Whenever a car is delivered to you before signing the car hire contract, you are advised to look around and confirm whether it is in good. Unfortunately; in most cases you are unaware of what to check for.
Below are some of the things to look out for whenever a car is delivered to you;
- Consider the offer
Find out exactly what you’re paying for. Some of the essentials like fuel or a driver may not be included in the initial hire price quoted. Determine the final price before signing the contract.
- Checking Engine Oil
Most of the self-drive cars are repaired on a routine basis however the routines vary from company to company. Companies with shorter repair routines often have cars in better mechanical shape than companies with longer service routines.
Nonetheless; you might fall victim of fuel refilling oil in a car that doesn’t require any refilling just because you visited a service center after a tire puncture.
To perfectly check for oil, the engine must have been off at least for 30 minutes. What usually happens; you visit the service center while the engine is still hot then the mechanic pretends to check for oil which will always turn out as though the car has run out of oil.
They then advise you to add some oil but the moment you park the car and the engine cools down; you will realize there is more oil than what is actually needed.
Normally during self-drive hires, the car is usually delivered to you, implying you cannot check for oil at the instant unless the driver arrives earlier and leaves the car parked for some time. Therefore, to check for oil, you must wait the car to at least cool down for 20 minutes before checking for oil.
- Head light
Head lights are not a common necessity during the day; however, no one intends to hire a car in Africa without head lights. Therefore, the moment the car delivered; check for the head lights to avoid discovering late in the night that the lights are not working.
- Indicator lights
Though not common, on a bad day the police can check to see whether your indicators are functioning more so when you make a turn without applying indicators in front of a traffic officer. Therefore, indicators are some of the things to check whenever you receive a car for hire.
- Brake lights
These are usually minor issues but they might cost you a few bucks in damages in case you do not identify whether they are functional when you receive the car. You might return the car when they are not working and the company charges you for damages that were never caused by you.
- Reverse Lights
You might not realize the importance of reverse lights until you have to reverse during the night. Therefore, confirm with the company when the car is delivered whether these lights are functional.
- Windows
Sometimes the windows can be a beat faulty, therefore confirm whether all the windows can slide up and down.
- Wipes
The weather in Kenya is unpredictable; having nonfunctional wipes will interrupt your journey at any time of the day. Confirm whether the car has water for the wipes before you proceed.
- Seat belts
For your safety, you have to check whether all the seat belts are functional before signing the contract that will put everything regarding the car in your custody.
- Motor Insurance
The only thing the police checks for whenever they stop you are; driving license and the insurance sticker. It is therefore important to make sure you know where the insurance sticker is to avoid any inconveniences.
- Type of Fuel
Most of the car companies put stickers indicating the type of fuel the car uses. Any mistake; that is putting Gasoline instead of diesel or vice versa might cost you couple of thousands of USD. It is therefore important that you have the type of fuel clarified before you start off on your journey.
- Fuel level
Most companies have a “return with a full tank policy” while others require you to return the car with the same amount of fuel you received it with. Either way, you must have this policy clarified when signing your car hire contract.
- Car Carpets
You should expect every car to have carpets, unfortunately in case you hire with camping gear; they might place some of the luggage behind which makes it impossible to notice whether the car has carpets or not.
This is likely to happen when carpets are forgotten at the washing bay without the car hire company noticing, only to return the car when they are missing and fined for this.
- Tool Box /Jakes
Every car comes with a spare tire or two which requires a spanner and Jake. Therefore, make sure they are there in the car.
- Just how legal are they? This is one of the most essential things to consider when hiring a car. Imagine being stopped by the cops over an arrest warrant connected to the car. Not only is it complicated, you’ll probably spend your Trip behind bars.
- What is the cover for loss, theft or damage?
Find out just how much you have to part with if loss, damage or theft occurs and what their policy on the same is. Buyer beware is one of the most underrated law concepts in the world of business. You ought to follow it.
- Take records
Be it in picture form or video, take records of how the car looks and the conditions in which it was in before it was leased to you. This will protect you from paying for damages you had no part in causing, also it will assist in striking a better deal price-wise.
