I have been renting cars for about seven years now, most of the time from Argus Car Hire and Holiday Autos, and I would like to share with you some tips to evade the hard sell tactics at the car hire pick-up desk.
First, I would like to point out that it is the clerk’s job to try and upsell, otherwise he would be in trouble with his or her boss. Plus, there might be a financial incentive behind it so I don’t blame them and you shouldn’t either.
I used to work as a receptionist trying to flog a lot of things to our guests because the tour operator or the hotel manager gave us a few quids commission. I was happy to do it and it was part of my job and it felt good making a few extra quid each month.
That is not to say I accept anything when they are trying to upsell at the pick up desk! In fact, quite the opposite. I always tell the clerks that they might find it easier to sell ice to an Eskimo than flog some excess insurance or another upgrade on me.
Anyhow, here is a quick list of things that clerks will likely try to upsell to you at the car hire pick-up desk. These are thing which you most definitely don’t need so always politely refuse and move on.
1 – Upgrading To A Larger Car Type
If you need a larger car then book it online in the first place. I assume you have done your research, read the small print and the car description so you will know whether it is big enough for you and your family. So just politely say you do not need an upgrade and move on.
Remember: you can always decide to get a bigger car if you realize what you’ve got is not big enough. But first always take what you have booked, walk up to it and then try and fit your bags and family inside. If all is well then just drive off. If it is too small then go back and accept the upgrade but try and haggle a bit before you sign anything.
2 – Do Not Accept Any Added Insurance (Unless You Have None)
Assuming you have already paid for a zero excess insurance policy at the time of booking the car there really is no need to get another insurance at the pick-up desk!
Tip: Read my article about avoiding car hire insurance rip-offs
The clerk will try to scare you into buying one for example telling you that the tyres are not included or the keys and so on. Do your homework and read the insurance policy which you have already paid for. If the keys, tyres, underside of the car, windscreen and so on are already included than just politely refuse and move on.
Of course, if your insurance does not include any of those items then I would highly recommend getting something at the desk but you will be far better off getting insured in advance.
You can use Worldwide Insure for this purpose – but there are pitfalls to this too (more about that here). I have first read about them on the Money Saving Expert website about two years ago and I have been using them ever since. Basically they offer zero excess car hire insurance at a super low cost.
By the way, you can get 5% off if you use this Holiday Autos link for your next booking.
They have two types of insurance but I always book their deluxe policy which covers the underside, windscreen and tyre of the car so it is by far the best deal you can get. Here is a picture below from their website – if you insure with them you will not need to accept any kind of “upgrade” at the airport.
3 – You Will NOT Need To Hire GPS
Most cars come with built in GPS so there is absolutely no need to upgrade to a GPS at the rental desk. Also, most phones now have the ability to use a GPS system offline so just bring your own phone and use it on the road.
Tip: if you use your own phone make sure you turn off the roaming function to avoid huge telephone bills! Three offers free roaming in 71 countries which I what I use most times, especially in the US, the EU, Australia and many other parts of the world.
4 – Fuel Coverage
Do not EVER accept the full-to-empty fuel policy! This basically means you pick up the car with a full tank of fuel and drop it off at whatever stage the tank is in. Then, the car hire company will fill it up for you for twice the going rate of fuel plus administration fee.
I was once a silly boy and did not read the small print and rented a full-to-empty car in Spain: paying for the fuel cost me three times as much as the base rate for the car hire!
Always rent full-to-full: you pick up full and return full – no brain surgery!
5 – Toll Road Transponders
This is something which is up for debate but if the country you are travelling in allows cash payments at the tool booths then just avoid the transponder. If you are travelling to states where you must use a transponder than there is not much you can do – you will need to rent one from the hire firm.
An alternative is to set your GPS or Google Maps app to offer routes that avoid toll roads, making a toll road transponder redundant.