Hiring a car abroad: what to look out for
Do you want to be flexible on vacation and rent a car? To avoid unexpected problems when you get there, there are a few important things to keep in mind.
We explain what you need to know about booking, picking up and returning a rental car abroad.
Important points when booking a rental car
- Compare prices from different car rental companies and booking portals. Prices can vary considerably depending on the provider, the time of year, and the time of booking. However, don’t just go for the cheapest offer.
- Make sure that all the services you want, such as insurance, unlimited mileage, additional drivers or child seats, are included in the price. If you have to book these extras on the spot, they can be expensive.
- Make sure the car rental company is reputable. Review sites and recent customer reviews of car hire providers at your holiday destination can be very helpful here.
- Note that there is no legal right to cancel when you book a car online. Read the terms and conditions to find out if and when a booking can be canceled free of charge.
What is the difference between the online booking and the rental contract?
Many vacationers believe that when they book a rental car online, they have already entered into a rental contract. This is usually not the case. The vehicle booked online is only reserved.
The actual rental agreement is made with the car rental company on the spot and may or may not be the same as the online reservation. Make sure you check the contract before you sign it.
Tip: If the contract is written in a language you do not understand, you can have it translated using your phone’s camera and an appropriate translation app (e.g. Word Lens or Google Translate).
The tricks of the car rental companies
Learn more about the questionable business practices of car rental companies and how you can protect yourself from car rental tricks.
How should a rental car be insured?
For rental cars abroad, we recommend fully comprehensive insurance with no excess.
You may already be covered through your credit card or motoring organisation membership. Check this in advance to ensure you are not unnecessarily double-insured.
Many holidaymakers take out comprehensive insurance with no excess when booking through a car rental broker. Therefore, you should check carefully on arrival whether the additional insurance options on offer are necessary.
Please note that terms such as ‘CDW’, ‘LDW’ or ‘comprehensive cover’ do not automatically mean that all damage to the vehicle is covered. Exceptions often apply to tyres, windows, underbody and roof damage. You should therefore check the insurance terms and conditions carefully.
If you are travelling in mountainous regions or on poor-quality roads, it may also be advisable to take out additional cover for damage to the underbody, roof, windows and tyres.
Pitfalls: Be wary of unnecessary additional insurance
Some car rental companies put considerable pressure on customers at the counter to purchase additional insurance. They often claim that existing insurance cover is insufficient, or that handover of the vehicle is conditional on further insurance being taken out.
Do not accept such offers. If you do not want additional insurance, insist on receiving the vehicle under the originally booked terms.
If the staff remain persistent, inform the management of the car hire company and the agent through whom you booked as soon as possible. This will enable you to prove that you did not agree to take out the insurance.
Please note: Supplementary insurance is often presented as a deposit. Consumers are then told that the amount will be refunded once the vehicle has been returned. In reality, however, this is the cost of additional insurance.
Who is responsible: Price comparison websites, brokers or car hire companies?
The more companies involved in a booking, the more difficult it is to find the right point of contact if problems arise.
- Via price comparison sites
Examples: billiger-mietwagen.de, Opodo, Check24, Carjet or Doyouspain
These portals give you an overview of offers from different providers and then direct you to a broker or directly to the car rental company.
- Via car rental brokers
Examples: Auto Europe, HolidayCars, Rentalcars, Carjet or Doyouspain
Often come into play when booking through a price comparison site. They issue a voucher that can be exchanged for a rental agreement with the car rental company.
- Car hire companies
Examples: Europcar, Sixt or Centauro.
Who do I contact and when?
- Price comparison websites are intended solely for comparing offers. They are not usually responsible for any issues relating to the reservation or the hire car.
- If a car rental broker is involved, they will be your point of contact for all matters relating to the reservation. For example, they can help if you need to change the hire period or if there are any issues with collection.
The broker will often collect the hire price in advance. If the rental does not go ahead (for example, due to a flight delay, cancellation, or refusal to hand over the vehicle), the broker is usually the point of contact for refund enquiries. The same applies to insurance policies taken out through the broker
- The car rental company at your vacation destination is your contractual partner and is responsible for everything related to the vehicle. This includes, for example, accidents, breakdowns, damages, additional products purchased locally (e.g. insurance), tolls or fines.
Beware of No Show Charges
“No Show” means that the reserved car is not collected at the agreed time and the reservation is forfeited.
The prepaid rental fee is usually lost. It does not matter whether you have booked the car for one day or three months.
Example sentence from a car rental company’s general terms and conditions:
[…] AFTER your rental is due to start (or you just don’t turn up) you’ll receive no refund […]
The reason for not showing up is usually irrelevant. Often travellers are unable to collect their hire car because their flight is delayed or cancelled. Car hire companies and agents show little leniency, even if the flight delay was caused by bad weather and the customer was not at fault.
If you know you will not be able to make it to the car rental counter on time, you should call to let them know. This may help, but is not a guarantee that you will not be charged the no-show fee.
Major companies with no-show clauses that are unfavourable to consumers include Rentalcars, DoYouSpain, Carjet and Argus Car Hire (CarTrawler).
Withholding the rental price without handing over the vehicle is illegal under German law. However, many agencies are based abroad, for example in the UK or the Netherlands. In some cases, the legal interpretation of the permissibility of such clauses differs there.
