What is a Car Rental Form?
A car rental form is a legal document containing the agreement between a car renter and a car rental company. It includes terms and conditions regarding vehicle usage and the governing laws that bind both parties.
Car rental companies are entities that lease out vehicles. Usually, people who rent vehicles are on a vacation or business trip to a foreign country. There are also instances where government agencies authorize government officials and employees to rent car fleets for official government work and missions.
In this article, the following points are explained:
1. Essential information in a car rental form
2. Required Procedures in the car rental inspection sheet
3. Advantages of digital car rental forms
What Essential Information Should be Included in a Car Rental Form?
For car rental companies, it is critical to use a car rental form with the correct information, terms, and conditions. This will ensure that the renter properly uses the car and prevent any exploitation of the car rental agreement.
For a renter, carefully examining the information contained in a car rental form will prevent getting trapped by any deceptive clauses.
So, below are seven essential pieces of information that will help both parties make or examine a car rental form.
Details of the Rental Vehicle
The first essential information that a rental form should have is the details of the rental vehicle. Written car details will prevent exploits, such as a shady car lending company lending out older vehicles or claiming that a renter has replaced the vehicle with an older one. Below are the details that should be included:
- Make – Refers to the manufacturer or brand of the vehicle (e.g. Volvo, Toyota, Ford).
- Model – Refers to the specific model line of the vehicle (e.g., Camry, Accord, Impreza),
- Year – Refers to the production year the car was manufactured. This can be found in various stickers where the Product Identification Number (PIN) or Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is located.
- Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) – A unique number assigned to one vehicle contains various information about production year, model, and manufacturer.
- Car Color – Refers to its paint color and decal details.
- Mileage – Refers to the distance the vehicle has traveled before rental.
Rental Period
The following essential information is the rental period which refers to how long the vehicle will be rented. Usually, the car rental checklist or form indicates the estimated starting date and end date of usage. But some strict car rental companies might also include the time that it should be returned.
Other clauses stated in the rental period are the termination conditions and refund policies. For example, the period where the contract can still be terminated and the amount to be refunded from the deposit.
Scope of Use
Another essential piece of information is the scope of use, which contains what purpose it will be used for. In the rental form, it is usually asked if the usage is for leisure or business trips. This is requested to know what types of roads the vehicle will be used in.
Another clause is the names of the operators or the people who will be driving the vehicle. The listed operators will then need to submit all the necessary documents, such as Driver’s License.
Mileage Limit
The next essential information that should be included in a car rental form is the mileage limit. Mileage refers to the distance traveled by the vehicle and can be usually found in the dashboard instrumentation.
In the rental form, the mileage limit is usually stated in terms of distance. The mileage consumed is calculated by recording the initial mileage on the dashboard upon the start of the contract and then subtracted to the final mileage rating upon returning the vehicle. Excess to the limit will be charged to the renter upon return.
Rental Fees and Deposits
In this essential information, rental fees and deposits are stated. Below are some of the details.
- Rental fee – The rate per day of car rental.
- Fuel fee – Usually, rental companies have a policy of full-to-full fuel which means that the car will have a full fuel tank at the start of the contract and needs to be returned having a full tank. Upon return, the missing fuel in the tank will be charged to the renter.
- Deposit – An amount that will be to the car rental company and be fully returned to the renter returned the vehicle in good condition. But when the car is damaged, the deposit will be used for repairs and part replacements.
Insurance Policy and Indemnification
This essential information states that all the operators and passengers have insurance policies and that all possible damage to life and property caused by the operators of the rented will not be covered by the rental company. Instead, all the damages and liabilities will be shouldered by the renter.
Arbitration and Governing Law
The last essential information refers to what legal jurisdiction and state laws the car rental form will fall under. This is important to take note of since rental policies and guidelines will differ from state to state.
What Procedures are Included in the Car Rental Inspection Sheet?
Aside from the essential information on a car rental form, it is also important to note the procedures included in the rental car inspection form.
The rental car inspection form is used to inspect the vehicle before, during, and after the rental. Technically, it is a car rental checklist containing all the steps or procedures to check and maintain the vehicle components. Below are some of the procedures:
- Check the cleanliness of the car.
- Visually inspect for any damages and document it.
- Check if all the safety features of the car and air-conditioning are working.
- Use the car rental inspection sheet to do all the daily and weekly maintenance procedures like radiator coolant, oil, fuel levels, checking of tire condition, batteries, and other components.
- Every week, check the drive belts, battery terminals, and brake fluids. Also, check if there are leaks coming from the engine compartment.
Advantages of digital Car Rental Forms
A car rental confirmation is an important document for car rental companies. However, paper can easily be misplaced or damaged. This can cause delays in car rental transactions and put the business at risk. Besides, the collected data can hardly be evaluated for further business development.
With Lumiform, the mobile app and desktop software, there is a simple solution to the problem: Digitizing all forms and storing them centrally in the cloud. With Lumiform, car rental company employees can:
- Conduct pre- and post-rental vehicle inspections paperlessly and document the rental agreement using any mobile device.
- Take photos of the vehicle’s interior and exterior condition before the vehicle is delivered and immediately include them in the document.
- Update car rental templates at any time with the flexible form builder.
- Automatically create and share rental agreements with appropriate staff, including business owners, and store it securely in the cloud.
- Receive reminders about the vehicle’s maintenance schedule and other assigned tasks.
- Easily analyze the collected information for the further development of the business.
