Lessons Learned from Choosing Unreliable Car Rental Agencies

Car rentals have become an everyday deal for some, while for others, it still is a bit of a dilemma; in certain situations, when customers face terrible services, they carry apprehensions regarding rentals all their lives. In such situations, customers refrain from booking cars, and hence, to help all such customers, here are a few lessons that a customer shared with us after renting from an unreliable source.

We share such stories with the aim of educating our customers by providing info about, what are some of the lessons and issues that you can easily keep in mind while choosing your next rental service provider in the market.  The story that we are about to embark on has been shared by a customer who prefers to stay anonymous, but through his journey in renting, we would highlight some of the mistakes that you should not make while renting a vehicle.

The Experience

I am an IT professional living in Delhi; I recently transferred from Chennai, and it took me some time to learn about Delhi's ways and how to travel within the city limits. While my daily commuting needs were being easily met through the metro, I often felt the need of a personal vehicle for travelling outstation at weekends. I frequently used to travel through charter buses, but they were not great for exploring the wilderness that exists. In most cases, they followed very rigid itineraries, and they would not provide us with a lot of room to travel as per our plans. I wanted to have an experience where I would be on my own and could use whatever little time I had to explore and witness the surroundings as it pleased me.

Being from down south, I didn't know much about the ways of the mountains, the culture as well as the ingenious ways of survival that the local residents are aware of; curious about learning about them, I thought of planning a trip with a self-drive car rental. I thought that through a self-drive car rental plan, I would be able to enjoy my freedom and would be able to easily travel without any issues or problems. Being a corporate employee I often give up on my aspirations under the stress of my office and similarly, I forgot about such a trip until the last weekend when my friend reminded me of the plans and how we were free for four days and could manage such a trip.

Realizing that this was the perfect opportunity for a trip like I had planned, I jumped onto the internet to find a rental partner who could help. Since we didn't have enough time, I simply picked the one with the most affordable prices and finalised a deal for four days straight up. My friends and I then went on to pick up the vehicle and thought about how great our journey along the mountains would be.

By the time we had finalised our booking, the time was around 8:00, We reached the location as it was about to close, and we had booked a S-cross, but at the location, the manager said they only had a swift and could not manage to provide an S-cross. He acknowledged his fault and said I would adjust the pricing later if you would take the swift. Being in a hurry, we said yes to the offer and took the car; it being dark, we could not inspect the car in detail but found the interior to be in bad shape. But we again thought of ignoring such issues and went ahead and took the vehicle for a trip around.

We picked up the vehicle , it barely had enough petrol to make it to the pump but we did manage to get it there. Once we were at the pump we got the car filled up and started travelling ahead only after a drive of about 18–19 km we realize that the car's transmission was having issues. We could not select the third gear and the clutch was slipping occasionally. Since it was late, the provider did not pick up our calls. Exhausted we travelled ahead and thought of communicating to him in the morning.  We tried to contact him again around 10 in the morning, and he started shouting and said that we had caused the problem and we had to bear the repair charges on return.

The dealer told us that the car was new and still in the warranty period and asked us not to take it to any road side mechanic as the warranty might get voided. From this point onwards, our trip was not the same as it had been before, and we were tired of the car showcasing signs of a troubled gearbox. Even at inclines, the car resisted performing. After our trip got deranged, we came back as we had decided and went to return the vehicle. This is where the issues got worse.

While returning the vehicle the provider said that a dent at the back was not present before and we must have bumped the car somewhere; he didn't return our security and asked for a charge for transmission repair. Further, he said that you had exceeded the km limit and would have to pay extra for that as well. To further ruin our experience he did not adjust the charges as per the difference in between Swift and S cross.

Since we didn't want any issues, we paid up and went our way, but this rental left a sour taste for me regarding rentals. I till now refrain from getting rental vehicles while travelling.

Learnings we can use from the experience.

To help our fellow customers, here are a few of the mistakes that the user above made while trying to get a vehicle that no one should replicate. Remember these when you rent a vehicle next time to ensure that you get the best deal possible.

