Are you heading off for a holiday that requires a car? It pays to know the ropes when it comes to hiring a car, and these five tips could help you save on car rental.
Look out for hidden charges
Check the fine print of your rental agreement for hidden fees that may make your $50-per-day rental end up being more like $60. Sales tax, airport fees and extra costs for travelling over an allotted amount of kilometres all add up – so check the deal you think you have made against the terms and conditions to make sure you won’t get stung by hidden extras.
It’s also best to make sure you fill the fuel tank prior to returning your vehicle, because if the hire company has to do it, you can be assured of astronomical fuel costs that will take a big bite out of your credit card.
Read: Keep costs under control on your next road trip
Convenience versus cost
It may be convenient to rent a car straight from the airport. However, if you have a choice of hiring from a place nearby, it may be less expensive for you to do so. Airport rental agencies are usually more expensive than their suburban and metro counterparts. So, do your homework before you arrive. Weigh up the price of paying for a cab to get to a cheaper rental firm over paying for the convenience of an airport rental.
Another good idea is to see if your hotel can organise a shuttle from the airport, then use that to stop at a car hire outlet and hire your vehicle at a lower price.
Review the insurance agreement
Check the details of the insurance to ensure it really is value for money. If you have travel insurance you should have a provision for excess cover. There is no point paying an additional fee for this.
Read: Seven ways to save on fuel
Always rent a small car
It’s a fairly well known theory amongst car rental companies that people don’t like hiring compact cars, so they’ll usually have a lot more mid- and full-size cars available for hire. So why book a small car for rental? Because rental agencies will have fewer small cars available. If you’ve booked one and they don’t have one available, they are obliged to upgrade you at no additional cost.
Look out for weekly deals
Hiring a car for three days over a long weekend? You’ll likely pay a premium rate because it is considered a peak hire period. Sometimes it pays to add a day to your hire. Picking it up the night before you need it could save on car rental because overall rate will be reduced. It may pay to hire your vehicle for an extra day, even if you don’t need it, as the overall price you pay could still be lower than if you only hire it for the weekend days. Picking a car up on a Thursday will more often than not guarantee you a cheaper overall rental rate.
Read: How to save on a road trip
Check online deal brokers or to book your car online rather than over the phone or in person. Online rates are mostly always cheaper than rates that require human interaction.
Do you have any tips for cheaper car rental? Why not share them with our members?
