Whatever your travel plans, there is never a need to spend money on a deluxe rental vehicle. What more could anyone ask for as long as it is cozy, secure, and capable of getting decent mileage? Whether you’re going out of town for a weekend business trip, want to spend a few nights in a big city like Vegas, or heading for the beach with your family, here are a few things you need to know about finding cheap rental cars:
1. Avoid renting a car at the airport, unless you have no other option. More often than not, it’s a lot cheaper to rent one at an “off-airport” site. Pay close attention to price comparisons between the various rental companies in the city. If you can’t get to the rental car office before your flight, think about using another mode of transportation to get to your hotel from the airport.
2. Check to see if you qualify for any club or membership discounts. Many businesses offer corporate discounts for booking travel-related services. Club members, government workers, etc., all receive benefits.
3. Beware of unstated costs. A deal might sound nice on the offer page, but after you’ve begun the checkout process, the price could go up a lot more than what you calculated due to sales tax, “vehicle license fees”, “arena fee”, or any number of hidden fees. This is especially likely to occur for deals that sound too good to e true, such as “Less than $20 a day” type of offers. Check ahead of time to see if you need to return the car with a full tank of gas because failing to do so could result in fines. If it’s necessary, make sure it’s ready for you when you get there.
4. Don’t fall for “horror stories” the clerks will try to tell you in order to get you buy insurance. It is a pointless extra for the majority of drivers. All you have to do to ensure that you are already covered for rental cars is to call your own insurance provider in advance. Some credit card providers also offer collision insurance. The likelihood of receiving international car rental insurance from your auto insurance and/or credit card provider is decreased if you are traveling outside of the country. It might be necessary in this situation to include it in your rental agreement.
5. Use online tools for price comparison to get a list of all rentals that are available for the dates of your trip. This is much simpler than contacting each rental agency separately to inquire about their availability of low-cost rentals during the dates you require one.
Conclusions
Online is the best resource for locating and contrasting rental car rates. On some websites, you can find discounts on anything from convertibles to pickup trucks. There are many options available if you’re not picky and just want to look at some low-cost rental cars.
