Ensuring a car rental reservation is held i.e. that the agency has a car for your when you arrive
I recently booked a car through a price aggregator site. After booking, I immediately received an email stating a reservation confirmation number. When I arrived at the rental agency, they said they had no car for me and to call the price aggregator site. I did. They told me that there was no guarantee that the car would be held and that I would have to go elsewhere to book the car.
I haven't read the fine print, but in the immediate FAQs and text of the email, no where does it say that the car will be not held.
I don't want to have to read lengthy terms and conditions every time I book a car. Is there a sure fire, yet quick way to make sure that my car is held when I reserve it?
Best Answer
Book directly with the car rental company and not with an aggregator.
Aggregators can have murky contracts with the rental car places and roles & responsibilities are not always clear. If you book with a smaller outfit or someone you've never heard off, check on-line reviews before you book.
While nothing is ever 100% guaranteed it would be exceedingly rare for a reputable car rental company to not give you a car at all. They may not have the class of car that you have booked but that typically gets you a free upgrade to the next available bigger class, but they will go out of their way to find you a vehicle.
I've rented dozens if not 100s of cars this way and never did NOT get a car. Maybe not the car I wanted or booked, but there was always a car.
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Should you call to confirm car rental?
Confirm your reservation: Contact your car rental agency a day before you arrive. Always bring your reservation confirmation to show the rate you paid. Make a printout, just in case the battery on your phone dies.Can Car Rental cancel your reservation?
If you did not prepay for your reservation, there will not be a cancellation fee. If you cancel your booking less than 7 days, but at least 24 hours before your specified pick up time you will be refunded the booking amount minus a small cancellation fee.Can you rent a car with a debit card?
The short answer is yes, you can rent a car with a debit card. Major rental car companies\u2014including Avis, Budget, Enterprise and Hertz\u2014all permit rentals on a debit card.Seinfeld - The Car Reservation
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