Talk to me about hiring a car abroad / driving abroad

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Thanks.

Never hired a car abroad before, and never driven on the opposite side of the car/road. I've applied for a credit card as I understand you need to leave a swipe of one as a deposit, but for those who do hire cars abroad, any advice or tips?

I do slightly over focus on stuff so this is at the forefront of my mind. I keep telling myself I am a competent driver (I actually love driving!) so I need to get over myself

It's the same as driving anywhere except sometimes on the other side of the road? Where are you going? Driving in Europe I've found much less chaotic than in Morocco for example.

Yep, mainland Europe. Have been to this city before, and they have decent infrastructure, though the roundabouts look terrifying (actual physical barriers between lanes in parts).

Buy hire car excess insurance before you go - they’ll try to sell it to you for an extortionate amount when you pick the car up. I usually use a company called Reduce My Excess. Some hire car companies are excluded from cover so make sure you check the small print. In Cyprus it’s a company called green motion but it depends where you going

Always remember that the driver sits in the centre of the road, as in the UK. If you are on the verge side you've got it wrong!

Hiring a car and driving on the other side of the road is easier than being in a car the wrong way round. Watch how you go round roundabouts and you'll be fine. As soon as you're on main roads you can just follow the other drivers to help with positioning. The one major difference I noticed as a European driver in the UK is that you drive much closer to the curb (probably because of cyclists).
You can do this :)

Thanks everyone!! Good tip re insurance

Get insurance4hire, they annual charge is about the same as a hire company charges for a week!
You do usually need a CC for the deposit as well

Don’t hire from Goldcar. Cheap but notorious.

If possible don’t go via a broker. It can be easier to book but it’s not always joined up and when you are at the car hire desk and you don’t get the car you booked it’s bloody annoying if the staff are saying you are getting the car based on the information sent by the broker.

Automatic is easier if they aren’t silly money as it avoids changing gears with the ‘wrong’ hand. Make sure you’re fully insured either by way of the car hire co’s pricy coverage or a cheaper 3rd party. Fill in as much info as you can online to avoid lengthy waits. If you sign up to the loyalty schemes and can handle the resulting email spam you often get promotion offers and sometimes free upgrades too. Research where the companies are in relation to the terminal first so you’re not surprised if you need to take a shuttle bus and check opening hours if you have flights landing early or late.

Oh I'm not going for an automatic! Tried to drive one here and absoloutley hated it.

The airport is tiny so yeah will look and see where car pick up is.

Make sure that you have a bloody good look around the hire car for damage before you sign for it

Previous damage should already be noted and match the records. A lot of people come unstuck here

Same goes with when you return the car

Giving way to traffic from the left at roundabouts and changing gear with your right hand felt odd but you soon get used to it

Google Maps very useful

Yeah I was google maps navigator for the driver last year and it was excellent so we will be using that. Iver ordered a universal phone holder to bring with me.

Be prepared for hire prices being extortionate! A lot of the hire companies offloaded their stock during the pandemic so there are shortages which have drivers up hire prices. We actually cancelled ours for our last holiday and just used Uber as the hire cost was silly-and that was with a company we’ve used for years

You will get emails, but if you sign up for the loyalty scheme (I did Hertz) you will get a discount, and sometimes offers. Definitely excess insurance. Do check for bumps and scrapes before you get in the car (take photos on your phone all the way round - and when you take it back as well), and any notable ones that aren't on the form you are given, take it back and ask them to mark it. I've not had a problem with this, but I have heard about other people having one.

You get used to driving on the wrong side pretty quickly, just have a good think when you first set off in the morning to make sure that you're on the correct side of the road!

I use Waze for navigating, but I'm sure Google maps works as well.

If you're going to a city though, do you really need a car? Or are you going on trips outside the city?

Take a detailed video of the car inside and out in the car park you pick it up from. Do the same when you drop it off to show no new damage etc. Be careful if the car is given to you dirty, as muck could be hiding unreported damage.
Have a copy of the European Accident Report Form in English in case you have a prang you don't have to fill one in in the wrong language. Suffered that one before.

I wear a hair band on the wrist that should be in the middle of the road.
have a quick read up if any of the rules are different eg speed limits on motorway, rules on headlights etc.
make sure you have total coverage on insurance. You can buy policies for that in the Uk I think
Lots of photos of car before you leave and make sure all marks are noted on the car paperworl you will be given

We always take photos of every bit of the car, inside and out and send them to ourselves on email with the time and date in case of any challenges on return.

Which country? The rules can be different

Walk all around the car, look very carefully and take lots of photos when you pick it up. I had one that had a few existing minor dings and scratches at pick up so I took loads of pictures, in the car hire car park in the presence of the car hire employee. When I returned a different employee started cataloging the dings and scratches and I had to show them my phone to prove they were there at pick up. I had no issues in the end but I did wonder how many people hiring that car ended up paying for the same bodywork as they couldn’t prove they didn’t make the marks. Nice little earner if you can get away with it!

driving in the other side is ok if you’re a reasonably confident driver and have someone you trust helping to navigate. Particularly if the road signs are in another language, helps to have another set of eyes. Turning left is the manoeuvre I find trickiest as you have to remember to go across the lane of traffic before turning. Also on the return to the U.K., be careful if you’re driving home from the airport tired after a week of telling yourself “keep right”.

Everything you need to know here:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-car-hire/

As well as the insurance scam, never use Goldcar or Record, the other thing you have to watch out for is the fuel policy. Not a worry if you're planning on doing a reasonable amount of driving but if not, it can add greatly to the cost as you pay for a full tank of fuel at a high rate, and then give it back to them so they can top it up and resell the fuel you paid for the next user. So avoid full to empty if you can.

If you have another person travelling with you who can drive, get them to watch out for the passenger side of the car, that you're not passing cars, cyclist etc too closely.

Where are you going? We've used Centauro and Hipercar in Spain without issues, and Auto Riesen in the Canaries. I cancelled and rebooked the time I found out one I'd booked in Malta was Goldcar under another name, actually got a reasonable price from Avis, which was a surprise because the big international brands are usually ££££s.

Oh yes good point on the fuel policy- allow time before your flight to top up at the closest petrol station to the return location and you’ll be fine. If the bar goes down even a smidge they will charge you and you can bet it’ll be more than at the pump.

Good point!!

Croatia

If you're going to a city though, do you really need a car? Or are you going on trips outside the city?

Yes - kids are desperate to visit as many beaches as possible, and the teen wants a trip to a water park (his fave). None of these are near the city (or each other sadly). Plus dh and I can drag them to outlying villages and towns for a bit of mooching.