If you are a Cincinnati resident and your car is being fixed in the shop, you may need to find out how to rent a car in Cincinnati. If you know all the correct steps to take and how to avoid the many hidden fees that come with car rentals, you should end up with an affordable rental car. You might even find some Cincinnati car rental coupons that can save you some money.

Cincinnati, Ohio has many restaurants such as Johnny Rockets, Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano's Little Italy, and P.F. Chang's. You want to be able to visit these on your own schedule. You don't want to be dependent on bus or train schedules. A rental car can give you that freedom.

Enterprise, Budget, Alamo, Avis and Hertz all have many different promotions and discounts on the Internet. You may find offers such as free car rental upgrades, various discounts on rates and even extra free rental days. One of the negative factors of going with one of the major companies is that they have very strict rules and regulations. If you are looking to flexible regulations and negotiable rates, you might want to look into an independent car rental company. It's also said that they provide better customer service. http://www.carrentalexpress.com/tips/car-rental-independent.html http://www.rentalcarmomma.com/

WHEN: So you have planned a trip to Cincinnati weeks in advance. This is a good thing. You want to make sure to reserve your rental car far ahead of time. This way you will get a better rate since car rental rates depend on how many vehicles are in the lot at the time of your reservation. Aside from this, if you also need a hotel stay and/or air fare, you can also look into package deals. Package deals allow you to book your rental car, accommodation and/or air fare simultaneously at a favorable rate. You can often find these travel packages on websites like [[Expedia|expedia.com, kayak.com, travelocity.com, priceline.com, and hotwire.com.

WHERE: Before reserving a rental car you want to do some research to see which company has the best rates. You also want to see what vehicles they offer. The best way to do this is by going online. On the Internet you can easily compare rates from various companies without the hassle of having to deal with a pushy sales person. The Internet is also 'open' 24/7 so you don't have to go by opening and closing hours as you would if you visited or called the car rental facility. Once you've found the company of your choice, you can reserve your car either over the phone, in person or online. You might want to consider an online reservations since many rental car discounts are only valid for reservations made online. http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/116640/article.html

COUPONS: While doing your research online, you can also start looking for Cincinnati car rental coupons. Websites like retailmenot.com and rentalcarmomma.com offer printable coupons, promo codes and clickable links. Some coupons might have exclusions and/or restrictions, so make sure to read any fine print. You also want to make sure to double check the validity date before reserving your vehicle. To redeem the discounts, just print the printable coupons, clip them and hand them over at the car rental counter. Coupon codes can be entered online while making your car reservations and the direct links will take you to the discounted web page. http://www.rentalcarmomma.com/cities/cincinnati-new.htm http://www.retailmenot.com/coupons/carrentals

RATES: If you are visiting Cincinnati over a weekend, make sure to inquire about weekend rates. Weekend car rental rates are often cheaper than day to day rates. The same goes for weekly rates. Weekly rates can be used if you are holding onto the car for five days or more.

FREE UPGRADES: Upon picking up your rental car, you might get offered a free upgrade to a larger vehicle. If you are not on a budget, you can accept the upgrade. However, if you are on a budget, decline the upgrade, because larger vehicles will need more gas which means more costs to you. The reason you are getting the upgrade offer in the first place is usually because compact cars are in higher demand. http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/116640/article.html

Following you will find a summary of some of the hidden fees and unexpected expenses that you might be able to avoid.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS: If you don't mind spending between $5 - $25 a day on additional items such as child safety seats, roof racks, GPS devices and ski racks, you can just ignore this paragraph. Most likely you want to save money and the way to do this is by bringing your own additional necessities instead of renting them from the car rental company.

'ARE YOU 25 YEARS OLD? If you are under 25 years of age, you might have to pay a penalty when renting a car. Some companies charge even more if you are under 21 years of age. To save some money, try going with an independent car rental company. They are more flexible when it comes to negotiations and regulations. http://www.carrentalexpress.com/tips/car-rental-independent.html

TO PREPAY OR NOT: Don't prepay for gas when renting a car. It is cheaper to just fill the car up before returning it to the lot. Car rental companies charge higher gas fees than you will pay at the pump. The only benefit of prepaying is that you won't have the hassle of finding a gas station to fill up the rental car. http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=29&category=2

INSURANCE: A big mistake some people make is to accept the offered insurance when renting a car. The best thing to do is to check with your own insurance agent first to see if you are covered. If this is the case, you don't need the offered insurance.

AIRPORT PICKUPS: Picking up a rental car from an airport car rental facility seems convenient because they are so readily available. However, what many people don't know is that it is more expensive to pick a rental car up from the airport. This is because taxes and fees are charged. If you can, pick up a car from a local neighborhood company.

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:

• Mike Albert Vehicle Fleet Management: Short Term Rental
• 10381 Evendale Drive
• Cincinnati, OH 45241-2513
• Phone: (513) 554-2900

This family owned company started as a used vehicle dealership in 1927. In 1957 they started renting vehicles. They pride themselves in the ability to be flexible to meet their customer's demands. http://www.mikealbert.com/

• BMC Auto Rental
• 3995A Commercial Boulevard
• Cincinnati, OH 45245
• Phone: (513) 528-6061

This car rental company is family owned and is geared towards serving the needs of other families and the local neighbors. http://www.bmcauto.com/about.html