How to Avoid Car Hire Scams: Part 1 of many

I was recently speaking with my friend who came back from a holiday to Spain. Of course before he went, I recommended what I thought to be a quality car hire agency. Unfortunately, "The Car Hire Expert" made a small mistake. My friend was treated to a very pleasant experience for the entire trip until he returned to the airport to drop off the car hire. The employee of the the car hire company (I will not name names) told my friend that he would need to pay 100 euros for some small damage to the bumper. Upon further inspection, my friend agreed that there was some damage but he was adamant that he was not the culprit. The problem is that there was nothing he could do and he ended up paying 80 euros after haggling the price down a little bit. The fact that he could negotiate a lower price for the damage is the first sign of a scam, but that is another story all together. If indeed, my friend did not cause the damage, what can he do in this situation? There is seemingly no way out.

Ah, but on the contrary my car hire friends, there is something he could have done. It is what I like to call the "pre-hire inspection." What is it? It is exactly what is sounds like. An inspection of the vehicle before you drive out of the parking lot. It is simple and will save you (could have saved my friend) a lot of money. The task is simple! Just take about 5 minutes before you drive the car to look it over for any signs of damage. Check inside and out and if you find a defect, say some damage to the bumper, you need to alert the car hire company BEFORE you leave the parking lot. This way you will not have to pay for the damage caused by another driver. Furthermore, some of the dishonest car hire companies may diliberatly leave part of the car damaged and charge every drive for the repair. Do not fall victim to this scam. Easily protect yourself with the pre-hire inspection. You should also make sure the gas tank is full before you drive away. If they require the tank to be full upon return, you MUST require the tank is full at departure. Save money and stress with the pre-hire inspection.