Car-rental rates vary even more than airline fares. The price depends on the size of the car, the length of time you keep it, where and when you pick it up and drop it off, where you take it, and a host of other factors.
Asking a few key questions may save you hundreds of dollars.
Follow these tips to get the best deal on a rental car:
Rent in the United States.You can get the best rates on car rental if you rent ahead of time directly through a U.S. company. If you’re on the road and decide that you want a car, contact a friend or relative back home and ask him to cut the deal and fax the confirmation directly to your hotel — the money you save is worth the hassle.
I list the numbers for the major rental companies, plus those that specialize in European travel, in the appendix.
Shop around.You may think that the rental-car companies offer similar rates, but nothing is further from the truth. For the same four-day weekend, you may hear $50 from one company and
$130 from another. I find that Europe specialists Auto Europe (
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800-223-5555;www.autoeurope.com) and Europe By Car (%
800-223-1516;www.europebycar.com) invariably offer the best rates. Make sure to find out what your rental rate includes — or excludes— such as a collision-damage waiver (CDW), taxes, mileage (you definitely want unlimited), and any other restrictions that may apply.Shop online. As with other aspects of planning your trip, using the Internet can make comparison shopping for a car rental much easier.
You can check rates at most of the major agencies’ Web sites. Plus, all the major travel sites — Travelocity(www.travelocity.com), Expedia(www.expedia.com), Orbitz(www.orbitz.com), and Smarter Living(www.smarterliving.com), for example — have
search engines that can dig up discounted car-rental rates. Just enter the car size you want, the pickup and return dates, and the location, and the server returns a price. You can even make the reservation through any of these sites.
Be flexible.When giving the rental company your dates for pickup and delivery, inform them that you’re also open to other dates as well, if changing your dates means saving money — sometimes picking up the car Thursday instead of Friday, or keeping it over the weekend, saves you big bucks. You may also save money if you rent for a full week rather than two days. Finally, check whether the rate is cheaper if you pick up the car at a location in town rather than at the airport.
Know your restrictions.Most rental companies restrict where you can drive. With some companies, you must stay in the country of rental (usually only smaller, national outfits mandate this rule).
Likewise, most don’t allow you to take a car that you rented in England to Ireland or the continent. Few let you drive from any Western European country into Eastern Europe, so if you’re plan-ning to drive to Prague, make sure that you make arrangements with the rental agency before you leave.
Check any age restrictions.Many car-rental companies add on a fee for drivers under 25, while some don’t rent to them at all. If you’re under 25, research which companies will rent to you without a penalty.
Lease for longer periods of time.Companies don’t always remind you of the leasing option, but if you want a car for more than 17 days (up to 6 months), tell them that you want to short-term-lease the car (Auto-Europe and Europe By Car both offer this option). Leasing a car gives you a brand-new car and fullinsurance coverage with no deductible. You can also get around a technical loophole for those too young to rent under official company policy if you lease. The minimum age for renting a car ranges from 18 to 27, but it’s usually 21 to 25. Anyone over 18, however, can usually lease a car.
Mention the ad.If you see an advertised price in your local news-paper, be sure to ask for that specific rate; otherwise you may be charged the standard (higher) rate. Don’t forget to mention member-ship in AAA, AARP, and trade unions. These membermember-ships usually entitle you to discounts ranging from 5 to 30 percent.
Check your frequent-flier accounts.Not only are your favorite air-lines likely to have sent you discount coupons, but most car rentals add at least 500 miles to your account.
Consider a stick shift instead of an automatic.You can save up to 40 percent on the price of car rental if you rent a stick-shift car instead of an automatic. As an added bonus, stick shifts often give you better control on Europe’s many narrow, windy, hilly roads and tight streets in ancient cities.
Look into coverage you may already have.The collision damage waiver(CDW), basically allows you to total the car and not be held liable. Your credit card may cover the CDW if you use it to pay for the rental, so make sure that you check the terms of your credit card before purchasing CDW. However, keep in mind that some rental agencies in Italy won’t accept credit-card CDW for rentals.
You must purchase it separately instead. Travel Guard (
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800-826-4919; www.travelguard.com) sells independent CDW cover-age for a mere $7 a day — a sight better than the $10 to $20 a day rental agencies tend to charge.
Carefully consider the other insurance options.The car-rental com-panies also offer additional liability insurance(if you harm others in an accident), personal accident insurance(if you harm yourself or your passengers), and personal effects insurance(if your luggage is stolen from your car). Your insurance policy on your car at home probably covers most of these unlikely occurrences. However, if your own insurance doesn’t cover you for rentals or if you don’t have auto insurance, definitely consider the additional coverage (ask your car-rental agent for more information). Unless you’re toting around the Hope diamond, and you don’t want to leave that in your car trunk anyway, you can probably skip the personal effects insurance, but driving around without liability or personal accident coverage is never a good idea. Even if you’re a good driver, other people may not be, and liability claims can be complicated.
Remind the company that you’ve already paid.Make sure that you know exactly what you paid for when you arranged your car rental. Many times, the car pickup offices in Europe overlook the fact that your credit card was already charged for the rental cost, and they try to double-charge you. Usually, you end up with one charge on your card from the European office for the first full tank of gas that it provides (which is almost never included in the origi-nal rental price).
Inspect the car before driving away.If the rental agency doesn’t know that something is wrong with the car you rented when you drive it off, it’ll assume that you broke the car and charge you accordingly. If the car’s condition doesn’t match the inspection form that they want you to sign, point out the discrepancy. Otherwise, you’re legally liable for the condition after you drive away. Make sure that all locks and doors work, check the various lights, and quickly scan the entire car for dents, scratches, and fabric rips.
Check for repair and safety equipment.Check the trunk to make sure that your rental car is equipped with a jack, inflated spare, snow chains (for winter driving), and a hazard triangle (most countries require that you hang this on your trunk if you’re broken down on the side of the road). Likewise, check the glove compartment for a parking disc. (Ask the rental agency about the parking disc;
they’ll explain the country’s honor-system parking lots, if the system applies.)
Gas up before you return the car.When leaving the rental com-pany, make sure the car has a full tank of gas so you don’t have to worry about dealing with local gas stations immediately. Also make sure that you return the car with a full tank of gas. Similar to rental-company practices in the United States, if you forget to fill up the car before you return it, the company will kindly fill it for you at obscenely jacked-up prices. Before you return the car, find a gas station and top off the tank.