How to get the most out of a rental car

Get the most out of a rental car

Updated: February 2020

Transportation is always an issue when you’re traveling, as getting around in a city you’re unfamiliar with can be either problematic or expensive, Here’s why: trips on taxi or Uber are rather costly, the total cost of using those services quickly adds up with each trip, and of course, they’re rather restrictive as urban exploring goes since you’re not in control of the vehicle. 

Now a good alternative for exploring the city in a more comfortable and practical way is to rent a car, because it lets you move around at your own pace, allowing you for a greater range of movement as not only you get to explore the city but also its outskirts. We recently rented a car on our last trip to Las Vegas and had the privilege of taking some wonderful day trips outside of Las Vegas.

Now, as with any other service there are kinks and issues with car rentals, but if you know how to sort them out, this service opens a lot of possibilities for you as a traveler, so in this post I´ll give you some tips and tricks so that you get the most out of renting a car.

Finding a good broker

When it comes to car rentals there are thousands of options as there are multiple car rental companies that in turn offer many different cars. If you search on your own it might get confusing and you might end up renting for a higher price than you should. Luckily there are companies dedicated to search among the multiple car rental companies and their options to give you the best available cars for your trip, for the lowest possible prices. This type of company is called brokers, and if you want to get the best out of your car rental experience you should use them.

Now, which car rental broker should you use? Well, here you can find the top 5 car rental brokers.

1.    Viajemos.com Trustpilot score: 4.7 / 5

As low prices go, this is one of the best brokers in the market, as their tariffs are exceptionally good. Their page is built around giving the customer the best possible experience, so everything is made to be very clear and easy to use. In addition to this, they have partnerships with very renown renters such as Dollar, Thrifty, and Alamo. 

2.    Miles Car Rental Trustpilot score: 4.7 / 5

   Just as the first one, this broker has some of the most competitive prices around and partnerships with renown dealerships. But where it really shines is with its customer service, as they provide top-notch advise during the rental process and in most cases a fast and efficient solution to any problem that may happen in the process.

3.    Priceline Trustpilot score:  4.5 / 5   
The third option on our list offers other vacationing services and have a varied catalog of vehicles to choose from. Recent upgrades to their app allow their customers to better access their services through devices such as smartphones and tablets. Customers report them to be helpful and easy to use for most renters. 

4.    CarRentals Trustpilot score:   4.3 / 5

If you’re planning on visiting distant lands and exotic cities such as Sydney or Tokyo then you should be looking for this broker, as they have many locations on international destinations. On their site, you´ll find useful advice on what type of cars to rent. They are described by their users as functional and mostly effective.  

5.    Rentalcars Trustpilot score:   3.8 / 5

Rentalcars is also a very good option for those wanting to go overseas as they also cover a lot of ground, having locations all over the world. They also have a lot of accessibility options for international travelers as they can change the language of their main page to languages as diverse as Islandic, Vietnamese and Greek.

Ways of taking advantage of your rental car

As we discussed before, renting a car gives you more possibilities when exploring cities, but there are other advantages rental cars give you as a traveler, so here we´ll see some of them.

Making Road trips

A feature not everybody knows about car rentals is that you can set up your reservation so that you pick up your car at one location and give it back at a different location, which allows you to experience one of America’s oldest and most beloved forms of tourism: road trips. 

This feature of car rentals allows you to take part in road trips, even if you don’t own a car or if your car simply isn’t cut for travels of that magnitude.

Here are some fun and challenging road trips you can try:

1.   Los Angeles to Las Vegas

The road to Sin City captures all the beauty and harshness of the Mojave Desert. Without any stop, the trip lasts 4 hours, but there are interesting sites to see on the way such as Zzyzx, a strange mix between a ghost town and a conservation site, which is famously in the middle of nowhere, as alphabetically is the last place in the world.  

2.   New York to LA Coast to coast:   

This one is not for the faint of heart, making the trip is an achievement in of itself. As you´ll cross a good chunk of the United States. The total driving time is of approximately 42, hours but you should reserve at least a week for this epic trip, as you´ll cross many places worth seeing such as Las Vegas and Chicago.  

3.   Miami to Key West:

If you’re into more tropical destinations then there is another interesting road trip that you can do. That’s Miami to Key West. Without stops, the whole trip is about 3 hours and 50 minutes, in which you´ll be going from island to island, crossing huge bridges that extend into the blue Atlantic in between each of the keys. But of course, if you decide to stop in any of the keys you´ll find plenty of fun activities and delicious restaurants in each of the stops.

Experiencing other cars

An interesting part of renting a car is driving a car that you don’t own. That means that you get to drive a great variety of cars that you normally wouldn’t.  As I told you before, there are several types of cars to choose from, but to make it easier to understand we can summarize all the options into the following categories of cars. Now a little tip I can give you regarding these categories is to always choose your rental car based on the category, not on the specific model or brand of car, as availability of specific car brands may be limited.

1.   Economy/Midsize

These are the most inexpensive models, perfect for when you find yourself traveling solo or on a budget, the cars you´ll find in this category range may from small and efficient two-door models to average sedans.

2.   Standard/Fullsize

These are the in the middle of the spectrum as car size goes, chances are high that if you own an average car it’s going to be within this category, so in a way, it would be just like hiring a cousin of the good’ol car at home! Within this category, you can find everything from your average family car to midsize SUVs

3.   SUVs

Here you’ll find the bigger more potent cars and even some pickup SUV options. This option is great for outdoor lovers and if your car back home isn’t that big, then it's your chance to finally own the road in a bigger car. With the right car accessories, an SUV can be the perfect car for a family, everyday journeys, or exciting outdoor adventures.

4.    Vans and minivans

Renting a van or minivan allows you for caring a bigger travel group. This option is perfect for family travel as it lets everyone go comfortably sited. A family trip to Orlando and its parks, for example, would be far easier with this type of car.   

5.    Luxury cars/ Sport cars/ Convertible

These are two categories in one as they are very similar. Now in my opinion owning a luxury car or a convertible is just a waste of money as they tend to be ridiculously expensive, but renting a luxury vehicle, on the other hand, gives you all the experience of driving an exclusive vehicle with none of the long-term commitments or payments. Perfect for driving on cool exclusive destinations such as downtown Miami, Las Vegas Strip, and Hollywood boulevard.

It’s pretty fun to try a new rental car. In fact, you may like the car so much that you decide to upgrade your old car. If this is the case, you might want to sell your old car in a hassle-free manner particularly if you’re on the road a lot and don’t have time to deal with private-party sellers. If this is you, you could always sell your vehicle with a place like Junk That Car in Las Vegas as a company they handle the transaction fast.
And there you have it, next time you require transportation when traveling you´ll know how to get the most of your rental car!