Rent a Car User Guide
Follow our advice when renting a car
THE BOOKING PROCESS
The "hidden costs" not immediately shown to you when booking a rental car should always be taken into consideration
The prices shown on other websites only reflect the cost of the rental itself and do not include other costs that might be added during the booking process or at the end, such as rental insurance, delivery to your hotel, additional drivers, distance surcharges, etc. With PaylessCar, the booking price is always the same as what you pay at the office..
For example, many rent-a-car companies only show the rental price at the start of their process, excluding tax, fees and possible extras. Your total due gradually increases as you add these services - which you thought were included - during the booking process, such as fully comprehensive insurance, airport fees and tax.
Other extras, such as child seats or additional drivers, may also increase the final rental price. For example, a rental showing an initial price of 51 euros might eventually have a final price of more than 200 euros after adding fully comprehensive insurance, a child seat and a second driver. On the other hand, the price for that same example at PaylessCar would start at 80 euros and remain the same throughout the booking process, including all the extra services and equipment.
* Comparison made between PaylessCar and another low cost company for September 2019. Real example of car rental for 1 week in September, with child seat, second driver and all risk insurance.
CAR RENTAL INSURANCE
Rental insurance is an essential part of the service because fully comprehensive insurance is usually optional.
The cost of this insurance is not always shown in the rental price and customers are often only told about it after confirming their reservation, meaning that the rental service price undergoes a series of changes between when you start the booking process and when you finish. At PaylessCar, we show you the final prices, including third-party insurance and fully comprehensive insurance. Furthermore, fully comprehensive insurance comes excess-free.
WHAT IS INSURANCE EXCESS?
The fully comprehensive insurance excess is the amount of money that the customer will always need to pay in the event of being found responsible for an accident...
...while all other car repair costs are paid for by the rental company. For example, imagine that a rental company includes fully comprehensive insurance but with a 300-euro excess. If the customer is found responsible for an accident and the cost of repairing the car amounts to 800 euros, the customer would have to pay the first 300 euros while the rental company would have to pay the remaining 500 euros. At PaylessCar, our fully comprehensive insurance is excess-free, which means that the customer in the example above would NOT have to pay any costs stemming from the accident.
* Excess payment comparison between PaylessCar (excess-free) and another low-cost company that has a 300-euro excess in its fully comprehensive insurance.
WHAT IS COVERED BY THE INSURANCE?
Fully comprehensive insurance tries to insure the customer against a car accident in which the liability falls on the driver.
However, there are circ*mstances in which the insurance does not cover accidents, such as in those cases where the driver is under the effects of alcohol or drugs, in those cases where careless or reckless driving has occurred or when driving on roads with no asphalt, such as dirt tracks, etc.
LOOK OUT FOR PUNCTURES!
Many rent-a-car companies charge the customer a significant amount for a simple puncture.
Although it is true that insurance should cover puncture costs (as is the case with PaylessCar), this is not always the case at other rental companies and they also charge for replacing the whole tyre, as well as the tyre on the opposite wheel on the same axis (given that the tyre tread and/or wear may vary and will not meet the technical Spanish MOT requirements). They might even charge for the time that the car was out of service for the tyre repairs, as well any towing costs whenever that is required. At PaylessCar, we do not charge anything extra for a puncture or for repairing the tyre or changing the opposite wheel, etc. That said, the customer is indeed responsible for replacing the wheel with the spare that is included with the vehicle.
HOW AND WHEN IS RENTAL PAYMENT MADE?
Many car rental companies often require customers to provide credit card details in advance or pay by credit card.
They are then covered if there is any problem and can charge the customer for any damage or services that, according to the company, are not included in the rental contract but which were not made clear to the customer. This is the case in the event of a puncture or any damage to the vehicle not covered by the insurance, etc... At PaylessCar, customers are not required to pay by credit card, and may pay with a debit card or even in cash.
With this policy, we offer customers a guarantee that they will not be charged after returning the car , for anything that was not contracted in the booking.
ONLINE PAYMENT
At PaylessCar, we do not require customers to pay for online bookings. This allows customers to complete their booking and not pay anything until they come to the office.
Payment is made at the rental office when collecting the vehicle. Other rent-a-car companies require payment in advance, withholding a certain amount or the entire cost of the booking. When cancelling or making changes to a reservation, these companies can keep this amount of money At PaylessCar, you can make a booking, make changes to it and/or cancel it for free, no obligation.
VARIOUS DRIVERS
At PaylessCar, you can rent a car and bind various drivers to the contract at no additional cost.
Unlike other companies, which charge for having a second driver, PaylessCar does not charge anything for additional drivers. At other companies, if someone other than the designated driver is driving when an accident occurs, the company will be able to claim the damages from the customer. That’s why PaylessCar allows other drivers to be bound to the car rental contract for free. This means there will be no problems or additional costs for the customer in the event of an accident and the accident will be covered by the fully comprehensive insurance.
EXTRA EQUIPMENT
Our car rental policy is to offer a low-cost rental with premium services.
That’s why we offer customers all the extra services and equipment at no additional cost, meaning that the booking price includes the following services:
- Full risk insurance with no excess
- Unlimited mileage
- Additional driver free
- Free map of islands
- Off-site delivery/return
- Child and booster seats included
- Free modification and cancellation of your reservation
Do you need any more advice? ...Check out our The Traveler Driver blog for news, events, traditions and other information of interest about the Canary Islands.
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