Cheap car rental rates, fast service, car rental discounts, car rental promotional offers, and car rental coupons are all factors that come into play when renting a car. If you want to know how to rent a car in Baltimore, Maryland, look no further. This page will provide information on when, where and how to rent a car. Most likely, some of your questions will be answered.

Richards DAR House Museum, Oakleigh Historic House Complex, the Spirit of LaSalle, and Fort Conde Museum & Welcome Center are all tourist attractions in Baltimore that you can visit using a rental car. The beauty of using a rental car is that you are not bound by public transport schedules. You can come and go at your own leisure. Aside from tourists, people on business trips and Baltimore residents also use rental cars when needed. http://www.rentalcarmomma.com/cities/baltimore.htm

Car rental companies like Hertz, Budget, Alamo, Avis and Enterprise are more than willing to provide you with a rental car. They offer car rental deals such as free upgrades to larger vehicles, discounts on various rates and extra free rental days. All these different car rental offers make it difficult to decide which company to rent from. Hopefully the information on this page will make this decision easier. http://www.rentalcarmomma.com/

Before even looking for a rental car, you should be aware of the many hidden fees that you might come across. Following is a summary of what to look out for:

AIRPORT PICK UPS: After arriving at the airport in Baltimore it seems only convenient and natural to go pick up a rental car. Most people don't realize that picking up a rental car at the airport is more expensive than when you pick a car up from a local neighborhood facility. This is because of airport taxes and fees that are charged.

INSURANCE: Before getting a rental car, check with your own car insurance company to see if they cover you in case of a collision in a rental car. If so, you can decline the insurance that the car rental facility offers you. Also check with your credit card company because they sometimes also cover their members.

ADD-ONS: You can rent additional items like child safety seats, roof racks, ski racks, and GPS devices from the car rental company against a daily rate that ranges from $5 - $25. You can save some money by bringing your own add-ons instead. http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=29&category=2&page=2

DROP OFFS: Drop off the rental car on time. If you drop off the car too early or too late it might result in a fee. Early drop offs might even result in complete rate recalculations. Say if you get a weekly rate, but you return the car in less than a week, you might have to be switch to a daily rate which will end up costing you more in the end.

AGE PENALTIES: If you are younger than 25 years old, you might get charged a penalty by certain car rental companies. For people under 21 years of age, this penalty might be even higher. Make sure to check ahead of time if the rental company applies penalties. Usually the local independent companies are more flexible with this because they go by their own rules.

INTERNET: The best place to start looking for a rental car in Baltimore, MD is online. You want to be able to see which vehicles are available to rent and what the different rates are. Car rental companies are bound by opening and closing hours and on weekends some even close earlier. The Internet on the other hand is 24 hours available and you can access it right from home at your own leisure. You can easily compare car rental rates from various different companies without being hassled by a pushy sales representative. Often you will find deals and discounts online that are only for people reserving their car online.

COUPONS: While online, you might want to look at some of the different websites offering car rental coupons, car rental deals, car rental promo offers and discounts. Websites like retailmenot.com and rentalcarmomma.com provide printable coupons, coupon codes and direct links that you can all use towards saving some money off your car rental. Make sure to check the expiration date on the coupons and read any fine print to see which restrictions and exclusions apply. http://www.retailmenot.com/coupons/carrentals http://www.rentalcarmomma.com/cities/baltimore.htm

RESERVE EARLY: If you know far ahead of time that you will need a rental car upon arriving in Baltimore, make sure to reserve the car right away. Car rental rates are determined by the amount of vehicles present on the lot at the time you make your reservation. The earlier you make it, the lower the rate you get.

WEEKLY & WEEKEND RATES: If you need the Baltimore rental car over a weekend, make sure to inquire about weekend rates. If you need the car for more than five days, ask about weekly rates. Both weekend and weekly rates are usually cheaper compared to daily rates. On weekends, car rental companies often apply discounts. Also, keep in mind that there are certain discounts that are only good if you reserve your car online.

PACKAGE DEALS: If you need air fare, accommodation and a rental car to visit Baltimore, make sure you look into package deals. Websites like Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com, Priceline.com and Hotwire.com all offer package deals where you can choose to include you flight, hotel and rental car. These travel packages are often good money saving deals.

Some people prefer using independent car rental companies over the major car rental giants. Some reasons why they prefer independent car rental provides are:

• ■ Flexible rates and regulations
• ■ Better customer service
• ■ Better selection of rental vehicles
• ■ Cash deposits

The large nationwide car rental companies are dependent on set rules and regulations where as the independent companies make their own in-house regulations. Because of this the independent car rental companies can negotiate more easily with customers. If you are under the age of 25 it’s better to go with an independent company since many of the larger companies might not rent to you or charge you a fee. http://www.carrentalexpress.com/tips/car-rental-independent.html

INDEPENDENT CAR RENTAL COMPANIES:

• Baltimore Car and Truck Rental
• 200 North Warwick Avenue
• Baltimore, MD 21223-1415
• Phone: (410) 233-5800

This independent company was founded in 1974 by Mark Eisenberg, a regional manager for Avis in New York. http://www.btrtrucks.com/who_we_are/history.php

• Towson Economy Auto Rental
• 1028 York Road, Towson, MD 21204
• Local Phone: (410) 828-7006
• Toll Free: (877) 828-1009

This company provides personalized service. The staff has over 12 years of experience. To keep the cost of car rentals low they offer late model vehicles. http://www.towsoneconomyautorental.com/about.nxg