Welcome to Car Rental Reviews
Dallas Car Hire Article
This is a selection made from among articles on Dallas Car Hire. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for future reading, click here.
from:
Car Hire - What Not To Do
By Michael Russell
This is my experience in hiring a rent a car and this is what not to do. My misadventure happened in the late 1980s. I wanted to visit some friends several hundred miles away. At the time I lived in a small town in the country. I didn't own a car and there was no direct convenient bus or train service to where my friends lived. I decided to take the bus, then rent a car, at the nearest place available.
I traveled to the town where the car hire or rent a car place was located. By the time I arrived at their business to rent the car, the sun had set and it was dark. I went in to the business, to enquire about renting a car. The owner had one ready to go. It was a compact blue station wagon. Being dark outside I couldn't see the car too well, but it seemed ok, so we went back to the office to do the paperwork. The car hire form had details about the car, how long I expected to rent the car for, and the insurance coverage choices, so the business owner filled out all that. I was sure that I chose to have the car and myself covered in full by insurance. I thought the insurance box was checked, as covered. He took an imprint of my credit card to pay for the car hire and that was it. He gave me the car keys, and I drove away.
I had a long way to drive in the dark. My route took me through rugged mountainous rural country side, to a large lake, where there was a ferry crossing.
At night when you're driving in a rural mountainous area always be on the lookout for deer, moose and other animals roaming along the road side. You want to see their little shining eyes, so you can slow down and be ready to swerve to avoid hitting them. Sometimes deer become alarmed by the noise and headlights of the car approaching and they want to dash across the highway in front of you. You want to be ready to slam on the breaks, so as not to damage the hired car you're traveling in.
Another good idea, especially if you are driving at night, is to take a highway map of the area you are traveling through. Then you can mark off where you are and the places to turn ahead, so you don't make a wrong turn, like I did.
I made a wrong turn some where along the way. Instead of taking the direct route to my destination, I ended up taking an indirect route. It was dark and snowy, and I realized that the road and country side, didn't look like where I should be. I kept driving and a sign appeared with the next town ahead and how far to go to get there. Then I realized, it was just a slight detour or side trip for me. I felt a lot better when arriving at the next town, and knew which direction to go. The remainder of my trip went well and I arrived safely at my destination.
I had a good weekend with my friends, catching up, going out to dinner.
The return trip was more interesting because it was day time. I could enjoy the beautiful country side. Every thing went well to begin with. I arrived at the last town before the lake ferry and I thought it might be a good idea to put gasoline in the car, at that point, since it was a long distance to the next town with a gas station.
I checked the time, and it looked like there was just enough time to reach the ferry by driving a little faster than usual. That was a mistake. Give yourself more than enough time when using a car you've hired. So again I'm driving over mountainous rural terrain at the edge of a lake rushing to catch the ferry. I'm watching the scenery and my watch, making calculations of where it is I should be, and how long left to drive to catch the ferry. It looks like I need to go faster, so I do. I step on it. I'm hoping to cut my time of travel down to just arrive before the ferry leaves.
This is definitely not the thing to do when driving a rented car, especially in a rural area where there are birds around. As I am speeding down a hill a rather large dark coloured bird darts in front of the car. This is a big bird, about the size of a chicken. At the high speed I am traveling at I hit the bird. There was a sickening popping sound as the car and bird collided. The feathers and bird flew up and to the side of the car. I keep going and get to the ferry on time. I drive on the ferry and park. Getting out to inspect the car grill, I get a shock. There was a large hole in the plastic car grill. Broken pieces of plastic and feathers showed what had happened. So now I'm sick about the damage.
I continue on my way to return the car to the rental company. When I arrive at the car rental place I have to tell the owner about the bird collision. He's not too impressed. We look at the rental form where the insurance section is not checked as covering the damage. The owner wants several hundred dollars and that charge goes on my credit card too. So don't do what I did.
Go to a major name car rental company. Be absolutely sure of your insurance coverage details. Check that you are covered for all damage. Know what the insurance deductible amount is. That is the amount that you will need to pay, before the insurance pays the balance of any damage. Read the form over carefully a couple of times before you sign it. Be a careful driver, and take your time. Have a great trip in the car you hire.
-------------------------------------------------------
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Car Hire
-------------------------------------------------------
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell
http://EzineArticles.com/?Car-Hire---What-Not-To-Do&id=169569
Dallas Car Hire Specific links
Blinkx Video Search
- World's largest video search engine. Over 26 million hours of video.
-- http://www.blinkx.com/
Connect at Current.com
- Stay current! All the Latest News and Videos: Entertainment, Politics, Sex, Tech, and Music. See whats new at Current.com.
-- http://www.current.com/
Watch Free Videos At Mevio!
- Tons of Free Videos, Only At Mevio.com
-- http://www.mevio.com/
Howie Mandel & The Talking Pine
- Howie Mandel tries to come up with a holiday campaign for Buy.com. Buy.com has millions of items at amazing prices, free shipping, video reviews, over 20 major categories of products.
-- http://www.youtube.com/
Free Tech and Gadget Reviews!
- Watch GeekBrief With Cali Lewis on Mevio!
-- http://www.geekbrief.mevio.com/
Dallas Car Hire News
Grenada halts construction of Chinese-owned hotel - Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Woman awaits trial on 3rd felony theft charge in 8 years Car dealers ready to bargain in North Texas Dallas Cowboys will face a tough four-pack of December foes Waxahachie family dies after SUV plunges off bridge into river Dallas Cowboys need to do ...
Read more...Dallas City Council committee will again take up the fiery topic of ... - Cityhallblog.dallasnews.com
A Dallas City Council committee meets at 11:30 this morning to talk again about possible expansion of the city's anti-smoking ordinance. The meeting will be in Room 6ES at City Hall. The touchiest proposal -- one that City Hall reporter Dave ...
Read more...Managing by remote control - Raleigh News & Observer
Neil Selvin exits a rental car shuttle at Raleigh-Durham International Airport last week before his commute back home to northern Virginia. He had spent the day in Raleigh on his job with Inlet Technologies. * If a company is willing to hire an ...
Read more...Plenty of room on Bruins bandwagon - South Coast Today
Wallet found, turned in at Rite Aid Police arrest two New Bedford teens for West End armed robbery, car chase Prosecutors to turn up the heat on arson suspects SouthCoast wakes up early Stabbing mars bonfire Black Friday in SouthCoast: 'It was crazy ...
Read more...NFL Preview: Will McNabb keep his job? - FOXSports.com
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The worst outcome for the Lions came last Sunday when the Titans were knocked from the unbeaten ranks. Tennessee definitely won't overlook the winless Lions, who have lost four straight on Turkey Day by an average of 20 points. The ...
Read more...New destinations are available for Black Friday shoppers - Dallas Morning News
New destinations are available for Black Friday shoppers 07:22 PM CST on Wednesday, November 26, 2008 By MARIA HALKIAS / The Dallas Morning News mhalkias@dallasnews.com North Texans can be thankful this Thanksgiving for new places to shop ...
Read more...Daily Dime: Rockets Impress With Road Success - NBA - ESPN.com
Streak for the CA H Pigskin Pick 'em Gridiron Challenge College Pick 'em Eliminator Challenge Race for the Cup Stock Car Challenge Uber Challenge All Fantasy Games MIAMI -- Sometimes the NBA regular season is just about surviving the grind. And the ...
Read more...