Renting a car does not have to be as expensive as you would imagine and you can reduce costs simply by negotiating with the car rental company to get the best service possible. Car rental companies need to deal with a lot of the costs and they will to calculate the most appropriate rental costs. So if you know what these costs are, find ways to avoid them. You can get a rental car based on your expectation. Follow these simple tips so you get the most value for your money.
- Pick the car up at the airport: Car rental services often apply the airport concession fee for cars that customers rent at airports. These fees are actually charged by the airports, so the car rental services will compensate by asking for higher rental charges. If possible, you should use the affordable public transportation and rent the car inside or just outside the city.
- Choose the most popular car models: Check what people usually rent and it’s likely that the car model has acceptable rental pricing. Larger, more expensive cars won’t be rented by average customers. Choose the smallest and simplest car in the catalogue that still provide you good comfort.
- Book in advance: When you book in advance, it is possible that you can avoid renting at peak season. Some car rental services allow you to book one month or more in advance. The cheapest rates are often available for cars that are booked well in advance. If you know your travel dates, it should be possible to save more.
- Look for discount codes: It is possible that you get discount codes and rent cars at much cheaper rates. Even so, you should hunt around just a little bit. Even when you get a discount code, you should check the terms to ensure that you can really save money. As an example, you may get discount codes during non-peak seasons.
- Pay attention to collection and return times: Many car rental companies apply daily rates. So, if you pick up the car at 9AM today and take it back tomorrow at 9.30AM, you can be charged for two days. Make sure that you return the car one hour before the predetermined collection time. Some car rental companies charge hourly rate, but the total cost for one whole day can be more expensive.
- Book when they have too many cars available: If your schedule is flexible, choose the time when there are a few people customers who rent the car. In this situation, you could land an absolute bargain. For car rental companies, cars that sit in their parking and maintenance facilities cost money. So, it is better for them to apply low rates than spending money on cars that people won’t rent. A good way to do this is by checking the annual trend of rates to know at which time is the cheapest. There should be numerous periods each year when you can rent a car as cheap as possible.