When renting a car, often travelers get overtaken by the car’s performance and appearance leaving out the crucial things. Renting a car usually comes with several financial pitfalls. Paying keen attention to what others may look at as minor can save you. Planning to hire a car in Uganda soon? Here are some of the important tips on how you can avoid the pitfalls when renting a car;
Fuel refunds
Every car hire service provider has its fuel policy. Before hiring a car, inquiring about fuel policy should be your first area of concern. Most car hire companies provide rental cars on a full tank and you are expected to return it the same way. If the car is delivered to you on an empty tank, it means that it should also be returned on an empty tank. It is essential to plan for your fuel well and your mileage. You may bargain for a quarter tank option because it does give a mileage of over 100km meaning, you can always top up fuel to make it a quarter tank when you bring back the vehicle.
Choosing the wrong car
Choosing the right car isn’t an easy task. Often, travelers end up choosing the wrong vehicles for themselves because perhaps they are budget-friendly. In the process, the car chosen doesn’t suit the kind of road trip one intends to be part of. An example, you hire a Toyota Premio yet you plan to go for game viewing safari. Game drives in Uganda are best done in 4×4 Land Cruiser rentals and this also applies to gorilla safaris to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla NP considering the nature of the routes connecting to these tourist sites.
Check the car and document its current condition
Often, most people get excited and as soon as they get the car keys, they set off for their holiday. In the process, anything faulty in the car comes back to them. You can avoid paying the cost you never planned for by simply sparing time to conduct a thorough check on the vehicle and taking note of every fault in the car. The recorded faults must be shared with the car hire service provider to avoid paying for them at the end of the road trip.
Purchase ‘extra’ insurance
Unlike in the past, the current car service providers have their vehicles comprehensively insured. This protects several things except for the insurance you may need is for yourself. It is always important for you to understand your insurance and what it covers. Credit card insurance may cover only collisions and leave out liability. In case you don’t have any insurance coverage and you depend on a credit card’s coverage, it is important to pay keen attention to the exclusions of some particular rental car services.
Compare rates and convenience of airport Vs non-airport location
Car hire rates do vary depending on the car model and location. Getting a car at the airport comes at an extra charge due to additional taxes and fees the companies pay. As a result, the rental car fees become slightly more expensive than if you hired from outside the airport. Hiring a car outside the airport is affordable and luckily, you can still be picked up on the day of arrival and transferred to your respective hotels or destinations.
While at the counter, understand upgrade policies
At times when you rent a car from the agency, there is a likelihood of not finding it available on arrival. So what next? The best is to run for the next best available option which some companies provide at no additional charge. But be aware that your service provider may not make this clear and some may ask you if you need to upgrade at a fee. Before making a decision, ask the team available for your original class car and in case it isn’t available, you are entitled to a free upgrade.
Be aware of cancellation fees
While it is advisable to book a car in advance because it comes with some discounts, on the other hand, you also be aware of the pre-paid contracts that normally come with cancellation fees. This may not apply to all companies, but some do. It is better to deal with companies whose reservation policies are flexible.
Hire your ride on time
The demand for Uganda rental cars is always high and consider booking it at the right time. Most companies do rent out cars 24 hours from the time you exit the lot and anything later might mean paying a full day’s charge. That is if you booked a car from noon on pickup day, drop off day will be at noon. This also means that even if you arrived early to pick up your vehicle by 11:30am, you will be expected to bring it back by 11:30am on the due date.
