When you rent a car in kerala

Traveling around Kerala could be all fun and frolic until you have to explore in public transport. Your overall experience can turn sour due to the distress caused by public transportation. If your priority is a comfortable journey all around, you must have given a thought to renting a car. Especially in Kerala, where the city is overflowing with tourists throughout the year, you need not give a second thought to rental cars. The following are some points you must keep in mind while renting a car in Kerala.

1. Choose a Licensed rental car agency

When choosing a rental car, make sure it is from an agency that is licensed. Hiring someone who does not have a license in order to save money can go severely wrong. An agency that undergoes certified training in order to get a license is usually devoted to their trade. By investing their time in developing the necessary skills to get a license, the agency guarantees a quality service. The licensed agency would not ask you for illegal payments while knowing about rental policies thoroughly. There is no guarantee of insurance if the agency is unlicensed. So, check the details of an agency before booking their services.

2. Risk of hiring self-drive rental car agencies without a License

If you are planning to hire a rental car agency without a license, you should know about some related threats. Hiring an unlicensed agency could cost you big. If the agency doesn’t pull the necessary permits, you will be responsible for making the changes to meet certain requirements. A licensed agency most likely goes through considerable training and tests to become licensed and certified by the state. They know the safety protocols. With them, you would be reassured of quality services. The licensed rental car agencies pass through all necessary inspections and safety requirements. An unlicensed agency cannot be held liable for their mistakes.

3. Insurance

If unlicensed, the burden to deal with any damage or injury that is caused would fall on you in the absence of insurance. So, it is advisable to rent cars that are insured with authentic documents. It is your duty to look into all the relevant documents a person in possession of the car would naturally carry. You must look for comprehensive insurance which limits your liability. The car rental services usually take a token account as a security deposit, which is fully refundable mostly. If you happen to damage the vehicle, the cost is deducted from the token deposit. In case the damage caused by you crosses the token limit, you might have to pay an extra amount. Make sure that your maximum liability is limited to a certain amount that you can comfortably pay in rare cases of higher damage. You might be made liable to the full extent of the damage if you happen to be intoxicated. Such a situation makes the insurance void. If you happen to be one of the loyal customers of an agency, they might overlook the payment of security deposits.

4. Rental Cars Terms & Policies

You should know a fact or two about the rental car service. Your signature on the agreement is generally considered to be conclusive evidence of your acceptance of the terms and conditions. It is suggested that you keep your eyes open to such terms and policies. In some cases, the agency may change its terms from time to time and so, you must watch out. Your rental must also correspond to the laws of the country and Kerala. The terms could also contain some exclusions or limitations of liability. It is at the discretion of the rental agency to suspend or terminate the rental service by any member for violation of any of the terms of the agreement. Individual restrictions might also be imposed on you. Do not hand over the car to someone unauthorized to drive a car. If you do so, you can be made responsible for limitlessly to indemnify the service providers for any loss.

5. Packages for renting a car in Kerala

Akin to the variety of cars one could rent in Kerala, packages for renting are interminable too. You could rent any car even for a single day and extending to a period of a month. If you plan to keep the car with you beyond the allocated duration, you might have to pay late fees for the same. You can rent premium cars or economy cars as well and the list is accommodating of limitless possibilities.

6. Documents required for renting a car

1. If opting for a self-drive car, you need to necessarily possess some documents. Producing an original driving license would be mandatory and so would the submission of its photocopy. 
2. NRIs visit Kerala throughout the year and so do many tourists from abroad. If an Indian, you might be asked to produce your UID or voter ID, as proof of your citizenship. The same might be required of any other person who will be driving the car.
3. You might be required to submit an ID that proves your address. 
4. If you are an international tourist in Kerala, you will require a passport mandatorily. You might have to upload the scanned passport pages if the agency requires it online.  
5. You might have to provide the details of your card which you plan to use for payment.
6. If you hire the car along with a driver then some documents might not necessarily be required.
7. Most appropriate car for your travel & details of that car

In Kerala, varieties of cars are available for various occasions. Special cars are provided to NRIs by some agencies. You can rent a manual or an automatic car as per your choice. Automatic cars are more efficient and better when traffic problems occur. You can opt for a budget-friendly car as well as a premium car, the choice is yours.

Travelling is fun only when it is properly planned. You would not want to ruin your trip to an amazing place, like Kerala. It is therefore suggested to hire a rental car service so that you can travel with ease. However, the above-mentioned points should be kept in mind while booking a car. This would ensure you do not face any unnecessary difficulties while on the trip.