abroad, that’s when upper age limits might come as a surprise. Although generally not an issue if you’re renting in the United States, many American and foreign car rental companies do have maximum-age rules abroad, generally, because of local insurance policies. There’s no consistency about what age suddenly puts you in the passenger seat, but if you’ve celebrated your 70th birthday, it’s an issue you should ask about — and don’t count on the rental agency to bring it up.

“We wouldn’t in a normal script or process ask the customer their age,” said Charles Pulley, a spokesman for Vanguard Car Rental, which operates Alamo and National. “There are cues that might raise it, but the onus is on the driver to find out if they’re qualified.”

Most agencies have information about age restrictions on their Web sites, but you often have to click around to find it. Countries where upper age limits can be an issue include Ireland, Italy, Israel, Britain, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Egypt and Morocco, but that’s not an exhaustive list, and policies can vary by company. For instance, Alamo’s maximum age for renters in Ireland is 74, and for Hertz it’s 75, but Enterprise doesn’t have maximum age limits in Ireland — or in any other country.

So, in short, do not get aged

New Features of Budget Website and Service:

Rent twice with Budget and get 2 lbs of free Dunkin Donuts Coffee.
Save 10% with online truck rentals.
Garmin GPS rentals now available.

Favorite Feature:

It is to be appreciated that Budget offers a frequent renter program, providing perks and discounts to those customers who stay loyal.

Navigating Through The Budget Website:

Budget website is nice and simple in terms of usability. Yet you may need to face the difficulty for finding the closest location.

How Budget Measured Up:

The chart below shows how Budget measured up to the other car rental services in their prices and offerings.

Budget Customer Support:

The Budget website already offers answers to a bevy of frequently asked questions and you can contact the company via email and phone. They are also serious on replying email inquiries, which is not common in this business.

Points Upside:

Budget may be low-price, but they’re not low-service. They offer  low prices, a variety of options and great service.

Points Downside:

They have a limited location selection.

Final Evaluation:

Budget is seen Walmart of Car Rental business. They try to serve for average citizen and are really successful with their support services.

Have a wonderful Travel

New Features of Hertz Website and Services:

$1 from every Green Collection rental goes to the National Park Foundation.
Fun collection rentals now available.
Free tank of gas with a week-long full-size rental.

Favorite Feature:

The fact that Hertz rents out luxury and “fun” cars such as Hummers, Lincoln SUVs, Corvettes, Miatas and more is really nice.

Navigating Through Hertz Website:

We can judge that the Hertz website is “prettier” than the other car rental service websites. Rather than the dull “corporate” look, the Hertz website offers a fun and friendly look and feel. One of the first things you’ll notice is the “Green” “Fun” and “Prestige” collection advertisements. After all, who wouldn’t want the chance to cruise around in a Corvette for a week or save gas with an eco-friendly car?

Like the other car rental services on the Web, the Hertz homepage allows you to enter your rental needs into an easy-to-use form that provided us with our rental options. When filling out the form, you’ll be provided with two locations to choose from. After choosing our location, you will be presented with our Hertz rental options.

How Hertz Measured Up:

The chart below illustrates how Hertz measures up to the other car rental services in their prices and offerings.

Hertz Customer Support:

You are presented a good service of support on Hertz website. Hertz offers customer support via an FAQ database, phone support and email, all of which is accessible from their Contact Us page (although the email option section looked more like an FAQ at first glance than an actual email contact list).

Although website and phone support are very fast and handy to help, the email feedback may be a little slow.

If you’re going to use Hertz for your car rental need, we recommend opting for phone support rather than the email variety.

Points Upside:

Fun cars, great promotions, attractive website.

Points Downside:

Higher prices.

Final Evaluation:

Hertz offers some great selections, such as high-end rentals like Hummers, Corvettes and other fun rides. Although their pricing is a little higher than some of the other car rental services, you can get a free tank of gas with a week-long full-size rental supported with a good background service.

We hope you’ll enjoy your trip with Hertz experience.

Just like airlines, rental-car companies also overbook, and the economy cars are usually the first to go. By booking the most popular model, you’re likely to get a better car without even asking for it. Your timing is the key for success.

What day you’re walking onto the lot usually makes a difference: In big cities, normally companies that rent cars to business travelers during the week will often hand you the keys to a nicer car at no charge if you show up in the middle of the day or early in the week - when most business travelers have cars out.

