How to rent a car online in the EU

If you decided to rent a car online for a business trip or for spending holidays in Europe, have you all the knowledge on how to do? Or what are the aspects that you need to watch out for?

Before renting a car is recommended to compare offers, so you can chose the one that matches your needs and budget. Typically, a rented car has to be chosen respecting this  three reasons: the number of people who travel and the amount of luggage, the number of kilometers you want to drive and the vehicle characteristics – the latter may  differ depending on the area you want to visit . For example, in a mountainous area is recommended a car with a large capacity while for historic sites  a smaller car so you can wonder the narrow streets. Once you have made your mind about a car and a company  it only remains to decide on  how to book: online through the company website or specialized web platforms or directly from the company.

Remember:

• checks before the book what other consumers have to say about the company you want to rent the car from or about the online platform;
• Check if the car you want to rent is the one that best fits your needs;
• Do not try to let yourself guided by price only, rental conditions are those that should give you a safety rental.

Let’s rent a car online

Before making the actual reservation please read carefully the general conditions of the reservation and the rental conditions of the rent-a –car companies, to be sure that you meet all the legal demands, such as for example you have a credit card and not a debit card, you have a valid driving license and a certain experience, but also to know the limitations of liability of the company.

Before proceeding to booking a car, the online platforms must offer you information about:

• rental conditions for other rental partner companies;
• the category, brand and type of the rented car;
• all additional features of the vehicle;
• all accepted payment methods;
• the handing over documents for the car;
• the price for renting &  all services included or the  additional charges;
• the dates & conditions for the delivery and return of the car;
• the specs regarding the modification or the cancellation of the booking 

Once you have completed your booking process you will receive an e-mail booking confirmation and a voucher which must contain the same information as provided by you on the online request. Although the online booking is considered to be a contract, it explicitly excludes the right of withdrawal. Therefore, if you change your mind, you cannot cancel within 14 days from when the booking was made.

So:

• Carefully read the terms of booking and rental of the rent a car company;
• Make sure that you hold a valid credit card and it is accepted by the rental company;
• Make sure the amount of money in your account is enough to cover the rental and the possible warranties;
• Check before payment that the data contained in the reservation system are correct;
• Check that  your voucher  contains the same data with those submitted by you so not to have additional costs when trying to modify them;
• Contact the company if you have not received the rental voucher, so to avoid the risk of repeating the procedure of booking or paying twice for the same  booking;
• Request information about the price of the additional services (child seat, GPS, extra insurance or additional drivers, dropping off the car in a different place than the one mentioned in the contract, etc.);
• Check the type of insurance for the rented car;
• Request information about the kind of insurances included in the price and the risks covered by them; in most cases, windshields, tires, locks, mirrors and car keys are not covered by insurance;
• Print and store the e-mail confirmation and voucher to present them when picking up the car from the rental company.

In the event that you experience problems on site that cannot be solved after you have contacted the rental company and if you are in a UE Member State other than Romania, you can contact the European Consumer Centre in Romania (ECC Romania) via phone, fax, e-mail or via the cross-border complaint form available on the website www.eccromania.ro. All services provided by the European Consumer Centres are free of charge.

This post is also available in: Romanian