So you’re traveling in a foreign country and need to rent a car from a car rental company in Singapore like singaporecarrental.sg. Though it’s nice to be able to get out of the airport and into an air-conditioned car as quickly as possible, there are certain things you need to do before you take off:
1. Make sure the agency has your correct information (for example: name, address, and email). Keep this information updated! If they can’t reach you once you’ve left the country, they’ll send your rental fee straight to collections. When we were studying abroad in Spain last year, my friend’s credit card wasn’t working because she was no longer an American citizen and hadn’t taken care of this info with her bank upon leaving the States. This is really important especially if you are traveling abroad or on a student visa.
2. Check the car for damages before you leave. This is especially important if it’s your first time renting a car. Some agencies will charge $300+ for any damage you cause to the car regardless of whether or not it was pre-existing, so be careful!
3. Ask about insurance and refuelling policies ahead of time to avoid having to pay surprise fees at an already big expense (for example: my friend Kate got charged $180 by Hertz in Turkey because they don’t put gas in their cars there unless you specifically request them to).
4. Fill up the tank with gas before returning the vehicle and always return with a full tank, regardless of how much fuel the car has left. It is illegal for the agency to charge you for less than a full tank of gas, so you’ll get dinged if they do!
5. Be sure to adjust the mirrors and seats when you drive off or if there’s someone else driving then when they return it. If your little brother moves your seat back while he drives home, don’t let us catch you at the rental place trying to demand compensation from us because we moved your seat back two inches! The same goes with adjusting mirrors; even though we make fun of each other’s crappy parallel parking sometimes in our cars, we never want one of you complaining about how bad it was and demanding money from us.
6. Lastly: bring lots and lots of sun screen and return the car with a full tank of gas to Singapore Car Rental: www.singaporecarrental.sg
While we’re pretty relaxed about most other things, both of these are strict rules that we will punish you for breaking:
– If your rental contract says “no smoking”, then DON’T smoke in the car. I don’t know how many times we’ve had to bring $75+ bottles of Febreze to one of our houses because someone decided their best option was to smoke in the trunk while signing out the vehicle.
It’s not worth it; just take it outside! We hate cleaning up everyone’s cigarette butts and smell like smoke too. – Last year we found two big cans (and some loose change) of PBR in the backseat and floor of the car. If you want to be cool and save some money by bringing your own alcohol/food on board, that’s fine too, just clear the trash after.