Aspect Car Rental BlogNews and views about car hire and rental world wide.

Half way to Murcia driving through the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas in our hire car and we come out of the pine forests and begin to drive through mile after mile of open plain. We’re still fairly high above sea level and our hire car has to struggle to get up some of the inclines (note to self – next time hire a car with a bigger engine!)

Here the scenery is more open, in spring though it can be breathtaking with wild flowers growing in huge swathes across the land, almond trees are in blossom and their perfume fills the air.

Looking back towards Granada and you will see snow capped peaks where skiing is still in full swing, yet where in an hour or two at the most you could drive back down to the sun drenched beaches around Malaga to swim in the waters of the Mediterranean sea!

In some places you’ll see small farm houses, or ruins dotted about, sometimes you’ll drive past small white washed villages but what you won’t see is many animals, at least not the domesticated sort!

One place worth stopping is the Troglodyte village just out side Guadix, where many of the houses are built into the clay hills, they dig out the clay to make pots, then live in the dug out man made caves!

Surprisingly the houses created this way are quite spacious plus being well insulated. The beauty of them is that if you want more rooms, you just dig out more space.

This place is famous for its pottery and you can get some real gems as long as you choose wisely. That is, there are a lot of very cheap ‘touristy’ stuff that is churned out which is not as good as it could be but hidden amongst all the ‘tourist’ stuff, you can find some real gems.

I found two matching beautifully decorated hand basins and a fabulous cooler dish to hold plenty of bottles of beer or wine for a BBQ. The prices were great and the workmanship good.

From Guadix you start to pass more habitations and start to see more industrialization as you approach Chirivel, then the two Veliz towns of Veliz Rubio and Velez Blanco.

Veliz Blanco is up in the hills behind Velez Rubio and boasts an amazing castle which is outlined against the sky, at night if you’re lucky it will be lit and looks like something out of legend.

So, we’ll finish the trip in part three!

Spain is one of those countries where you can still enjoy driving, the roads are very good (much better than the UK generally) and unless you’re in the cities or driving on the autovia (motorway) around a city, the roads are not too crowded.

We visited the area between Granada and Murcia up in the mountains of Andalucia and were amazed at the majestic scenery. Because we were visiting friends we were unsure whether to hire a car, how glad we were that we did!

We flew into Malaga airport and after checking our hire car we drove up towards Granada, on the way we passed the beautiful little town of Antequera and stopped to have lunch in the restaurant under the bull ring. Rabo de Buey (oxtail) is their specialty and I have to say it is one of the best I’ve tasted in Spain.

It’s a very rich dish so salad is a great accompaniment along with (if you’re not driving) a bottle of full bodied Spanish red wine, lots of bread to soak up the delicious sauce and if you have room after some home made flan.

As we were driving and had a couple of hundred kilometers to go, we did without the wine and the flan!

Once past Antequera you drive through rolling hills of olive trees and rich red earth, this is the land of olives and large haciendas. The road up to Antequera is not so good but after, well after that it’s a dream to drive on, well surfaced and little travelled.

Being on the autovia of course means that you bypass the small and interesting villages and small towns, although there are many that lay close to the autovia and so you can decide to drive through if you wish.

In these villages you’ll find many a little local bar/restaurant that will serve delicious local food at very reasonable prices. In many it’s still the custom to serve a small tapa with a glass of wine or beer, but not with coffee or hard liquor.

Granada itself is a very large inland city with it’s own airport and as you approach it you find more traffic on the roads, be warned the Spanish, like the Italians are in the main very fast drivers! They seem to ignore the speed limits in many cases but if you’re in a hire car you really are better off keeping to the speed limit. Especially if the car is unfamiliar to you and it’s your first time driving in Spain because you’ll need all your attention on the roads!

As for speed limits, you need to watch for them as they can be different for different road conditions, slower if there’s snow and at night. So keep your eyes open.

Once past Granada you drive through gorges in the mountains and here you can see fantastic colours in the earth, from grey to ochre, deep vibrant red or deep purple and subtle combinations of any of them.

The hill sides are covered in pine, wild olive and almond and the ground abounds with wild herbs, mostly rosemary and lavender. Take a breath and you can smell the clean fragrant tones of earth, sky and water.

The road passes rivers and areas of nature reserve, with the clear blue of a Mediterranean sky, the fierce yellow of a Spanish sun and not very much traffic you could almost persuade yourself that you’ve entered a time warp – until of course a huge truck passes you going in the other direction or a local driver comes up behind you and passes so fast you almost don’t have time to see him!

All this and we’re only half way to our destination!

Part two coming shortly!

So Harry Potter has come to Orlando! Finally it’s happened and the park looks as if it’s going to be a winner! But will you need car rental to get the most out of your trip to Orlando?

It depends on whether you want to explore more than The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. After all, Florida has hundreds of miles of beaches, thousands of different attractions and many places of natural interest where you can spot local flora and fauna.

