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

So Spanish workers are going to strike and disrupt airlines and passengers. Are you protected that’s the question isn’t it?

If you booked a flight the airlines themselves should offer you alternatives but what happens if you also booked a Spanish rental car? Unless you have made sure your travel insurance covers you, you could be in trouble!

After the ‘volcanic ash’ problem travelers suffered earlier in the year, I would hope that everyone who travels learned the lesson and took out good travel insurance.

The problem still seems to be that so many people get travel insurance as part of their bank account options or credit card ‘extras’ and don’t bother to check the terms of the policy.

It’s so much easier to think ‘I’m covered’ than it is to actually read through the fine print, but just as you should read the fine print on your car hire contract before you sign, so you should read your travel insurance policy before you rely on it.

If you have booked a rental car in Spain and are one of the unlucky people hit by the strike disruption then the best thing you can do is call the company that issued the car hire voucher. If you booked through a broker don’t call them first, call the company that issued the voucher because they’re the ones who have contact with the end supplier.

If for whatever reason you can’t do that call the company supplying the car direct! they should be able to reassure you that your car will be available of you have to turn up a day late, you probably won’t get any refund if you now only need the car for four days instead of five but that’s better than having no car or paying a premium because cars will now be in short supply.

If you’re unlucky enough to be due to finish your hire on the day of the strike and so can’t get home, you need to talk to the rental company that owns the cars and try and work out a deal. Always talk to them first as they’re the ones with the cars and yes, you’ll probably have to pay an extra days rental but if you have good travel insurance you’ll be covered.

So remember, always check the small print!

On occasion we like to compare our car hire rates with the major suppliers, today we’re looking at Europcar for 1 weeks rental starting on the 1st October 2010 and for the mini group with Europcar you have two options, pay now £141 or pay on arrival £162.15.

An additional driver will cost an extra £34.96 and of course if you’re a young driver (21 -23) will cost you considerably more. If you’re a young driver of under 25 but older than 23 (so I’d guess that makes you 24!) you’ll still pay more but not as much as the 21 -23 age group.

So what would you pay for the same group from Aspect? You’d pay an amazing £118, this is from Heathrow Airport and is correct today 24th Sept 2010.  Now for just £22.75 you can include Damage Excess Waiver Refund and the price comes to £140.75, this cover is not included in the Europcar offer.

Let’s now look at Alamo (because Alamo is the supplier you would be with if you booked with Aspect) for the exact same car you would pay £120 if you went direct.

An extra driver would cost £4.25 +vat per day to a maximum of 42.50 + vat and  young driver (21-24) would cost an extra £11.06 + vat per day.

But here’s another reason to book with a broker like Aspect, the Excess Waiver, book direct with Alamo and for this booking (Oct 1st – Oct 8th 2010) and it will cost you £7 – 10 per day!

Book with Aspect and you pay £22.75 there is a difference in how the two work and that is this, book direct with Alamo and you’ll pay between £49 and £70 on top of your rental and your excess (deductible) will be zero.

Book with Aspect and you’ll pay £22.75 but you will get any excess refunded, just fill in the form and send it in. Now ask yourself this, how many times have you had an accident in a hire car? Not every time I’m sure so do the math and you’ll see why it’s better to book with a car hire broker like Aspect than direct.

We’re cheaper than if you go direct AND we compare the suppliers for you so you’ll always get the best rate!

Well now that a University Professor has tested it, it’s become official, driving in congested traffic is stressful! Did you need an academic to tell you that? No neither did I but here’s the kicker and something I for one would not have believed, using buses is far less stressful and may improve your health and lengthen your life! Well unless you’re driving the bus I guess.

It seems that because we can relax on a bus and read, talk on the phone, watch a movie on an iPod or Smart Phone we are more relaxed and therefore less stressed. There is also another factor that Dr Lewis thinks helps and that is handing over control to someone else which means we don’t feel the responsibility to keep everyone safe either.

It seems that traffic jams and congestion really do damage our health but in ways we may not realise, after all we tend not to think that raised blood pressure (when we don’t have a blood pressure problem) is a health risk but it is.

The raise in blood pressure is linked to higher degrees of cortisol in the blood and cortisol is a ’stress’ hormone. One that silently damages the adrenal glands and causes a cascade of other harmful chemicals.

So maybe it’s time to start catching the bus and if that’s not possible why not try carpooling, if you can get four of you to car pool, you know that for three weeks out of four, you’re increasing you health not detracting from it!

Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat, at least for the car rental companies! Christmas is high season everywhere, whether it’s for the two weeks spanning Christmas and New Year, or for a whole month from the 15th December.

Be warned! This is one period when you really do need to book early, not just to get the car you want but to get a car at all, especially if you’re going anywhere popular.

Spain is always very popular and although you may be lucky to get a car locally when you fly in, you can be very sure you will greatly over the usual rates for it.

Even if you’re just renting a car for the week before or after Christmas or New Year, you still need to book your car hire early. I know it sounds repetitive, but it’s so important, even now, people are booking for Christmas and every day you leave it, there are less cars available for you!

Go to a car rental broker as they have cars from most suppliers, whereas going direct means there are fewer hire cars for you in the first place. This means that you have a much larger pool of vehicles to choose from, it saves time and hassle and will generally cost you less!

So don’t let the car rental goose get too fat! Above all, enjoy the holiday and remember that drinking and driving do not mix!