Car-rental Experience

Sometimes you would just take a car and head without a planned route to unknown destinations, seeing places without a schedule and stay a couple of nights in motels on the road and on the next day drive again, alone or with somebody accompanying you. It is a perfect possibility to get away from the routine and you are the driver, you decide where you get and what you in the next hours. It is good when you have your own car, but those people who do not own one, sometimes dream about it and even do not think about such an interesting service as car-rental.

The reasons to rent a car are various. Some people live and work in a city where the public transport infrastructure is really good developed and there is no need to own a car to get to work, for shopping or even sightseeing in the local areas. Sometimes it is even financially not really clever to have a car in a big city, because the public transport does the same thing, even faster and the monthly ticket covers all the possible transportation means and is even cheaper than the fuel costs to get to work. But the idea to take a car and head to some location is still in the air and of course, most people would not buy a car just to use it on weekends.

Another reason to rent a car and not to own the same one for a long time – is the chance to try various cars, before you buy one, or just try something different, for example to compare Japanese and German cars.

Such a possibility is being offered for a reasonable price by various worldwide companies, such as Sixt, Alamo, Hertz. You could place a reservation for a car directly at the web-sites of these companies or use the service of such travel services consolidators as TraveLime.com or Expedia.com, who are contracting with most car-rental companies all over the world and will give you the price and class comparison to the given time of reservation.

These companies offer normally quite new cars, not older than for example 2 years. That depends on the legal regulation of each country where you would rent a car. For example in Europe they offer cars that are not older than 3 years. I have driven a BMW 3 Series that had only 200 miles on the counter. And I felt this amazing interior smell of the Bavarian beauty that has left the conveyor nearly a couple of weeks ago.

The funny thing about these companies is that they offer several classes of vehicles – for example A – some small cars like Peugeot 206 just to get from one place to another, B – a little bit bigger cars, like Volkswagen Golf, C – kind of BMW 3 Series and so on. And if you would place a reservation for a vehicle and when you come to the selected office to pick up the ride – and they do not have a car in that class at the moment – they offer you a ride from the higher class for the same price!

There are some secret tips to get almost always a car a class or even 2 classes higher. First you should choose an office for the pick up of the ride – that is not really a large one. Usually they try to have a couple of cars available from each class and the on-line reservations are normally offering all classes without checking the availability of the vehicles in each office. In fact, if a class is right now given away – they have to give you a car from the higher class at the same price. I have only once had an offer to take a car that had lower class – and only because this office did not have any cars from the ordered class and classes higher – they were all taken. And I got this ride almost for free for the whole weekend! Second, you should take some middle class that is actually most popular. People rarely take the smallest vehicles, because you step on the gas and wait minutes till it goes. And the higher classes are almost always available, because they are quite expensive.

I have driven many various cars for the price of previous or even lower class just because I have ordered always the same car and it was not available! I have been ordering the BMW 1 Series and I’ve always put a remark that I need exactly this model, because at most companies you have such an option – if you need a specific ride. I thought that I actually would not pay much, but at the same time I would not need to wait till this thing runs after I step on the gas, because it is still BMW. And it is from the middle class and it was always not available. I even did not drive it once in my life! And they gave me instead of it Audi A6, BMW 3 series and once I got the wonderful BMW 330 Coupe. That was a marvelous ride. And I got it for only 78 Euro with full insurance for the whole weekend!

So, even if you already own a ride, think about taking something different and use these tips to get the best out of it.

Have fun with the various rides in this life.

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Don’t be Upfront About Your Car Insurance

It’s long been recognised as a way to get a young driver insured cheaply, yet most people aren’t aware that it’s a form of fraud. I’m talking about Fronting Up – the practice of a parent insuring themselves on their teenager’s car, and listing the teenager as a named driver only.

If you have claimed to be the main driver on a car yet the car is actually being kept at your son or daughters university, you’d have a hard time explaining how it got stolen from the campus car park.

Of course, it’s only fraud if the teenager is the predominant or sole driver of the car. If they only drive it occasionally, then there’s no problem – apart from proving this if a claim is needed.

