Smart Shopper: Car Rentals
Posted by Gail | Filed under Smart Shopper
The rental car business is worth billions of dollars in North America. But there are ways to save. When you head out to rent a car, whether you’re on vacation or traveling for business, keep these tips in mind:
1. Does your company have pull? How about that association or club you belong to? Are you eligible for discounts with particular companies? Competition amongst rental agencies is fierce and if you can take advantage of a special deal extended to you by virtue of who you know, take it.
2. Check online for special deals. Careful though, the deal you think you may be getting may not be as great as you imagine once the insurance, fees, taxes and everything else are added in. Know the bottom-line costs.
3. Book early. The closer you are to needing the car, the higher the rental costs you’ll pay.
4. If you can, avoid renting at the airport. Concession fees or “airport fees” can mean much higher rental costs. Renting in the city center can be significantly cheaper as long as the cost of transportation into the city doesn’t eat the difference.
5. Make sure you know if your credit card or car insurance will cover your rental car. Buying at the rental car counter will up your costs dramatically.
6. Refill the gas tank before you turn the car in. If the rental agency has to fill the tank you’ll pay through the nose.
7. Compact cars cost less. If you’re used to driving an SUV, you may be tempted to reserve one when you’re travelling. Don’t. Start with a compact and upgrade from there since sometimes the upgrade is free if the agency doesn’t have the compact you reserve (they usually only have a limited number of compacts in North America). You’ll also be happy to have a fuel-efficient car when you see the price of gas in other parts of the world!
August 2, 2012 at 6:20 am
One of the reason I’m looking forward to turning 25! Many companies won’t rent to anyone under 25 unless it is a corporate account and those that do charge about $12/day “young driver fee” and require you to get their insurance (regardless of whether you have other coverage) Clearly age discrimination since they don’t care how long you have been driving for at all or what kind of license you have etc.
August 2, 2012 at 6:51 am
I found that if you rent from the same company and they get to know you, they’re willing to give you special discounts.
August 2, 2012 at 7:34 am
In June I needed to rent a van for 4 days…I used my airmiles for the rental then charged all the taxes and insurance to my TD Travel Visa so that I could cash in my travel points to offset that cost…total cost out of pocket for me was 11.00 (plus gas of course) for a 7 seater van for 4 days with unlimited mileage!!
August 2, 2012 at 8:07 am
Great tips! I never buy insurance with my rental cars, it can be quite expensive. I am covered through my insurance.
August 2, 2012 at 8:33 am
Check out the entertainment book. Usually has a combo coupon for Budget free upgrade and 10%-20% off.
Budget Coupons good for any rental period
Take 10% off your rental, and get a free upgrade! U092900 and UUWZ028 Expires Dec. 31, 2012
Take 10% off your rental BCD: H010500 Expires Aug. 15, 2012
Save up to 20% off your daily, weekly or weekend rental BCD: U305500 Valid at off airport locations Expires Dec. 15, 2012
also Avis free double upgrade in book coupon
Free single upgrade BCD: UUWZ020 No expiration
The book is also cheaper later in the year since the new book comes out in Nov.
August 2, 2012 at 8:54 am
I don’t understand number 5. Why wouldn’t your cc company cover your rental car? What do you mean end up buying at the rental car counter? Buying what? I”m confused.
August 2, 2012 at 8:54 am
I mean why would your cc company not cover your rental…
August 2, 2012 at 8:57 am
@sara, she is referring to car insurance and if it is covered by your credit card.
August 2, 2012 at 9:25 am
@Sara-some cc have extra benefits, like travel insurance or rental car insurance. If you have it, you don’t need to buy the extra insurance they try to sell you at the counter, which is very pricey. Also, if you already have car insurance, it will usually cover you in a rental (in Ontario anyway-not sure about other jurisdictions) so there’s no need to pay twice to insure the same risk.
August 2, 2012 at 9:26 am
Sara, many rewards credit cards offer car rental collision insurance. You must rent the car using that credit card, and you have to sign the insurance waiver when renting the car to be covered.
I am renting a car for the 1st time in Sept. I was suprised to learn that if I am not returning the car to the location where I picked it up, I pay an extra $150.00 – but it was still cheaper than the competition.
August 2, 2012 at 9:26 am
On our last budget vacation we used Priceline to book a rental vehicle for a day in Las Vegas from the airport. We used the name your own price feature about two weeks in advance and ended up with an economy car rental around $9.00 plus taxes and fees(came to a little over $20.00 if I remember correctly). When you bid on Priceline start low and if the bid isn’t accepted you can try again in 24 hours. So be sure to give yourself enough time before your trip but it is well worth it. We have saved a lot of money using Priceline for hotels also. You would be surprised at how large the savings are(often well above 60% off).
August 2, 2012 at 9:27 am
The other thing I meant to add-check the car over closely when you pick it up so you don’t get blamed for something someone else did once you return it. I had to fight once about a cigarette butt found in the ashtray that I hadn’t even opened (since I don’t smoke!) I got a charge for extra cleaning and didn’t know why-when I called to find out, they said they had evidence I smoked in the car and had to do extra cleaning. Oy vey! I have had other friends have to fight about little scratches and dings too-don’t rush the walk through!
August 2, 2012 at 10:55 am
Re: 4. “If you can, avoid renting at the airport. Concession fees or “airport fees” can mean much higher rental costs. Renting in the city center can be significantly cheaper as long as the cost of transportation into the city doesn’t eat the difference.”
In Vancouver, if you rent in the city, they check your license so if you’ve come from the airport, they charge you extra because you didn’t rent from there. I suspect this occurs in many cities. Which is a pain because the airports are definitely more expensive.
