Car hire firms operate in a similar way to airlines, meaning you’ve got to book early, and online, for the cheapest deals. Booking in February compared with June can bring down the average two-week rental by £100. If you are yet to book this summer’s trip it’s not too late, but don’t hang around if you are going to a popular destination.
Online brokers tend to be the cheapest, but car hire firms’ own websites will sometimes match them if they have a sale on. The two online brokers that stand out are Holidayautos.co.uk and Rentalcars.com. It’s a confusing market designed to catch out the unwary, and the key to getting a good deal is to make sure you are comparing like with like. The above two sites give the clearest explanations of what you are getting. So what should you be looking for?
• On- or off-airport
Will the car be delivered from an airport terminal site or does it involve a shuttle bus ride to an off-terminal site? Off-airport firms tend to be cheapest (often £10 a week cheaper in Malaga, see table) but getting the bus can be a hassle, and if you shop around you can usually find an airport deal for the same price. Unless you are doing a long rental where the saving is significant, buyers should stick to on-airport sites.
• Cancellation
Try to find a deal where you can cancel for free up to 24-48 hours ahead of collecting the car. That way you get a cheap deal by booking early in the year, but can search again the week before going for any last-minute bargains.
• Petrol
A few years ago Spanish car hire firms introduced a “full-to-empty” policy – you pay for the full tank (usually at an inflated price) when you pick up the car and can return it empty. It sounds convenient but adds extra cost, particularly if you are not going to drive far and won’t use the full tank you paid for. These policies have proved so unpopular among renters returning half a tank that the latest development is the partial refund policy. With this, customers are refunded any petrol not used minus an admin fee. At Malaga airport, you will typically pay €24 (£20). “Full-to-full” policies are more expensive – at least £30 higher in our Malaga test.
• Drivers
Will you be the only driver? Having one driver reduces the cost hugely. Some firms add a second driver for free, others charge €5-€6 a day, which can really add up. Hertz charges more than €13 a day for an extra driver, so always check what an extra person does to the final bill. Also, drivers aged 21-25 tend to pay a €6-a-day premium.
• Satnavs
Don’t opt for one – the car you hire may have it built in anyway. The better option is to download the free Here app on to your smartphone. Once it and the country data are downloaded you can use it to guide you to your destination. It’s excellent and, crucially, works offline so you won’t rack up roaming charges.
• Children’s seats
Take car seats with you. Ryanair charges £20 return for a car seat if it’s pre-booked online, whereas even the cheaper car hire operators will charge €72 for a child’s seat on a two-week rental. You also can’t be sure of the quality and fit, so it’s better to take your own along.
• Doors
Always look at the number of seats and doors of the car on offer. The vehicle shown online is almost certainly not the one you will get – firms always add the phrase “or similar” to bookings. One trick if booking a small car is to ensure it is a four-door model. These often run out and you are then upgraded to a larger four-door car at no extra cost. But don’t book one too small for your needs. If you have to upgrade at the desk because your luggage won’t fit it could cost hundreds. Families needing six or seven seats may find it cheaper to hire two small cars than a people carrier. It’s madness, but that’s the way it is.
• Add-ons
Once you have decided on the deal, only buy the basic package. Car hire firms make their profits by selling add-ons, which can be absurdly expensive. In particular, don’t buy “super collision damage waiver” (CDW) insurance. Instead, arrange your own cover (see below). Also, avoid the extra personal possessions cover as it is a waste of money.
How to avoid the hard sell at car hire desks
You’re at the hire desk – now comes the real test of your mettle: can you resist the hard sell of the firm’s own insurance.
As soon as you hand over your driving licence and credit card, commission-hungry sales staff at the worst car hire desks will tell you anything to get you to buy insurance. You will be told that the company doesn’t recognise your independent insurance, that you have to pay for towing if you break down, that you won’t be able to return the car at busy periods.
You need to remember the car comes with an excess, which you are liable for if you damage it. It’s nothing to do with the car hire firm, and you will reclaim this from the policy provider yourself.
The problem is that faced with the hard sell, too many people crack. Money’s Consumer Champions column receives lots of complaints about this, but car hire firms and broker websites are under no obligation to refund you because you bought two policies.
