Surviving
the Rental Car Experience
If you are staying in
Philadelphia for more than a day or so,
it really pays to rent a car, since many
of the attractions you probably will want
to visit (such as Fairmount
Park) may not be easily
accessible by foot or via public
transportation.
Renting a car is not without
some hassles, so we have accumulated
these tips over the years that you might
find useful:
1. Reserve early. Cities tend to have
limited rental fleets since space is
always at a premium, so you need to
reserve early to be sure you will have
transportation. Better yet, you usually
get a better deal if you reserve early.
Or best of all, make your reservations online.
2. Check for damage. Look the car over carefully before you
take it off the rental lot and make sure
the staff marks down any damage on the
vehicle. If you don’t do this, you
may be held responsible for damage done
before you had the car (especially if you
do not observe tip number 6 below).
3. Refuel the car
yourself. Do
not return the car with less fuel than it
had at pick-up time because the rental
company will charge you ridiculous rates
per gallon for the missing fuel (lately, as much as $8 per gallon!).
4. Don’t top
off the tank. This is second
nature to us, so we sometimes put every
possible drop in the tank before we
return it. Why bother? So long as the
fuel gauge needle is somewhere near the
full mark, the rental agency is unlikely
to charge you for fuel (especially if you
follow tip number 6).
5. Decline the
insurance. The insurance
premiums the rental companies will charge
you are another rip-off. Many credit card
companies include this insurance as part
of your benefits if you rent with their
cards. Check on this before you leave for
Philadelphia – be sure to check on
both the liability and collision
coverage.
6. Clean your trash
out of the car. Why should you do someone else’s
job? Because it will take less than a
minute and it will endear you to the
rental staff. Who cares? These people
have the ability to hold you accountable
for damage done to the car and they also
can hit you with refueling charges. This
can be especially critical if you really
have damaged the car and/or did not fully
refuel it.
8. Bring your radar
detector if
you have one. The Philadelphia police will give you a ticket if you violate
their traffic laws.
9. Beware of drop
off charges. If
you rent your car at one airport, and
then fly out of a different airport (such
as if you are travelling to New York, or
Washington, D.C.), you may be hit with a
"drop-off" charge of as much as
$100.
Good luck!
The Philadelphia Insider Directory:
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