Facts you should know before renting a car in Sharjah

If you want to drive in Sharjah, renting a car is a more practical alternative than buying the one. But first, be sure to know the requirements of driving a rented car in Sharjah.

Why rent when we can buy?

We all agree on the fact that owning a car is the dream of almost everyone. But sometimes the tight budget and high maintenance costs come as a hurdle to realise it, and particularly in today’s trying financial times of UAE.

That’s is where the ease of hiring a car in Sharjah comes in.

The other main reason is that some people prefer renting a car over buying as they don’t want to have a burden of selling it when they leave the United Arab Emirates. Tourists, businessmen, locals prefer this option over the public transportation as there are copious advantages to renting a car in Sharjah that attract them.

With all that being said, there are the things that you should remember before renting a car in Sharjah, UAE.

License and Document Requirements in Sharjah

Residents: If you are a resident of UAE, you will be required to have a valid UAE driving license that is at-least a year long. There are companies who rent out their cars to new drivers at higher prices than those whose license is at-least a year long.

If you are a UAE resident, you will be asked to submit:

Copy of a Valid Passport
Valid UAE Driving License
Copy of Emirates ID

Non Residents: If you are a non-resident in Sharjah, then you will be required to present an International Drivers Permit. However, if you are resident of one of these countries then you will be allowed to drive a car without International Drivers Permit. The countries are USA, Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Australia, Austria, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The updated list can be found on the official website of MOFA here.

If you also require someone else to drive your vehicle then you will have to register them as a second driver by submitting their requisite documents too.

Basic documents required in Sharjah are

A valid passport
Copy of Visit Visa / Visa Stamp
Driving License that must be from the same country as the passport
Driving License must be at least one year old

General Requirements for car hire in Sharjah

A person must be 18 years old to drive, but in order rent a car in Sharjah you must be 21 years old. The age limit varies according to the category of cars. Some companies rent out higher category cars to the individuals who are at-least 25 years of age. So when renting a car make sure to consider the car hire rules that are related to the age limit criteria.

Insurance of a car rental in Sharjah

The insurance of a car is one of the most important things that you should confirm before hiring a car in Sharjah. If a car rental company is offering you a car for rent at a price that is below the market rate, it is possible that there might be no insurance involved. Most of the car lease companies in Sharjah offer Collision Damage Waiver or DDW insurance which covers the accidental damages to the rented car if the registered driver has no fault whatsoever.

CDW insurance is usually included in the car rental price. However, you should always confirm what is included in the insurance policy of the rented car before finalising the booking.

Security Deposit, traffic fines and other deductibles

Almost every car rental company will ask you to deposit security deposit before renting a car. The security deposit is usually blocked on your credit card for the reason that traffic fines take several days to be recorded or reported by the RTA and the car rental company can recover them as charges if needed. This acts as a safety net for the companies and helps them in the times when the hired car is damaged by the driver. The locked amount on your credit card is released in 14-20 days in case there are no fines recorded. However, using a credit card is not mandatory, you can also deposit this amount in cash if you wish to.

Furthermore, all the fines and deductibles incurred by the driver will be charged in the final bill. Also, the amount of security deposit will vary according to the period of car hire i.e. whether you are availing daily, weekly or monthly rent a car in Sharjah and category of the car. The security deposit of the luxury car rental will be higher than that of cheap car rental in Sharjah.

Conclusion

Renting a car can be tricky if you are unaware of the rent a car rules in Sharjah. But now as you have all that you require in order to hire a car, thus it is the time to get the perfect car for you. Book a car with TripJohn to find best car rental deals in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman & Abu Dhabi today.