Be aware that when you refuse the extra cover the rental firm will “pre-authorise” a sum to cover the excess on your credit card. Always use a credit – not debit – card as this gives you extra protection. You don’t want to find your bank account cleaned out by the car firm following a dispute.
The next key moment comes when you collect the car from the parking lot. Mark every blemish or scratch, however minor, on the rental agreement. Pay particular attention to the wheels, especially alloy ones. Do the same for the interior. Then check that the spare wheel is inflated and undamaged. Ensure the car is full of fuel if it is supposed to be and record the mileage. If the car looks shabby check the oil and coolant if you can.
Once you have marked all the damage on the form, get the rental desk to sign it – even if it is a long walk or drive back. Don’t leave without getting it signed as there is nothing to stop the firm arguing that you caused the damage. Take a video or pictures of the car as extra proof. If the vehicle is too dirty to examine closely, write this on the form and again get it signed by the staff.
When you return the car take photos of each panel of the car, the wheels and the odometer. Hand the keys back to the staff and ask them to inspect the car. Ideally, get them to sign to confirm that there is no new damage. If it’s late at night be wary if approached by someone in the car park claiming to work for the firm. One reader faced a lengthy battle after his car was stolen in this way.
If you have damaged the car, take photos of it. The car hire firm will charge you the excess, which you can reclaim when you get home. And keep hold of the paperwork even if the rental passed off uneventfully. In the following weeks, keep an eye on your credit card statements for extra payments. If you have bought excess protection, reclaim it from the firm in question. If you bought the car hire firm’s policy and the claimed damage is not covered – and it rarely is – it is time to go into battle.
Send a copy of your photos and talk to the company. Take it up with the broker you made the booking through. If the hire firm has a UK presence, contact the office here. Ask for evidence of repairs or a breakdown of charges.
If you don’t get anywhere and know you are innocent, raise the dispute with your credit card provider. It will then be up to the car hire firm to prove its claim is valid. You can present the evidence that you will have hopefully kept.
Rental firms to be wary of
Complaints about car hire firms to Guardian Money’s Consumer Champions have soared, and it’s now one of our most complained about sectors.
Most complaints concern the mis-selling of the “super collision damage waiver” insurance when hirers pick up a car. In one recent case a reader said it was simply added to their bill without their knowledge. There were no boxes to tick and no explanation.
The second big area of complaints is how mystery damage is found at the end of a rental which was not marked on the rental sheet when the car was picked up. Readers allege that hire staff target customers who don’t appear to know what they’re doing – in other words those not following our guide above.
In truth, we receive complaints about all the rental firms, including the bigger ones. The advantage of using large firms is that they have a brand to protect and can – and do – step in after the event. But they are expensive. The worst complaints tend to be about Goldcar and Green Motion, although both dispute the claims, and Goldcar has gone out of its way to say its service is improving.
Locally franchised operations tend to be worse, but it’s hard to know when booking. Two minutes spent online, using sites such as Trustpilot, checking out an unknown firm is time well spent.
Buying the best insurance
You’ve booked the car, now comes the clever bit: buying damage or theft insurance that is better than that offered by the hire firm or broker – for a fraction of the cost.
When you rent a car, the price usually includes insurance cover for a major crash or write-off, but leaves you with the bill for the first £800-£1,000 – the excess – after an accident. Car hire firms try to persuade you to buy “super CDW” insurance to bring the excess down to zero – but they charge as much as £175 a week for limited cover.
These policies, usually sold hard at car hire desks, don’t cover damage to wheels, tyres, windows or the interior. Instead, buy an independent annual car hire insurance policy. Guardian Money readers have generally given good reviews to Insurance4carhire.
Its annual policy is £39.99 for Europe or £109.99 to include North America, and covers almost all eventualities – damage to windows, wheels and tyres, undercarriage and roof, misfuelling and the rest of the car up to £6,500 per year. You can hire as many cars as you like for up to 60 days. For shorter rentals you can buy daily cover for £3.99.
Alternatively, Icarhireinsurance charges £37.99 a year or £2.99 a day, but we’ve had the odd complaint about it.
If you damage the car, the firms will charge the agreed excess, which you reclaim when you return home.
The drawback is that car hire desks will seek to block around £1,000 on your credit card for the duration of the rental if you don’t buy their insurance. So make sure your card has the capacity before you travel.
