silesia-airport-50

MOTORYZACJA50AUTOMOTIVEThe holidays are getting closer and that’swhen, particularly if we’re holidayingabroad, we’re faced with the need to renta car. Similarly, when it comes to businesstrips, though these situations obviouslyvary greatly. You're likely to need onetype of car when you’re on holidays andanother if on a business trip. However, ineach of these situations, if renting a car,you need to pay attention to several importantaspects.If you're holidaying abroad and are planninga touring trip, there are two options.The first is to use existing offers. Here,the matter is simple, in principle, becauseeverything is taken care of bythe travel agency our package tour isbooked with. The program is set andtransport is provided by the organizer.It’s a completely different story, ifyou’re planning a trip by yourself andlooking for flights and hotels on yourown. When we’re already there, wecan only count on ourselves so, evenbefore flying out, we should purchasea guide to the country we’re visitingand use the Internet to find valuabletips and check out what’s worth seeing.Before you start exploring you shouldplan your route and consider the typeof car you’re going to need. You needto take into account not just the numberof people travelling, but also thesize and amount of luggage. For example– a car seating five may, in fact,be too small for a family of four or fivebecause of the size of their baggage.In addition, it’s worth taking into accountthat five people in a 5-seater C-segmentvehicle (eg Renault Megane , Ford Focus,Opel Astra) will travel only short distancesin relative comfort. So, when decidingto embark on a touring trip with friendsor family you should consider renting aslightly larger vehicle, like an SUV or a van.Rental costs of cars like this one will mostcertainly be higher, but the difference inprice will be offset by the comfortablejourney and of fantastic holiday memoriesof the roads travelled.Upon arrival the most important decisionis choosing the right car-rental company.First of all, it is definitely not worth usingthe services of the first one you comeacross, because the prices may not becompetitive. Sometimes, hotels recommendguests hire from particular companies,but this doesn’t always necessarilymean it’s an interesting offer in terms ofcost and range of cars available.Ideally, having determined which modelwe’re interested in, the best thing to do isto select three or four rental companiesand call them to ask about the precisedetail and a quote. If you’re holiday is goingto involve a different point of arrivaland different point of departure, be sureto check if the rental company allows youto pick up and return the car at differentlocations. This option may not always beavailable, and even if it is, you really needto read the fine-print carefully to makesure of the exact cost.Once you’ve settled on a specific car-hirecompany’s offer, you need to do two thingsbefore accepting the vehicle offered –check the contract and the condition thevehicle is in.In the case of the contract, you absolutelyneed to check and understand what theinsurance cover is. Some insurance policiesonly cover a small percentage of the damage.This can then lead to unpleasant situationsin which you may need to contributeto the costs of repair to the amount of,for example, 40 % of its value. Also, checkwhat costs you may be liable for if thetyres are damaged or a window is broken.When planning a trip spanning severalcountries, you need to remember to findout if you can take the vehicle out of thecountry it is rented in and if there’s a limiton the number of kilometres you can do.Other important details are those relatedto the return of the vehicle – does it haveto be clean? With a full tank of petrol? Canwe return it late at night? Do we incurany additional costs? If we give the carwith an empty tank, and the contractstates that it must be returned witha full tank, the hire company will addan additional amount to your account.This, however, won’t be at the sameprice as the petrol station down theroad. The car-hire company is likely tocharge 10–20% more than you wouldhave paid had you filled it up yourself.In addition, hidden costs can includefor example – the driver not beingthe one stated in the agreement, hiringnavigation equipment, or a childbooster seat.Although the car-hire company maybe urging you to sign the agreement,spend a few minutes examining thevehicle, itself. You should make noteall scratches, scrapes, dents, placeswith soiled or discoloured seats etc. Itis good practice is to take photos ofthe existing faults, otherwise the carrentalcompany can blame you for theseexisting faults and try extort money forthe repair.When you’re returning the vehicle, youshould get a copy of the vehicle acceptanceform. This is your safeguard in casethe car-hire company demands payment ofadditional charges related to the apparentdamages or defects.To finish off, one small point. It may be thecase that travelling in countries outside ofEurope, may differ greatly from navigatingthe roads of our continent. When planninga car trip you should consider this factorbecause it increases the risk of driving arental car.