Car rental Florida then is a must if you want to make the most of your Orlando trip, not just for the convenience of getting around but the comfort too! Florida can be humid and if you’re not used to the heat and humidity it can be a bit of a shock, but with an air-conditioned car you can be sure of arriving at your chosen attraction feeling cool and comfortable.

After enjoying the delights of Harry Potter or the many other theme parks in the Orlando area, you can depart in comfort too, arriving back at your home base or going to one of the many fantastic places to eat, where the food is plentiful and the prices very reasonable.

Next you need to decide what sort of car you should hire in Florida and that is dependent on how many you are in the party and your budget. For me, a convertible is what I love to hire whenever I go to Florida, usually a Chrysler Sebring, it’s a proper sized car with a comfortable amount of space for adults in the back, the boot (trunk in the US) has plenty of room for cases and it’s a great way to see the sights!

A word of caution though, if you do decide to rent a convertible, then my advice is to book early, they’re very popular and will sell out more rapidly than others.

To get the best out of your visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando Florida book your rental car early and book it with a site you can pre-pay to guarantee both the price and the rental car!

Many US and Canadian drivers coming to UK and Europe for the first time can get quite confused about the insurance offered on their rental car.

In the States and Canada it usual for the rental to be for ‘time and mileage’ only, they would then expect to pay for additional aspects of the insurance, for example CDW (Collision Damage Waiver).

Many of them will be able to use their own insurance policy to cover the CDW and others will have it as part of a credit card deal. so when they get to Europe they expect the same thing to apply here.

This is where the confusion comes in, even if they rent with a US company like Avis or Alamo they will find that US or Canadian insurance policies and credit card policies are not valid in Europe and so they have to pay the extras.

Car rental that is time and mileage only looks very cheap when you go to book, it can however turn out to be far more expensive by the time you’ve bought all the ‘extras’ you need. Nothing is guaranteed to spoil a trip more than finding the budget you set for your car rental is woefully inadequate.

Always check the insurance when you rent a car for your trip to Europe and specifically the difference in price between paying it all up front when you book (usually the best deal) or buying the ‘extras’ at the car rental desk.

If possible you want to get confirmation by email of the rates involved, or at least a name of the person you speak to if you do it by phone.

A lot of people get confused about insurance when they book car hire, whether on line or by phone. Mostly because in the UK and many countries in Europe we’re used to terminology like ‘fully comprehensive’ rather than ‘fully inclusive’ which is what many car hire companies use.

So what is the difference? It has to be said, not a lot, with ‘fully comprehensive’ it generally means that no matter what happens to your car and no matter whose fault it is, your insurance company will pay for repair or replacement.

It is usual for there to be an excess that you pay and this excess will be determined by many things including your driving record, how much you pay for your insurance cover and the dictates of the insurance company.

With car hire insurance it’s very similar but not always the same. For example, most private insurance policies will cover the underside of the car and the windscreen. Commercial car hire insurance however does not generally speaking. Tyres are not covered at all in either case so you need to be aware of this and to check what the excess is (and it will often be different depending on the supplier).

It is possible in many cases to ‘buy down’ the excess when you hire a car and it will be a personal choice for you depending on circumstances and exactly what the excess is. However, in many cases although you can ‘buy down’ the excess, this doesn’t mean you don’t pay it at all! Often it means that should you have an accident of some kind, you will have to pay the excess locally and then claim it back under the terms of the ‘buy down’.

Is it still worth doing? That is something that only you can decide but ask yourself this, how many people do you think each year don’t do it under the assumption that ‘it won’t happen to me’ only to find it does happen?

In the UK the usual excess is £500 no matter which car hire company you’re with and it costs a lot less to waive it than to pay. So again the choice is yours!

Are you going to Malaga this year on holiday or for business? If so have you thought about car hire? Last year there was a shortage of hire cars in Spain and especially in popular destinations like Malaga!

Although the economic climate is blamed because many car hire companies have reduced their fleets or, kept older cars on fleet instead of replacing them, it has to be said that they’ve probably not suffered as much as other industries.

Why? Because their product is now in short supply and you know what that means! Yes, the price goes up! They make more money per hire now because of that shortage and if you’re one of the unlucky people who waits until they get there to hire a car, you’ll probably end up paying as much as 50% more than you would have paid if you’d booked your Malaga car hire early.

Can you enjoy your Malaga holiday without a car? Well of course it is perfectly possible to enjoy a visit to Malaga and not have a car but, if you do decide to hire a car then your enjoyment will be enhanced!

Apart from the many miles of beaches there are so many places to visit around Malaga and a hire car can help you with that. Small villages up in the hills, where time seems to have stopped, up market places like the Malaga Gun and Country Club.

Just driving in you hire car along the coast road either east towards Nerja and the amazing caves there, or west towards Marbella and the playground of the rich and famous. Whichever direction you choose to take when you get to Malaga, car hire will help you make the most of your trip!