With car insurance premiums going through the roof for young drivers, it’s not surprising that parents are resorting to this method. In some cases it seems to be a choice of either fronting up, letting your child drive without insurance, or paying a costly premium. Very few teenagers can get jobs that will cover a £2000 premium, so the onus usually falls on the parents. And of course, letting them drive without insurance can now result in an instant driving ban and hefty fines, maybe even having the car crushed, so fronting up often seems like the only option.

But there are ways for young drivers to get cheaper motor insurance. If they haven’t passed their test yet, don’t insure them at all. Let them drive solely under the driving instructors insurance until they get a full licence. Insuring a licensed driver is cheaper than insuring a learner.

Encourage them to take their Pass Plus. This is a course typically costing between £120 – £150 and is offered by most driving instructors. It covers motorways and night driving, and can secure the driver substantial discounts on their premiums with certain insurers.

If you can afford it, buying a new car can cut premiums. Some smaller models come with free insurance for a year, and new cars are recognised as having fewer problems and therefore less likely to result in a claim. If a new car is not an option, go for a car which has no modifications (even a set of alloy wheels can bump up a premium), a low engine size – which will also save on car tax – and generally as low a value and insurance group as you can find.

Beware of certain types of car too. Some models are typically bought by ‘boy racers’ and include the Nova, the Corsa and the smaller Peugeot models. Insuring one of these cars for a young driver, especially a male, can bump up the price of the car insurance still further. Unfair, but true, that the boy racer has raised premiums for all drivers under 25.

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Where to Find the Best Sports Car Hire

By definition a sports car is equipped with two seats, has a low center of gravity and a front mounted high performance engine. I believe to be a true sports car in the old sense of the word it must be a soft top. I think the true sports car originated in Britain with models such as the Austin Healey 3000, MG B GT s and Triumphs of the fifties and sixties. These two seater sports cars were a revolution in motoring. Generally built with folding soft top, two seats and a throaty 4 cylinder engine they gave drivers of the day the thrills they had been looking for.

Today Sports cars have evolved to be affordable accessible and practical. The original cars of the fifties and sixties were badly fabricated, they had awful handling, poor reliability, were very slow compared to today’s standards and didn’t stop well at all. The sports cars of today are fun nimble and will be sure to bring a smile to your face.

Some sports cars today even have rear seats; sometimes referred to as a 2+2 these seats allow you to car 3 additional passengers but generally speaking aren’t particularly comfortable over long journeys. Sports car hire in Spain is best suited to a couple traveling abroad looking for fun on the open road. If you intend to take a road trip or want to travel in style with a loved one there is no better feeling than putting the top down and heading out across the beautiful Spanish country side. With the breeze in your hair and the burble of exhaust notes behind you the road becomes your friend.

Taking a road trip in Spain couldn’t be easier you aren’t even restricted to return the car to the same place that you hired it from. If it suits I would suggest starting at one airport and ending at another. There will be very little difference in costs and this way you won’t have to back track or see any thing twice.

Sports cars today range from things like the now defunct TVR s or the increasingly popular Mazda MX5 even BMW and Porsche build cars which fall under the category of sports car if you are feeling wealthy or want to turn heads as you cruise the streets and boulevards of Spain try hiring a Porsche Boxer or BMW Z4. These cars are top of their game and offer the driver unbeaten control and driving experience. A trip though Spain in a Sports car is sure to leave you with memories that will last a life time.

Travelling to your final destination can also save you money; if you fly to a relatively small airport outside of the main cities this will save you money you can then travel on in your hired sports car, eliminating any need for costly airport taxis. The Mercedes SLK, Peugeot Cabriolet range and Audi A4 convertibles are widely available throughout our Spanish destinations. They are more expensive than the very bottom range vehicles but this is because they cost more to buy and more for the hire companies to insure. Although a bit frivolous the memories and feeling you will get driving a sports car during your stay are immeasurable

When hiring a specialist sports car it is always best to book early, make reservations as soon as you have your holiday booked. By doing this you will get the cheapest quotes and ensure that your sports car is ready and waiting for you the moment that you pass through arrivals in Spain. You won’t have to wait to fill out lengthy documents you can simply collect your keys put the roof down on your sports car and hit the open road. Don’t forget to take a good CD of driving songs!

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