Mistake #1

The renter, in this case, did not inspect the vehicle properly and was in a hurry while picking the vehicle. It's important to make sure that the vehicle is fit and fine while picking up. If possible, also take a small test drive to ensure that the car is performing fine. In such cases, if that transmission issue had been detected earlier, the driver would have been able to quickly point it out and save himself from paying the repair charges. It can also be noted that while planning a trip with the support of rentals try and pick up the vehicle during the morning so that you can inspect the car easily in light and pick out any dents and scratches that might become your responsibility after returning the car.

Mistake #2

Driving a car with issues.

As a renter, you should never continue to drive a car with issues that could further deteriorate the problems that the vehicle might be facing. In such cases, it's important to ensure that you stop using the vehicle at once. Try to communicate to the dealer about any issues that the vehicle might be showcasing, and further also try to communicate to the provider.  This case presents an anomaly since the car was in warranty; otherwise, in most cases, the rental service provider allows repairs at a reputed shop and provides returns based on the bills of the repair.

Mistake #3

Exceeding the KM Driving Limits

In most cases dealers stipulate a km limit on rentals of all kinds of vehicles. This is mainly done to save the vehicle from any type of overuse or damage. In case you believe that while on your trip, you might end up exceeding the driving limit provided by the provider, it's better to ask for an extension from the get-go. This would help you save up on the costly charges that you have to provide for after using the vehicle longer than you were supposed to.

Mistake # 04

Being in a hurry and renting a car at the last moment

Renting a car should be a prime activity while on a trip, and hence, you should do it as soon as you plan a trip. This would leave you with plenty of time to check and examine the vehicle while picking it up. While picking up the vehicle at the last moment you might not have enough time to inspect the vehicle carefully. A careful inspection of the vehicle and a test drive are a very important aspect of the rental scheme, and hence, it's vital that you conduct them thoroughly before accepting a vehicle on rent.

Mistake # 5

Not Going through the Terms and Conditions of the Rental Agreement

It's very important to read between the lines while trying to rent a vehicle. Always read between the lines to ensure that none of the terms or conditions hamper the quality of your rental journey. In case any of the terms or conditions seems dubious or unclear, contact the provider and communicate about the problem head-on without wasting any more time. Here are a few of the issues that you would have to be clear about.

Hidden Charges

Charges in case of extension

Charges in case of damages

Charges in case of mechanical damage

Charges in case of accident

Insurance cover if any

Third-Party insurance cover

These are some of the most important issues that you should gain clarity on while renting. These would help you have a safe and sound renting journey while going out.  As a renter, you should always pay special attention to these issues before renting to ensure that renters can avoid such issues.

If you feel overburdened by the different checks and inspections that you would have to carry out while renting, we advise you to rent your vehicles from us. We ensure that with all our rentals, our customers do not have to go through any kind of issues or problems. All our vehicles are hence looked after and maintained to ensure that our customers never face issues like our anonymous storyteller did.

Every vehicle that we add to our fleet goes through the most rigorous training to ensure that it provides the most optimum performance when rented by a customer. Further, to aid our customers, we have added different models or rental and subscriptions to our offers. Now, if you need a vehicle for daily runabouts in the long run, you can easily opt for our subscription model, where a vehicle would be provided to you as per your choice. Apart from our subscription services, we also provide monthly rental services and long-term leases.

Such dynamism in renting plans helps us serve a wide range of customers, and we strive endlessly to ensure that we are able to fulfil all their requests and necessities with ease. If planning your own itinerary and travel plans seems a bit too much to you, we also provide guided tours; you can now easily travel through Manali, Leh Ladakh, Spiti and various other places with experts who have been on these routes plenty of times. Contact us today and fulfil all your travelling and renting aspirations with ease. Consider yourself to just be a single phone call away from travelling to the location of interest with ease and follow the passion of travelling to different locations with ease. Contact us now.