If you have not received the vehicle due to no show, try to book the money back via your bank (so-called chargeback).
Car rental deposit – a credit card is often required
Almost all car rental companies require a deposit to cover any damage to the vehicle. This is usually done by placing a block on your credit card.
If a real credit card cannot be presented, or if the credit limit is insufficient, some car hire companies may refuse to hand over the vehicle or require additional insurance to be taken out.
Important to know: Most free credit cards issued in Germany (Visa and Mastercard) are now debit cards. This should be noted on the card. Real credit cards usually cost extra.
With some banks, it is possible to set up a monthly billing option or an authorised spending limit for debit cards. This can make the card function similarly to a credit card for the purpose of blocking the deposit.
However, this is still no guarantee that the car rental company will accept your debit card. Some providers refuse debit cards from the outset and refer to their terms and conditions. It is therefore advisable to check in advance whether your car rental company accepts debit cards for the deposit.
ECC Germany has received complaints about the following car rental companies, among others, refusing to accept a debit card at the counter: Goldcar, OK Mobility, Sicily by Car, Active Car Rental, Green Motion, ClickRent.
Important when collecting and returning the vehicle
When collecting the vehicle, the driver’s licence, identity card and a payment card made out to the name of the main renter must be presented.
The rental company should make a written record of any damage to the vehicle. Even small scratches and dents should be carefully documented.
It is best to take photographs or a video showing the condition of the vehicle.
Avoid returning the vehicle outside office hours. In this case, you have no control over the contents of the return protocol. In addition, you may be held liable for any damage that occurs until the station opens. This is particularly the case if the vehicle is parked in a public place.
Full refuelling policy
When you book a rental car, look for a full tank arrangement. This means that you will receive a full tank of fuel when you pick up the vehicle and must return it with a full tank.
In most cases, the full-mileage agreement is cheaper than the flat-rate fuel fee charged by the car rental company.
Traffic accident involving a rental car
If you are involved in a traffic accident with a rental car, you must comply with the obligations set out in your insurance policy. This includes calling the police and filling in an accident report, even if no other vehicle was involved.
Failure to do so may result in you having to pay for the damage yourself, even if you are insured. You must also contact the rental company immediately after an accident.
Parking tickets and fines: Who has to pay?
The hirer of the vehicle is liable for traffic offences. The relevant authority receives the driver’s details from the car rental company.
Please note: Compared to Germany, fines abroad are significantly higher. In addition, EU member states are increasingly making use of the possibility of holding traffic offenders liable across borders.
Most car hire companies charge a processing fee (around €40) for passing on driver details. This practice is not without controversy. The Italian competition authority ruled in June 2022 that such a processing fee is illegal in Italy.
However, it is likely that car rental companies in other countries will continue to charge a processing fee unless there is a court ruling in that country prohibiting it. If you disagree, you can try to have the money charged back to your credit card. In this case, the landlord would have to take the matter to court, which is unlikely.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions about booking a rental car abroad
Third party insurance is always included in a rental car.
In the event of an accident, it covers damage caused by you to third parties.
However, your own injuries and damage to the rented vehicle are not covered by compulsory car insurance. You can take out one or more additional insurances to cover yourself.
Comprehensive insurance is designed to cover damage to the rental car.
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as fully comprehensive insurance for rental cars. Instead, you agree an exclusion of liability with the rental company, i.e. the rental company waives its right to compensation if you damage the rental vehicle.
The extent of the waiver depends on the terms of the contract.
There are basically two types. One with an excess and one without an excess. These are often abbreviated on the rental agreement as CDW (with excess) or SCDW (without excess). There are also other names.
Important: Some parts of the vehicle may be excluded from the insurance cover, e.g. glass, underbody or tyres. Be sure to check this.
In most cases, a credit card in the main driver’s name is required to book or collect a hire car. The hire company will usually place a hold on the card for the security deposit.
Many car hire companies do not accept debit cards or only accept them to a limited extent. However, whether a credit card is absolutely essential depends on the specific provider and country.
You should therefore check the payment terms of the relevant company before booking.
In addition to a valid driving licence, a minimum age is often required to rent a car. The rules vary from country to country and car rental company to car rental company.
However, as a general rule, you must be at least 21 years old to hire a car. If you are under 25 or a novice driver, you may have to pay an additional fee.
Important: It is not only young drivers who should find out about age restrictions in advance. Older drivers over the age of 69 may not always be able to rent a car or may have to pay a surcharge.
Whether or not you can drive the car abroad is specified in the contract.
There may be differences depending on the destination country and vehicle category. Sometimes it is allowed without restrictions, sometimes you have to pay an extra fee and sometimes it is forbidden.
Whatever the case, make sure you comply with the terms and conditions. Driving abroad without permission can result in a hefty fine.
Note: It is possible for car hire companies to track rental cars using GPS transmitters.
A one-way fee is often charged if you do not return the car to the same location where you picked it up.
For example: You collect the car in Madrid and return it in Barcelona.
The one-way charge is usually not included in the reservation. It is calculated on the spot and can be very high, especially for cross-border trips.
As soon as possible, lodge a written complaint with the rental company and request clear documentation of the damage, as well as the basis for the charge.
You should also review your own evidence, such as photographs or the handover report. If there are unauthorised charges, you may wish to request a chargeback via your credit card.
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
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