Car hire is usually a breeze, but sometimes it can be frustrating, especially when the extras on top of your car hire add up! 70% say car rental companies make it hard to find the total rental cost (including all the extras) until the end of the booking process, with 74% describing the headline price as misleading!
We conducted an Opinium survey of over 1,000 car hire drivers and it revealed that three-quarters (75%) say that it is frustrating that costs are hidden when trying to book a car online and two-fifths (40%) find it difficult to find out the cost of extras when booking, rising to 62% of 18-34 year olds.
Extras at the rental desk can vary by hundreds of pounds in different locations and between the different providers, which we found out when conducting some research into car hire prices in five European destinations including Barcelona, Faro, Larnaca, Nice and Tenerife, for the week 25th May – 1st June. The rental companies researched were Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt.
The study reveals that the average cost to hire a car was £225, but car hirers are paying on average £67 for an additional driver, £67 for a child’s car seat, £82 for a sat nav and £194 for excess protection, including theft and collision damage cover (£163) and tyre and windscreen damage cover (£31), totalling £410. This brings the total cost of hiring a car to £635 if all these extras are purchased from the rental desk.
Whilst drivers pay on average £82 to hire a sat nav for a week, this can be as much as £123 with Europcar in Nice, compared to only £34 with Budget in Faro. Similarly, the average cost for an extra driver is £67, however, the price can vary. Hertz charges £108 a week in Barcelona while Enterprise charges only £18 in Larnaca.
A child’s car seat costs on average £67 but varies in price from £27 with Enterprise in Larnaca to £109 with Hertz in Barcelona, a difference of £82. These costs can add up especially if you need more than one.
Excess Liability is the amount to pay if the hire car is damaged or stolen, even if it is not the hirer’s fault. The study found that the average excess liability for damage and theft across the study was around £1,400, however, it varies from £597 with Hertz in Larnaca to up to £2,223 with Sixt in Faro.
Excess Protection, which protects drivers from this excess liability, is usually the largest outlay for travellers at the rental desk and many car rental companies offer different policies. Excess protection costs on average £163, but varies from £71 with Sixt in Larnaca to £274 with Budget in Faro. Tyre and windscreen excess protection averages £31, but ranges from £21 with Hertz in Larnaca to £65 with Hertz in Barcelona.
Stand-alone excess policies can be used with all rental companies, but a credit card is still needed so the rental company can hold the excess as a deposit during the rental. This is because stand-alone car hire excess insurance policies reimburse the hirer, not the rental company.
The extras sold at the rental desk can add hundreds to the cost of your hire car, so ensure you compare not only the headline price, but also the price of any extras you may need. Consider buying excess insurance in advance from a standalone car hire excess insurance provider, and where possible we recommend you take your sat nav and any child car seats with you.
