When we talk about car hire, there is much more to hiring the car than just reserving it and paying for it. In order to make sure that you get the best deal, follow these steps and tips.

STEPS:

1. Look for an internet car hire. These types of hire offer internet only discounts, and sometimes even accepts find a car at your own price methods where you just give them your budget and they'll find the best deal for you, plus you wont have to go anywhere to get a rental.

2. Choose at least three to four car hire firms that fit your wants and needs. Do this either through the phonebook, or through the internet but remember to scan every possible firm before you make a choice. You don't want to overlook the best car hire because chances are that you often get bored for searching.

3. Contact the selected agency and ask about their special offers, location, availability, pickup sites, rates, special rates, hotel and airline partnerships, extra charges, insurance and everything else you can think of, that can help lower rate than what you have to pay for your car rental, or what would make the car hire more convenient for you.

4. Choose a pickup point that is near you so it won't be hassles. Note that some car rental companies pay for the cab ride you have to take, some pick you up at your home or at the airport to take you to your rental.

5. Choosing a car: Select a car depending on your needs, which could fit all the people you'll have in it, and if you're alone just use a compact vehicle because most rentals charge higher for larger vehicles.

6. The next thing to do, after you've totally decided on which to take, remember to reserve it. Some car rentals include the reservation fee on the overall rent, some make it out to be an extra fee hence you should also look out for this to save some money on car hire.

TIPS:

For the best deals for your money here are some tips when looking, finding and taking out a car hire.

1. When getting a car hire check for available upgrades at no charge, you'd want the best deal to get best car. For this, you should go to pickup your car early in the morning, when the other cars haven't been returned yet, this way there would be a shortage on economy cars and the firm might just give you an upgrade for a lower price.

2. Fill the gas tank before you return your car because the car rentals will charge you at an inflated price, the cost of the gas needed to fill the tank.

3. Look for packages like fly-drive-stay or fly-drive, these will get you great discounts on rentals, and what's more you won't have to worry about other details like a hotel or an airline, everything is there. You can find these packages on must travel agencies.

4. If your frequent flyer discount or free flight is about to expire, there are some car rental companies that offer to exchange these discounts to discounts on your car rental, although its more cost effective to just fly with your frequent flyer discount, if its going to expire anyway, why wait?

These are just a few of the things you'll need to know, but always remember to be pesky, ask questions, ask for discounts, the only reason why people don't get better value for the things they buy is because they're too shy to ask.

So, are you too shy to ask?