Have ever looked at the fuel gauge after you left the airport, and wondered if you really had a full tank of gas or not? There are numerous stories about renters renting a car, only to find that out of the airport the car seemed to be burning a gallon every five miles. After a fill up, the vehicle would get the normal twenty some miles to the gallon'so what happened out of the airport? This has been particularly noted by some travelers when renting from a well known rental company in a different country.

One former car renter told a story about renting from a well known car rental company in Italy. After renting a car, all the lights indicated a full tank, but after only twenty kilometers, one of the fuel lights went out. Based on how quickly the lights disappeared, it looked like the car was going to get less than twenty miles a gallon. After the first fill up, the car tended to get nearly forty miles per gallon. This may not happen frequently, but it occurs often enough that the stories have become common place.

In this particular situation, the renter was willing to just let the problem of the tank not being full from the airport pass by, but another problem reared its ugly head. He returned the car very early in the a.m. after filling it, which meant it was a 'key drop.' Even though the car was full, no one was there to verify. As anyone who has been hit with a 'fill-up fee' knows, the fees rental places charge for filling up the gas tank are the worst. A few weeks later an $81 charge for re-fueling showed up on the credit card.

In this situation the individual did eventually get his money back, but only after a lengthy annoying process. This story brings up an important point: many of the car rental places do have a refund policy if they mis-charge you for a fill-up, but you need to have the receipt from that day or the night before to prove it was topped off before you dropped it off at the rental center. Hopefully this will not be a problem that comes back to haunt you, but having the receipt (and if they ask for it, make sure to have a photocopy) will help make your case, and help insure the return of your money. Always top off the car before returning it, even if it is only a few dollars. The fill-up fee is definitely not one to mess with..