Tips on Lowering the Cost of Renting a Car
Hotels, travel agencies, and even gas stations have national organizations setting guidelines or enforcing industry standards. Not so with car rental agencies, which remain largely unregulated. Each company has slightly different rules: some won't rent one-way, others won't rent to drivers under 25. But all operate on the same basic principle: Get as much money as possible for each rental. Though the odds may seem stacked against the customer, you can use this lack of regulation to your advantage if you understand how the rental game is played. Check out these top tips by travel writer Dave Downing to make sure you drive away with the best deal, whether you're booking over the phone, on the Web, or in person:
1. Act Locally - Reservations agents at car-rental companies' national toll-free numbers don't always know what's going on at specific outlets, so always check with the local agency when you arrive, even if you've made a reservation using the toll-free number.
2. Check the Web - Online booking sites such as Expedia or Travelocity - are a good way to comparison shop. You'll often find better rates than those offered at the individual rental companies' 800 numbers. Another online option is to go to a site like Priceline, where you type in how much you want to pay and your bid is either accepted or rejected. Priceline guarantees that your reservation will be with one of five major rental agencies but only reveals which one after your bid is accepted. At Priceline, you bid on a daily rate, so you'll have to do some math to compare weekly rates. Some online bidding sites won't allow you to pick up and drop off at different locations, so read the fine print.
3. Reserve an Economy Car - Major rental agencies generally sell out of "economy" (i.e. the cheapest) cars first. If you're flexible about the type of car you'll drive, make your reservation for an economy car. Why? Because if you arrive and none are left, the agent will upgrade you to whatever vehicle is available, usually for the economy rate. What if you really don't want the economy car? You can always upgrade on the spot. But be careful: slick rental agents may try to talk you into an upgrade, and charge you for it, before revealing that they haven't got any economy cars and so are obligated to upgrade you for no extra charge.
4. Beware Weekly Rates - A national chain recently offered a great weekly rate of $119 for a midsize car, with a daily rate of $69.99. The contract's fine print stated that renters had to keep the car a minimum of five days to qualify for the weekly rate, otherwise the rate reverted to the daily rate. If a customer returned the vehicle after only four days, the total charge would be more than double the weekly rate. If you come across a weekly rate like this, make sure you'll be able to keep the car for the duration of the rental, or negotiate a better daily rate before you leave the counter.
5. Never Buy the Gas - You know the routine: The rental agent asks you whether you want to purchase the gas already in the tank for a "reduced" price or return the car with a full tank. Never, ever buy the gas in the car. The reduced price rental agencies offer is usually within pennies per gallon of the going rate, and unless you coast in with a completely empty gas tank upon return, you wind up paying for gas you don't use. Be sure to return the car with the tank full, though, because the refueling fees are exorbitant.
6. Avoid the Billion-Dollar Insurance Scam – By some estimates, more than $1 billion is spent on rental-car insurance every year, much of it needlessly. If you have personal car insurance and you are using a major credit card for the rental, chances are you will not need any additional insurance. Likewise, the Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) is a transferal of responsibility that supposedly makes the company rather than the renter, liable for any damage to the vehicle, but the ambiguous wording and substantial loopholes make it of questionable value. If however you don't have personal automobile insurance, or if the parameters of your credit card’s coverage are too restrictive, the LDW might be useful.
Comments
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this is so gay i am trying to rent a car and this doesnt help me one bit
I would absolutely NOT trust Priceline for any travel-related booking where factors other than base price are at issue. For example, you DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES want to get stuck renting from Avis or Hertz, which will quote you (and priceline) an attractive daily rate, and then tack on mileage surcharges so that the final cost is way more than what you originally agreed to. Priceline means you're buying a pig in a poke, and they don't do a very good job of describing the pig's relevant features.
I find some of the tips you have on here to be absolutely ridiculous. Especially the tips on weekly rates and purchasing the fuel. Of course a weekly rate is going to have to be 5 or more days, you can't have a 3 or a 4 day week so don't reserve the week if you are only going to be there for 3 or 4 days. it's like buying in bulk you can't buy in bulk and return what you don't use for a portion of the money you paid. And prepurchasing the fuel is more of a convenience issue than anything. If you know you are going to be tight on time returning the vehicle why risk missing your flight having to refuel when you can just buy the tank and be done with it. If you do a decent amount of driving and even return it with 1/8th of a tank left the difference will come out to be a few dollars for the time saved. Unless missing a flight and wasting hours in the airport is more convenient than wasting a few dollars for you.
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