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    CAR HIRE FUEL TIPS

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    Car Rental - Fuel TipsAuto Europe's Guide to Fuel

    Choosing the right fuel policy for you is an important step when choosing what car to hire. Different clients have different needs and there is no one right solution to fit everyone. In order improve the visibility of this issue, we've recently added a new feature to our booking engine, which allows clients to check straight away what fuel policy applies to which car, and even lets display cars with only a specific fuel policy, either "Pick up Full & Return Full" or "Pre-purchased Fuel & Return Empty". But how do you decide? Take a look at our explanation of each!

    Pick up Full & Return Full

    With this option, the client receives the car with a full tank of fuel and must return it with that same amount of fuel. It's important that before leaving with the car, the client confirms that the amount of fuel in the tank is what's written down on the rental documents. If it's not the case, the client should have it amended before taking off. It's also crucial that the car be returned with a full tank, since if that's not the case, the supplier will charge for the missing fuel plus a refueling charge, which can become rather expensive. This is the "classical" fuel policy, which has been used by most car hire companies for many years. It is ideal for people who only want to pay exactly for the fuel they use.

    Full to Full

    Pre-purchased Fuel & Return Empty

    With this option, the client has to pay locally for the initial tank of fuel. The car should then be returned with the tank as empty as possible, since there is no refund for unused fuel (some suppliers, offer refunds for unused fuel in rentals up to three days, but not all). This type of fuel policy is fairly recent, but it has become the norm in Southern Europe, particularly with low cost companies. Some people like the convenience of not having to refuel the car before returning it, while others don't like having to pay for the fuel separately. Please note that the price of the initial tank of fuel is more expensive than if you were to refuel the car yourself.

    Full to Empty