I have mentioned before about booking early yet many people still think they’ll get a better deal if they make a last minute booking, how wrong they will be!

All the major companies are cutting back on their fleets and some of the smaller companies are not only cutting back, they’re keeping the cars much longer than the usual 6 months.

This means that especially at busy times (July and August) hire cars are in very short supply. The Independent had an article online about the shortages that happened last year, especially in Spain, where prices for these two months doubled when people were trying to book a car near their time of departure.

There are three basic ways to book car hire, wait until you get there and hope for the best, imagine the horror though when you turn up with kids and mother-in-law in tow, all tired and uncomfortable from the flight. Especially when instead of a car you get told there are none available and you must take a taxi to your final destination!

Secondly you can pre-book, this where you say you’re going to arrive and pay for the car but don’t pay any money,  you can still turn up only to find that mysteriously no car is forthcoming.  You’re then back to the first scenario where either you will have to pay well over the normal rate to actually get a car or take a taxi.

The best way then is to not only pre-book but to also pre-pay by credit card for your hire car, this is by far the safest way to ensure you actually get a car on arrival.

The earlier you book the car the better rate you will get because there are a finite number of cars in each location and they’ll make more money from late bookings, it doesn’t work like flights where the plane is going to be flying anyway!

Are you thinking of coming to the UK and renting a car? Then you need to be aware that compared to most other major European countries, UK roads are not as good! Does this mean you should not rent a car? No, it just means you need to be a little more careful when dring it.

The Road Safety Foundation has said that only about 50% of UK roads reach the top marks of four stars, the overall best roads are the motorways of which 50% receive four stars, the A roads however fall short of this number, with dual carriageways and minor roads getting less stars than that!

So what should you do? After all, renting a car is still the best way of getting around the UK and seeing the country, it’s also probably  the most economic if there are two or more in your party. It is also possibly the most convenient, especially if you want to see more out of the way places in the UK.

The problem for you the driver on UK roads are potholes and the aftermath of the huge number of repairs and/or remains of utility companies digging up roads to repair or install underground pipes etc. So the trick is to be alert, before you set off, make sure you are fully familiar with all controls in your rental car. It’s surprising how distracting it can be to find the windscreen wiper is in a different place than you are used to on your own car.

Keep to the speed limits, you’re more likely to spot a pothole or repair bump or dip if you’re not imitating Jenson Button or Jeremy Clarkson! Besides, if you drive a little slower, you’ll be ale to appreciate the countryside more and have more time to spot a quaint little place to stop and take tea!

Often when people book a car rental they ask about endorsements on their licence, these are penalty points they have on their licence for motoring offenses.

Honesty is always the best policy here, some car rental companies do not worry about endorsements and some do, if you don’t inform the car rental company at the time of booking about any penalty points you may have on your licence you may invalidate your insurance in the case of an accident, regardless of fault.

If you inform the rental desk of your points when you pick up your rental car you may find yourself without a vehicle as the rental clerk can in some cases refuse to let you take the car!

Even though you may read the terms and conditions carefully of the rental company you book your car with, it still is safer for you to notify them and if possible get confirmation in writing that they do not disqualify drivers with penalty points on their licence from renting a car.

If you’re coming to the UK and you book a car hire, you need to be aware of the law as it may differ from those you have at home. Remember when you book your car hire UK you will be required to leave a deposit, usually in the form of a credit card ‘hold’ (where the deposit is not taken from your credit card but is held back from your available credit by your credit card company).

There are two main reasons for this, one is to cover damage you may incur to the vehicle, the other is to cover any motoring offenses you may commit whilst using the vehicle.

When you book car hire in the UK you may decide that you don’t like wearing seat belts, however if you’re caught there is a fine of up to £500 which if you’ve left the country before the fine is issued, can be deducted from your credit card.

Speeding is another offense that many car hire drivers think they can commit without penalty, again, this is not so as the car hire company can take the fine from your credit card. Depending on the speed and road you commit the offense on the fine can be as much as £2,500!

Then there is drink driving, I think most of us agree that drinking and driving do not mix, yet still, so many people refuse to act sensibly and still drink and drive.
In the UK the limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood and whilst the police cannot randomly stop you whilst you are driving, they can administer a breath test if they have other reasons to stop you. They can also administer breath tests whilst you are in a stationary vehicle on a public place (road, pub car park, garage forecourt etc), that is whilst you are in control of the vehicle, so it’s no good being parked in your hire car, on the side of a road with a bottle in your hand!!

Just because you’re not driving does not mean you can’t be charged! The penalties can be up to six months in prison, £5,000 fine and disqualification if you hold a UK licence.

So when you book your car hire in the UK remember to check on the driving laws, you can download a PDF of the UK highway code from

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/index.htm

That way you can always be sure of the latest laws and regulations.