August 2, 2012 at 11:19 am
What a timely post! We are going to Disney (if anyone has any tips on getting cheap flights or Disney tickets – please fill me in!!). We are debating whether or not we need to rent a car so this info is timed perfectly since I have been searching this info online.
I do know that for teachers, Edvantage has some discounts for car rentals and so does CAA.
On a seperate note – any advice for flights? The kids are flying for the first time and I want the flight to go as smoothly as possible. What’s the deal with booking online? Are we able to reserve seats ahead of time? For us that’s crucial when flying with young kids! Any other tips?
August 2, 2012 at 12:55 pm
@ Mees: if you stay on site at one of Disney’s hotels, you don’t need a car. Disney provides all transportation to its theme parks, including to and from the airport plus they handle your luggage.
August 2, 2012 at 1:22 pm
@ Mees
Booking flights online is usually very easy and I have never had any trouble.
Depending on the airline, you may need to pay extra or buy a more expensive ticket class in order to reserve seats ahead of time. For example, Air Canada charges for this “privilege”.
I would suggest you skip this step, but do an online check-in as early as possible. Air Canada allows web check-in up to 24 hours in advance. When you check-in, you are able to reserve your seats for free.
In the event that you are not able to get seats together, the flight attendants are usually very good at re-arranging the passengers once you board the plane so that young kids are not left unattended.
August 2, 2012 at 1:41 pm
@Mees
Staying on site at one of Disney’s hotels also has other perks…as a Disney guest you have access to the theme parks that regular visitors don’t have.
On an alternating basis theme parks are opened early or stay open later to hotel guests only.
This means you get WAY shorter lines on the most popular rides and attractions.
We went to Disney World in 2006 and when we checked into the hotel they gave us a schedule of which parks were open early or stayed open later for hotel guests. We planned our days to take advantage of there perks and it was well worth it!
During our visit the Expedition Everest ride was “unofficially” opened and had the longest lines I have ever seen. After the park closed to regular guests, my kids had 2 extra hours to ride Expedition Everest with NO lines!
August 2, 2012 at 2:24 pm
@psychsarah your so right about checking the car. I worked for National /Alamo car rental for 2 yrs. Always, always check the car before you leave the lot. Ask one of the attendants to check with you they will fill out a report card showing where every ding and scratch is then give you a copy for your records, and they keep a copy for theirs. When you return they will do a walk around the car, if there is any questions you have your copy to prove your case. Always top the tank before returning, if the company needs to add any , even a gallon, you will pay the price which is usually 2-3x the price of a regular gallon of gas.
August 2, 2012 at 2:57 pm
Hi Mees, we traveled a lot when our three kids were small and there were not TV’s on every seat back then.The kids worried about their ears popping, so we bought each a pack of gum (they chose the flavour), sort of as “insurance” at take off and landing and gives them something else to think about. I also liked to pack a small “loot bag” of small dollar store items, a pad of paper, a few lollipops or treats for the plane plus books we would save for in the airplane, not to read while we were in the waiting area). Then when the plane had taken off, just pull out the travel bag and they had neat things to do (I always did this on long car trips too, it was fun for them:).
We were coming back from Florida once and a man commented to us on what great travellers our kids were, and it was because they were busy and we were reading to them and playing Tic Tac Toe on the little pad of paper. It sure does keep them occupied and makes it more fun and they become happy, confident travellers because it’s been a good experience.
August 2, 2012 at 4:32 pm
Similar to Sparky, I used points to rent a car a few years ago. In my case, I used Aeroplan points. I chose to prepay for a tank of gas and returned the car with a mostly empty tank of gas. I had checked out gas prices on Gasbuddy and it wasn’t much more expensive than the local pumps were, and the price of gas was climbing. My car insurance would have covered me for the rental, but I opted to use my Aerogold card to prepay for the gas, and thereby ensuring that I had the credit card’s insurance. By booking using points, gas was the only out-of-pocket expense.
When booking, I had requested a compact car, but they tried to give me a large SUV at no additional charge at the car rental place. Since I was going to be driving across the Rockies and was concerned about the cost of gas, I insisted I just wanted the compact car. The rental agency seemed surprised I wasn’t interested in what would have been a huge upgrade, but they honoured my wish for a small car. With each fill-up of gas at over $1.40/L, I was thankful for having the smaller vehicle!
August 2, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Thanks so far to the suggestions! I did know about staying on the resort but unfortunately, we are not doing so. My parents were able to switch a timeshare week and get us a week in a villa with a full kitchen and we don’t have to pay a cent! While I would have loved to stay at a Disney Resort, we couldn’t argue with FREE accomodation!
@JP – good idea for paying less money but I think I would pay extra to ensure our seating. We will be going at a busy travel time and for peace of mind, I would rather know seats are secure. Good to know about flight attendants being accomodating – I should hope so!
@Zoey – love the loot bag idea! Thanks!
August 2, 2012 at 7:03 pm
Great post but you forgot one thing, car rental companies are the MASTERS of loyalty programs. I have been with the same company for over six years and I get free upgrades every time, comped tanks of gas, car seats, gps, early and late drop offs.
A quick search on a business news site will direct you to the companies with game changing loyalty programs. I don’t typically even participate but these guys have it down!
August 7, 2012 at 3:23 pm
If you booked online, also ask about weekend specials once you’re in the rental store itself. I couldn’t believe that the company both picked me up Friday morning, rented me the car for the weekend, and dropped me off at work Monday all for only $35 (taxes included). (I don’t even know how they can afford to stay in business giving that service for $35!)