This is an article about all the extra costs that can come up while renting out your car on SnappCar. Read more about how to charge for fuel, mileage, charging electric cars, get paid for congestion fees or toll fees, and what to do if there is a traffic fine or parking fine.
- Fuel (Read here for info about Keyless)
- Charging electric cars
- Mileage (Read here for info about Keyless)
- Congestion fees and toll fees
- Traffic fines and parking fines
- Equipment (child seat, storage box)
Fuel
The car owner and the renter are free to handle the fuel used during a rental in every way they see fit. SnappCar does not play an active role in this process. We facilitate a step in the check in process of the app, that lets both parties fill in the fuel tank level at the start of the rental and at the end of the rental. This does not mean that any costs connected to this are regulated by SnappCar.
The most common way for handling the fuel is this: It’s the owner’s responsibility to make sure that the car is fully fueled when the renter comes to pick it up. It is then the renter’s responsibility to bring back the car fully fueled. However, the owner could also leave the car with say 80% and the renter would then fill up the tank to the same level.
To make it easier the owner should instruct the renter on how many liters/how much it usually costs to fill a tank, since they know their car best. They could for example say that a full tank is usually X Euros and Y liters.
Some owners prefer to get reimbursed with a payment instead of fueling up the car, for example if the renter has booked the car for a couple of hours and want to avoid the hassle with fueling up the car it might be easier for both parties. This would then be calculated by the amount of kilometers driven, in combination with how many liters the car pulls per kilometer driven, multiplied by the current price per liter.
The reason why the fuel level is registered at check-in and check-out is to help SnappCar mediate if the renter and owner have a dispute, any differences will not be regulated automatically.
Our recommendation is this: always make it clear in your communication on how you will solve these extra costs. The owner could for example write their preferred way in their profile, or they could both confirm it in the messages of the app. If SnappCar needs to intervene and there is no written proof of your arrangements, we can only look towards what is said in the check in and check out of the booking.
For information on Keyless cars, read: Who is responsible for traffic fines received during my Keyless booking?
Charging electric cars
The same rules apply for charging an electric car. Most car owners don’t ask their renters to charge it to the same level, but might instead ask for a payment as mentioned above. Make sure to instruct the renter clearly on how you wish to handle the charging. For example you could let them pay a cost for each kilometer but always ask them to at least return it with for example 30% power so you are free to use the car afterwards without charging.
Mileage
The renters get a certain amount of kilometers per rental day that they are allowed to drive without an extra charge. The amount of free kilometers is set by the owner, as is the price a renter pays per kilometer when they drive more than the free amount. The total amount of free kilometers for a rental is calculated by multiplying the number of days the rental period is long, by the number of free kilometers per day. On top of this, we withdraw the same fee as we do on the booking cost for the insurance and SnappCar fee, and the rest is paid out to the owner together with the rental income.
The limit of free kilometers is not saying that the renter is not allowed to drive more than that, only that it will cost extra when they pass that amount. It also doesn't matter how many kilometers they drive each day of the booking. As long as the total amount of kilometers driven is in the included range, it will not cost extra.
If you enter the wrong kilometer in the check in or check out we will first ask you to solve the cost between the two of you. If we need to intervene, we will look at the proof from the pictures taken, deduct money from the renter, and then pay out the money to the owner. SnappCar is not responsible for reimbursing the owner if this happens because of a mistake when entering the data, but we will do our best to help out.
Congestion fees, toll fees, traffic fines, and parking fines
The renter is responsible for paying any fees related to their trip. For example congestion fees, toll fees, and parking fees, including traffic fines and parking fines. However, it is up to you as an owner to mention if and how you would like to get paid for congestion fees since some owners have included it in their dayprice.
We ask renters to send a picture of the parking ticket to you if they notice it directly. But if they don’t see it you will get the invoice sent to your home address since they are the owner of the car. It is therefore important that you let the renter know directly when you receive an invoice so there is enough time to pay it. Solve it any way you would like with the renter.
If SnappCar needs to intervene because you didn’t reach an agreement we will add an administrative fee and sometimes a fine which will result in a more expensive cost. For rentals in the Netherlands, you can fill in this form for quicker help. If you're in another country, this is the process for getting our help with retrieving the money:
- Send a message in the app but also via Whatsapp, mail, or telephone. If they pay directly to you it will save the renter € 25 in administration costs.
- Pay the ticket in advance to avoid additional costs (for example, an increase) since we will not cover any reminder fees for a parking ticket.
- If you do not receive a response or money transfer from your renter within a reasonable period of time, please let us know and send us the booking number, a copy of the front and back side of the ticket, a print screen of the messages between you and the renter that shows your contact with each other. We use this information for recovering the costs from the renter.
- SnappCar will send the money to you after receiving all information, and send an invoice to the renter for the same amount + our fees according to the Cancellation terms.
Equipment (child seat, storage box)
If you offer any extra equipment it is up to you to decide how to handle the payment for renting it out. As mentioned above, our recommendation is to always make it clear in your communication how you will solve these extra costs, for example by confirming it in the messages of the app. If SnappCar needs to intervene and there is no written proof of your arrangements, we can only look towards what is said in the check in and check out of the booking, which will sometimes mean that we can’t help out at all.
Other costs after a booking
Have a look at this article for all of our fees. If you have damages that are not covered by the insurance, read more in this article.