The Five Fantastic Philosophies

Apr

29

2022

Hiring a vehicle can stir some anxious feelings in people.  What if someone hits me? How do I limit my liability? How do I avoid extra charges?

While having a safe, relaxing hire experience may feel like a bridge too far for most people, the reality is that hiring a vehicle should be a fun enjoyable experience.  Whether it is for a quick local hire around town, or shuttling items interstate, by hiring a vehicle you’re hiring a tool to help support you in your activity, and it should be a rewarding part of the process, not a stress inducing challenge.

So, at Go With The Gecko, we’ve created the Fantastic Five Philosophies, that when followed, will help to ensure that you have a better more enjoyable vehicle hire experience the next time you’re hiring a vehicle.  These philosophies are based on our years of vehicle hire experience and working with our customers to help direct them to get the most out of their vehicle hire experience.

First, it is very important that when you hire your vehicle, you should always inspect it for damage before you drive away in the vehicle.  Once you start driving the vehicle, the condition of the vehicle becomes your responsibility, and there is no guarantee that we’ve seen all of damage that might be on the vehicle already.

Like most hire companies, Go With The Gecko allows for some minor wear and tear as the vehicles have been used by other drivers previously, so you don’t necessarily need to detail every minor scuff or mark. But we will ask that you submit pre and post condition photos that will help detail the condition that vehicle was in before you got into it.

It can be easy to believe that the previous hire would have already documented everything wrong with the vehicle already, but you should never rely on that, as something could have happened to the vehicle since the last time that we’ve recorded their images, and maybe something has happened that even we aren’t aware of.

All hire companies will hire out vehicles with a fuel policy associated to it.  Maybe it is “return as hired” or “pay for what you use”, but at Go With The Gecko, our personal favourite, and the easiest one to manage, is the “Return It Full” policy.

By returning the vehicle on full, you’ll take all the guess work out of your fuel consumption.  Did I use more or less? Is this close enough to where I started from? These doubts and uncertainties can lead to unnecessary uncertainty when returning the vehicle.

Take all the guess work out of it, and don’t get dinged with additional refuelling charges. Just take two seconds on your way back and make that quick easy pitstop at the nearest local petrol station to top up your vehicle and return it with a full tank.   Nobody can argue against a full tank.

We all want our own personal vehicles to be neat and tidy when we get into it, and hire vehicles are no different.  So be a tosser, and take your garbage with you and toss it in a nearby bin to keep your hire vehicle looking fresh and clean once you’ve returned it.

This is not just a sign of respect for the vehicle and those that will be using it after you, but returning a clean vehicle can also help you save on additional cleaning charges if you’ve left the vehicle in a negative state when you returned it.

Coffee cups, cigarette butts, loose papers and takeaway containers; are just a few of the many easy-to-slip-in-and-around-the-cabin items that can really dirty up a vehicle. But a quick check when you’re returning the vehicle can help you spot all of the debris that you’ve brought into the vehicle, that you are responsible for clearing out of the vehicle.

It is easy to imagine that the vehicle you’ve hired is all yours once you’ve been driving it around town for a few days, but the reality is, that your vehicle has probably already been booked following your planned return time by someone else just like you. Someone who needs it at the time they’ve booked it for. Needing extra time last minute has the potential to lead to a delicate balancing act, trying our best to keep everyone happy.

While everyone appreciates that plans can change, it is important to realise that it is your responsibility to return the vehicle at the time that you said you would.  We will do our best to accommodate you if you need more time, but sometimes a solution can’t be found, and you could incur some hefty fines by not returning the vehicle at the agreed time.

If there is any doubt, always make sure to add a couple extra hours onto the backend of your hire just to be sure that you have enough time to get it back on time.  Don’t leave it to chance, as you’d rather be a few hours early than a few hours late.

And finally, leaving the lights on once you’ve returned your vehicle can drain the battery and delay the next hire as the vehicle won’t start.  It is a quick simple check that you’ve turned everything off, that helps ensure that the next person hiring the vehicle, can gain access quickly and easily.

Make your next vehicle hire with Go With The Gecko the smoothest one yet, by following our Five Fantastic Philosophies for a more comfortable and enjoyable vehicle hire experience. And if you have any tips for us, let us know! We always love to hear from our valued customers on how we can improve their next vehicle hiring experience.