And the reverse is also true at resort destinations, which do the bulk of their business on weekends. The best time to score a free upgrade there is on Saturday afternoon, when most of the lower-end cars have been rented out.

Like everything else, the car rental market also lies on supply and demand.

Step 1: Starting Out
When it comes to auto insurance, you want to be adequately covered if you get in an accident or have a damage but you don’t want to pay any more than you have to. So how can you navigate your way through this murky subject?

Remember always you need to save money. How much? Hundreds, even thousands, per year. For example, one of our editors typed all of his insurance information into a comparative insurance service. The quotes (for very basic coverage on two old cars) ranged from $1,006 to $1,807 — a difference of $801 a year. If you’re currently dumping thousands into your insurance company’s coffers because of a couple of tickets, an accident or a questionable credit rating, shopping your policy against others may be well worth the effort.

Look at it this way — you can convert the money you save into the purchase of something you’ve desired for a long time. Keep that goal in your mind.

Step 2: What Kind of Coverage Do You Need?

To find the right auto insurance, you should start by figuring out the amount of coverage you need. This varies from state to state. So take a moment to find out what coverage is required where you live. Make a list of the different types of coverage and then return for the next step. You can make your decision based on a “worst case scenario”.

Now that you know what is required, you can decide what you need in addition. Some people are quite cautious. They base their lives on worst-case scenarios. Insurance companies love these people.

So how much insurance should you buy beyond your state’s minimum?

Experts recommend that if you have a lot of assets you should get enough liability coverage to protect them. For instance, if you purchase $50,000 of bodily injury liability coverage but have $100,000 in assets, attorneys could go after your treasures in the event of an accident in which you’re at fault and the other party’s medical bills exceed $50,000.

General recommendations for liability limits are $50,000 bodily injury liability for one person injured in an accident, $100,000 for all people injured in an accident and $25,000 property damage liability (that is, 50/100/25) given that half of the cars on the road are worth more than $20,000. Here again, though, let your financial situation be your guide. If you have no assets, don’t buy excess coverage.

Another issue to consider is that the limits of any uninsured and/or underinsured motorist coverage that you purchase cannot exceed the limits of your liability coverage. Such coverage, he said, can be valuable, as it will cover lost income if you’re out of work for several months after being injured in a major accident.

Another issue is, your driving habits may also be a consideration. If your past is filled with crumpled fenders, if you have a lead foot or a long commute on a treacherous winding road, then you should get more comprehensive coverage. Keep in mind that you don’t have to buy collision and comprehensive coverage. If your vehicle is older, if you have a good driving record and if there is a low likelihood that it would be totaled in an accident, but a high likelihood of it being stolen, you could buy comprehensive but not collision.

Step 3: Review Your Driving Record and Current Insurance Policy and Its Situation
Before you begin shopping for insurance you should check the following: the status of your driving record, your current coverage and the premiums you are paying.

You should know how many tickets you have had recently. But time plays tricks and our memories repress painful incidents. If you can’t remember how long that speeding ticket has been on your record, check with your state’s DMV. If your record will soon improve, and the points you earned will finally disappear, wait until that happens before you get quotes. Nothing drives up the price of insurance like a bad driving record.

Also, you should contact your auto insurance company or pull out a recent bill. Jot down the amount of coverage you have and what you are paying for it. Take note of the yearly and monthly cost of your insurance since many of your quotes will be given both ways. Now you have a figure in mind to try to beat.

Remember always, the best way to save money in auto insurance is to have a clean drive record.

Step 4: Solicit Competitive Quotes
Now that you have made several practical and theoretical decisions, it’s time to start shopping. Begin by setting aside about an hour for this task. Bring all your records — your current insurance policy, your driver license number and your vehicle registration. Drink plenty of coffee. Have a phone at your elbow. And, of course, turn on your computer.

Begin with the online services. If you go to InsWeb.com or other online insurance quote sites, you can type in your information and get a list of comparative quotes. These forms take about 15 minutes to complete. If this bores you, just remind yourself how much you will be saving and that you can use the money to buy something nice for yourself. If the entire shopping process takes you two hours to complete and you save $800, you’re effectively earning $400 an hour.

