Traveling in a rental car for Thanksgiving? Here’s what you need to know
As the holiday travel season inches closer, drivers opting to take rental cars to their dream destinations should take precautions to ensure they arrive safely and on-time.
The American Automobile Association, or AAA, projects that nearly 72 million Americans will be traveling by car this year, which includes those traveling in rental cars. In the same forecast, AAA says rental car agency Hertz is already seeing significant demand in cities like Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Gianella Ghiglino, a spokesperson with AAA, suggests you book sooner rather than later.
"You want to use that time of booking early to look up things about this car. So you can Google, you can watch a YouTube tutorial and those are really helpful and familiarizing yourself with a car that you may not have in front of you," she explains. Earlier bookings also tend to be cheaper, as rental agencies increase their prices when you book closer dates.
The Auto Club also says while rental agencies do their best to maintain their vehicles, you should still inspect them before starting your road trip. They say issues with tires and car batteries are the most common reasons they receive calls for service.
"With Thanksgiving coming up, Thanksgiving travel, we're going to have over 140,000 calls, people needing help due to those things that I mentioned, which include tire and battery issues," Ghiglino projects.
Experts also suggest asking important questions to the rental company, like who you should call in an emergency, if insurance is covered through the rental company, or if memberships, like AAA, can be used with the rental car.
