Guide to the Do's and Don'ts on supercar hires.
Renting a luxury car in Europe or anyhwere else in the world is something that we all should do more often. If a Porsche to chase up a mountain road in the Alps, a luxury SUV during our winter holiday or a Ferrari for an exceptional getaway somewhere on the best roads in Europe.
Driving a luxury or exotic car will make any trip a better experience.
But like often in life, a few things need to be considered when renting a luxury car. Make the most out of the usually expensive car rental experience. We give you a heads up what you need to be aware of when renting a luxury car:
1. Do your research ahead of your trip:
Being spontaneous is good. But without a reservation it is almost certain you will end up with a hatchback instead of your dream car. Plan ahead and make a reservation to secure your supercar before the arrival to your destination. Ask yourself what you want to do with your car. With all that dreaming going on do not forget to consider practicality and price.
02. Ask for a Model Guarantee:
Secure the exact luxury or exotic car model you want. Make sure the model is guaranteed. There will always be the uncertain, but from our experience most of the time, the cars booked are delivered.
03. Consider the size of your baggage to fit in your supercar:
SUV's are usually not the issue, lots of bags for your trip are no problem. The space in supercars however is often very limited. The solution can be:
Plan your trip as a loop and come back to the same hotel where you can have bigger bags stored.
Or simply consider pack less and leave your hardcase Samsonite at home.
Beyond the sport-cars, the Porsche models make an exception and have enough room for two carry on size luggages and even some extra space on the back-seat.
But in general we recommend taking the maximum of two carry on size bags for a supercar like a Ferrari 488. Ideally soft cases that you can give a little squeeze.
That said, also Ferrari offers with the GT4 Lusso a family car with reasonable luggage capacity. And Lamborghini offers with the Urus the second SUV model in their history.
04. Avoid One-Way Rentals to save:
Deliveries of luxury cars are normally done on the back of a truck. The expenses for trucking and driver can easily exceed the cost for a rental day depending on the distance between garage and your location. Which brings us to the next logic advise:
05. Rent from major cities:
If you can start your luxury car rental from a major city and return to the same destination you can avoid substantial delivery fees. Deliveries and collections at isolated places, like Lake Como can surely be managed. But will cost you extra.
06. Keep an eye on the included mileage:
Think about the overall mileage you need on your trip before you rent your luxury car to prevent expensive surprises for extra mileage.
The included mileage is often limited to a maximum of 150 kilometres per day. Thats not a lot and for a Ferrari a single extra kilometre can easily cost between four and nine Euros depending on the car model. Even in Switzerland thats a lot of coffee.
07. Avoid half days on a luxury car rental:
In general car rental contracts will count any started rental period of 24 hours and less as a full rental day. The difference with a luxury car hire is, that the daily rate is much higher. Avoid half days if you can.
For example, consider a chauffeured car to pick you up from the airport and take delivery of your supercar only the next evening before the actual trip is starting. Don't waste a full rental day charge on the few miles between the local airport and your hotel.
08. Know your coverage:
Deposits for luxury cars vary a lot depending on make and model and are usually hold as a reservation on the renters credit card. Supercar Rental does not know the any form of zero liability insurance coverage. Supercar deposits can easily exceed the EUR 10000.- benchmark. To minimise your risk you should:
Check your own private travel insurance. Many insurance policies include rental cars, sometimes limited to a certain amount. We recommend to travel always with sufficient insurance coverage.
Consult your credit card issuer and check if expenses for eventual damages would be covered by the potentially included travel insurance. Usually you would be required to use the card as the form of payment for your luxury car rental. Should you want to use the same card to guarantee for the deposits make sure your balance is high enough to cover other expenses of your trip.
09. Accept and enjoy the extra service:
Renting a luxury or exotic car also should come with an extra layer of service. Avoid paying airport taxes and have your luxury car rental delivered to the doorstep of your home or hotel.
10. Listen to your handover agent and short briefing carefully:
Unless you have the exact same car in your own garage, you should always allow your car rental agent to give you some short instructions on your rented luxury car.
You might miss out on the one of the fancy feature that an exotic car often comes with. Luxury and exotic cars usually feature technology that isn't very common. Sometimes that little plain extra button somewhere on the dashboard makes driving your luxury car even more fun.
Of course the basics are usually the same. But not everybody will know that a Porsche injection is located left of the steering wheel, or that the start button for a Ferrari usually is sitting right on top of the same. Imagine how embarrassing that moment will be, not being able to drive off after refusing a briefing.
It's also very helpful to know how to open the fuel cap on a supercar. This can save you a lot of time at the gas station. And this gleeful stare from the gas station workers.
Some car manufacturers get really creative when it comes to hide essential functions of their cars. Knowing how to close the roof when rain is on the horizon can be handy.
11. Examine the luxury car:
(Most) car rental agencies will do their best to ensure that you aren’t held responsible for damage that you didn’t cause. However cars are often turned around fast, and even the most meticulous inspector can miss a detail.
Take your time to do a meticulous walk-around and inspect the car for any preexisting damage to avoid obscurities when returning the car. In general ensure you have all scratches, dents and other marks noted on the check out form of your car rental contract.
Keep an eye on the rims – probably the most common damages on any car rental. Take a photo of each rim (and the entire car) with your smartphone to ensure you have a time-stamped photo and you have proof for any older damages that might existed before your rental.
Avoid being in a rush for the car return either and make sure when checking the car back in, to get a signature to proof all is in order and you've been on time.
For more information: contact us
Check out: European Driving Holidays & Supercar Tours.
Luxury Cars available: Luxury Car Rental