There may be occasions when you may have to rent a car. Yours may be in the workshop or perhaps you don’t have one and need one for several days. It could be for business or pleasure or perhaps an emergency.
You go to a rental agency, pick up your car rental, and head off. This may also be the first time you are renting a car. Before you drive off, there are a few things to check. Even some experienced car renters may not check these. However, just to be safe, let’s take a look at some of the things you need to look at before you drive off the lot.
1. Inspect The Tires
The tires must be in good condition so that you and your family will be safer. You need to check to see if they are properly inflated. If they are not, then you should ask the agency to make sure that they take care of it immediately. If they are not inflated properly, it could cause a blowout due to overheating. Can you imagine this happening on a busy road while you are travelling fast? It could cause a major accident.
2. Look For Signs Of Damage
While the agency will also try to make sure that their vehicles are looked after, sometimes, you just never know. Sometimes, there could be some subtle damage that may go unnoticed to most people. Make sure to walk around the car and look for things like dents, cracks, scratches and anything else that looks damaged. Make sure to look at the bumper and the windshield as well.
Some of these damages can get progressively worse while you have the car. If you notice anything, you had better speak up so that it is documented. Otherwise, if anything happens while the car is in your possession, you may end up paying for damages even though it was not your fault.
3. Check All Fluids
Generally, the car rental will take care of all this, but who knows, right? Maybe they did not get to it yet or perhaps someone was irresponsible. It happens in any industry. It is up to you to check as well. Perhaps they did do their job but unknown to them, there may be a leak somewhere.
This means that something that was topped off may now be at a low level. A car has many kinds of fluid, all of which are important and necessary, even more so in winter. These fluids generally last and should not be at low levels. If they are, there could be something wrong in which case, you should not rent that particular car.
4. Check The Lights
If you go with someone when renting a car, have this person help you to check the lights. If you are alone, have someone in the car rental place help you to check them. A bulb could blow and perhaps no one has noticed it yet. Before driving off, check that all lights are in working order.
Some of these things are simple enough to check. Don’t assume everything will be fine. It is best to be careful, otherwise your rental experience may turn out to be a very unpleasant one.
