Going on an independent trip, you may encounter a situation where renting a car may be the most profitable solution for moving. In addition, it is also a great way to get to know the country better, you can call in places that you will not visit by public transport, move on your own route and even spend the night in a car, saving on hotels!
In this post we will talk about 8 life hacks that will help you to profitably rent a good and inexpensive car.
Use aggregators
To start a car search is with aggregator sites that compare show offers from different rental companies. This is easier than going to the website of each rental company.
In addition, aggregators can often get a better price than a rental company directly.
Service sites by comparing car prices:
Pick up and return the car in one place
The rental companies charge an additional fee for returning the car to another place, so to save money, plan your trip so that the car is returned in the same place where it was taken.
If this does not work, then try to increase the rental period to a week, some rental companies remove this fee for a long rental.
Take the car at the airport
Rental companies have most of their fleet at the airport, and the cost of renting from the airport is cheaper than in the city, especially if it is a resort city.
There is a practice when small companies do not have an office and a fleet at the airport, and they drive the car to your arrival. This is also a good way to save, they usually have low prices.
Book a car in advance
Just like airline tickets, cars tend to end. I recommend starting to search for a car for rental at least 3 weeks before the date of travel.In addition, I recommend a flexible approach to the choice of rental dates, so you can find a more suitable car for you, including at a lower price!
Look for cars at your local car rental company
In countries such as Montenegro, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, there are many local rental companies, whose offers are better than international.
To search for such companies, I recommend using the Myrentacar.com aggregator
Do not use extended insurance
When renting a car, you will be offered to buy a Full Coverage insurance package, but if you drive carefully and are confident in your actions, you will not need it. For all the time I rented cars in different countries, I had no cases when this expensive option was useful.
Another thing, if you are in doubt or have already had an accident, then it is better to spend money and save on something else.
Choose options flexibly
To find a more profitable rental option, try playing around with options, as a car with a manual box will cost less than an automatic machine. Obviously, a Mini and Economy car will be cheaper.
Do not choose additional equipment, such as a navigator (you can use offline Maps.me maps on your phone, Wi-Fi router, child seat (there are options for portable child seats for traveling that you can carry with you, you can buy on Aliexpress)
Now you can rent a hybrid or electric car, so you can save on fuel decently.
Pay by credit card
Pay for your car rental with a credit card, where you can accumulate miles or points, so you get an additional cashback. When renting a car, you will be asked to leave a deposit, it is also beneficial to leave it in the form of blocking funds on a credit card, the return will be deposited in an interest-free period and you will not use your own funds that you may need.
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