Long gone are the days when being accepted for a car relocation was just pure luck. When Transfercar started its operations back in 2008, we only had a handful of vehicles that needed to be relocated each month. Now we’re talking thousands,  so there is definitely an opportunity for you to find the right car or camper relocation, but it all starts with a bit of planning and an understanding of how Transfercar works. So we’ve decided, to start the year, to help you to make the most of our amazing system with some simple tips:

1.  Understand the basics

There are no direct bookings on Transfercar; Drivers make requests to relocate a vehicle, the rental operators get alerted and then select a driver when they log in to our system. Rental operators can receive just one request or sometimes 5 or more for the same vehicle, as there is usually a few hours between the time they list their relocation and the moment when there are able to process those requests. This means that in many cases some drivers’ requests will be rejected as only one can be selected per car. Rental operators either choose the successful driver on a first-come, first-served basis, or can also  choose to trust a driver that has previously relocated before, or who requests extra paid days. Therefore if your relocation request gets rejected or expires, it is nothing personal, and you should try again with another vehicle.

2. Request multiple vehicles for the same route

As explained above, you will not always be accepted for a relocation you have requested, therefore to maximize your chances of driving a free rental car or campervan, it’s best if you can request up to 3 vehicles for the same route and similar dates as this will increase your chances of getting a car. Once you get accepted for one relocation, our system will automatically cancel the other pending requests, so you should no worry about any cancellation fee.

3. Subscribe to email alerts

Look for this button on the left column of the page where search results are displayed,  or go to ‘Settings’ in your Transfercar account, to set up email notifications regarding the listing of new vehicles on your preferred route.

and then:

This enables you to be the first informed about the availability of a relocation for the dates that interest you.

 4. Plan ahead

You need to allow enough time to request vehicles, as it’s usually hard to get accepted for a same day request as rental operators need time to respond.That said, we usually don’t have availability for car relocations six months down the track, so the best time to start looking for a relocation is usually a few weeks to a few days before your desired pick-up date.

5. Trust your eyes…

Trust that what you can see on the website is true. The rule is, ”if it’s not on the website, we don’t have it”. Please don’t call customer support to ask for availability about a camper that you would like to relocate a few months down the track; If it is not listed on the website, then our answer will always be no…

Likewise, relocations are non-negotiable. If it’s written that a car is a manual, then it’s a waste of your time to try to ask for the car to be automatic instead.  If it’s written that the ferry is not included, there is no point in trying to negotiate this either…

6…. but read carefully

Please read all the relocation details carefully and email support with any questions you may have, rather than requesting a car and then cancelling it you realised you made a mistake. You would not believe the number of people who cancelled a booking because they thought the ferry or fuel was included, when it was clearly stated the contrary….Remember that we may charge a fee for last-minute cancellations!

7.  Understand the difference between 24 hours and calendar days. 

Read this blog post to understand how rental operators use different methods of calculation for the number of days rented depending on if the vehicle is a car or a campervan:  https://www.transfercar.co.nz/blog/transfercar-user-tips-nz/our-new-date-picker-explained

8.  Allow enough time between drop-off and pick-up for back-to back bookings

You can for instance relocate a car from Queenstown to Christchurch and then pick-up another car from Christchurch to continue your journey on the same day. However to do this in our system, you will have to make sure that the drop-off time of your first relocation falls before the pick-up time of the second vehicle, otherwise it will be flagged as an error. You should always secure your first relocation first, and then select a second one once you have been accepted for the first relocation, rather than requesting both at the same time, to avoid having to cancel the second leg if you’re not accepted for the first leg.

Now search for your free rental car and happy travelling!