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Features of Car Rental in Europe

Car Rental in Europe

Many tourists, when traveling in Europe, prefer to rent a car. This choice makes your movement more mobile and opens up space for movement around the country, in contrast to the standard routes offered by travel agencies.

In a rented car, you can explore the countries you visit more deeply and fully. You do not depend on time and distance, as well as significantly save on expensive transfers. You just need to weigh the pros and cons.

Some nuances are important to know when renting a car abroad. From the registration procedure to the specifics of local traffic rules.

Required Documents and Basic Knowledge

To rent a car abroad, you will need:

  1. Car license.
  2. An international driving permit (IDP) is an additional certificate that can be obtained from the traffic police, without any preliminary tests and exams. Some car rental operators do not give cars without an IDP. Plus, it will help you in case of any proceedings during an accident.
  3. 1 year of driving experience starting from 21 years.
  4. Passport and visa (if required).
  5. A Deposit is usually a credit card or a certain amount of cash.
  6. Knowledge of the specifics of the country’s traffic rules.
  7. Knowledge of the characteristics of the crossed territories, highways, roads, primers, and off-road.
  8. It is important to find out if there are gas stations along the route you have planned.

The Nuances that Should be Considered

  1. As a rule, when renting, the minimum insurance is already included. If necessary, ask about additional insurance options to travel safely.
  2. Carefully study the insurance conditions and choose the most appropriate method for you. Be sure to check all chips, scratches, and damage with the machine condition form. Your carelessness may cost you a tidy sum when you return the car.
  3. The car will be issued to you with a full tank of gasoline. With a full tank, you should return it.
  4. Basically, when renting a car, you will specify the class of the car, not its specific brand. So, don’t be surprised if you don’t have the brand you’re interested in.
  5. When renting, you will be required to pay a security deposit, which will be frozen in your account. So make sure you have enough money in your account.
  6. When applying to luxury cars rental Milan, for example, one credit card may not be enough, and you will be asked to leave two as a deposit.

Ways to Rent a Car in Europe

There are three main ways to rent a car. Each of them is convenient and has some advantages and disadvantages.

Renting through a travel agency

Easiest way. Ask the Manager if they have such a service. As a rule, agencies have partnerships with several rental operators. But you will also have to overpay for this service.

Booking agencies
There are a lot of agencies that are engaged in renting a car. From large international agencies to small agencies on the territory of a particular country or city. Many of them have online reservations.

To make a reservation, you will need to pay a certain amount in advance and print out a voucher, which you will then provide when you receive the car. It is worth noting that self-booking is much more profitable.

When choosing an agency, pay attention to the following things:

  1. Where the Agency’s branches are located (if any) – this can help you out a lot in case of unforeseen circumstances.
  2. Be sure to find out all the rental terms, routes, and the intersection of different countries.
  3. Also, be interested in the condition of the car. As a rule, larger agencies also have newer and better-maintained cars. This may affect the rental price.
  4. Be sure to take the contact details of the Agency and the Manager who gave you the car.

Online Booking Services

There are online services for booking cars for rent. These services are monitored by several dozen agencies at once, so you can make a decision based on several options provided.

Sometimes the prices of such services are lower than those of the agencies themselves.

Booking on the Spot

If you still did not use the previous methods, then you just need to search for a car on the spot. This is not difficult to do.

As a rule, at airports and train stations, there are banners or special stands where you can rent a car.

This method will cost you much more, and you will have to be content with what they give. So think about this question in advance.