A few things to keep in mind: 1) When you use quote sites, you may not get instant quotes. Some companies may contact you later by e-mail, and some that are not “direct providers” may put you in touch with a local agent, who will then calculate a quote for you. (A “direct provider,” like Geico, sells an insurance policy to you directly; other companies like State Farm sell insurance through local agents. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of each later.) 2) It’s not easy to get quotes from these sites in all states — if you live in New Jersey, for instance, you’ll probably find it faster to pick up the phone, since most insurers in this state currently don’t provide online quotes.

You can also try getting quotes from some of the insurance companies listed on the Edmunds.com Web site — Esurance, Geico or Progressive. These forms will take about 10 minutes each to complete.

Step 5: Record and Compare Quotes
While you’re researching companies, make notes in a separate computer file or on a piece of paper divided into categories. This will keep you from duplicating your efforts. When you visit the different online insurance sites, you should especially take note of several objectives:

Annual and monthly rates for the different types of coverage — make sure to keep the coverage limits the same so that you can make “apples-to-apples” comparisons
An 800 number to call for questions you can’t get answered online
The insurance company’s payment policy (When is your payment due? What happens if you’re late in making a payment?)
Discounts offered by the insurance company that pertain to you
The insurance company’s consumer complaint ratio from your state’s department of insurance Web site (more on this later)
The insurance company’s A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s ratings (more on this later)
Step 6: Work the Phones
Once you have exhausted your online options, it’s time to work the phones. Those companies you haven’t been able to get an online quote from should be contacted. At times, doing this process verbally can actually go faster than the online counterpart, providing you have all the information regarding your driver license and vehicle registration close at hand. When you get a quote, be sure to confirm the price. Also, ask them to fax or e-mail the quote to you as a record. Verbal communication is very crucial most of the times.

Step 7: Look for Discounts
While talking to the insurance companies’ telephone salespeople, make sure you explore all options relating to discounts. Insurance companies give discounts for a good driving record, favorable credit score, safety equipment (for example, antilock brakes), certain occupations or professional affiliations and more. For more guidance in this area, check out “How to Save Money on Auto Insurance.”

Step 8: Selecting the Right Insurance Company
You now have most of the information in front of you that you need to make a decision. However, there is something more to consider. You can clearly see which company is least expensive, but when you need them to cover a claim, what kind of job will they do? To put it another way, which is the most reliable insurance company?

Visit your state’s department of insurance and check consumer complaint ratios and basic rate comparison surveys. Get in touch with local body shops or dealerships you trust and ask which insurance companies they recommend.

Consider contacting an insurance agent for additional information about a particular company.
Check out the financial strength ratings for an insurance company by referring to the A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s ratings.
Look over J.D. Power and Associates’ consumer satisfaction surveys reviewing auto insurance companies.
Step 9: Review and Study the Policy Before You Sign
Ok, you’ve done your research, and you’ve decided on a company. Before you sign, though, read the policy. In addition to verifying that it contains the coverage you want, there are two clauses that you should look for in the contract:
Retain your right to sue. “Find out if you are giving up your right to go to court and will be forced into arbitration if there is a disagreement [between you and the insurance company],” one expert advised. “You’re much better off if you don’t give up this right…. It makes it easier for [insurers] to take advantage of you.” If you find a clause to this effect, all isn’t necessarily lost. “At least in theory, a contract is a mutual agreement, so you should be able to cross out that line in the policy,” he said. If the company won’t agree to the policy sans clause, then you should probably take your business elsewhere.

Avoid aftermarket parts requirements. If an insurance company has written in the policy that “new factory,” “like kind and quality” or “aftermarket parts” may be used for body shop repairs, go to another company, one expert advised. If you own a relatively new car that you plan to keep for a while, you will probably be much happier if you spend a little more time researching companies on the front end rather than try to fight the company when you have a claim.
Step 10: Cancel Your Old Policy
After you lock in the insurance policy you want with the company you select, you have two more things to do. The first one is to cancel coverage with your existing insurance company. Second, if your state requires you to carry proof of insurance, make sure you either have it in your wallet or the glove compartment of your car (some experts discourage this, however — if your car is stolen, the thief has everything he needs to prove the vehicle is his).

Now, there’s one final thing to do: reward yourself for saving so much money on car insurance