A new study of European car hire prices this summer has found that prices have fallen by 27% since January 2024. On average, weekly car hire prices have fallen from £422, if booked in January, to £306 if booked now - a saving of £116.

New research from iCarhireinsurance.com, a leading provider of stand-alone car hire excess insurance, compares the cost of booking a medium compact rental car, e.g., a VW Golf or Ford Focus, for a week, from 27 July to 3 August 2024, if booking a week before departure on 19th July 2024, in April or in January 2024.

Seven European destinations (Barcelona, Crete, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Milan and Nice) and six rental companies’ (Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt) prices are surveyed.

The biggest savings are in Milan and Dalaman where it cost, on average, £488 and £467 respectively if booked in January for a week’s summer car hire, compared to £222 and £305 respectively now, a saving of £266 (54%) in Milan and £162 (35%) in Dalaman. Similarly, in Crete, it cost on average £463 in January, but £324 now, a saving of £139 (30%).

Dubrovnik is the only destination in the survey where prices are up. It cost on average £400 to book in January, £342 to book in April, and £476 to book in July.

Average car hire costs (six rental companies were researched) for 27 July to 3 August 2024 if booked in January 2024, April 2024 or the week before for a medium compact car e.g., Ford Focus or VW Gold, and not including any extras.

“If you’ve already booked your hire car for this summer, it’s certainly worth checking prices again to see if they’ve fallen since you first booked,” said Ben Wooltorton at iCarhireinsurance.com. “Some companies offer free cancellation without penalty, within a permitted time frame, usually 48 hours, allowing you to cancel and rebook a better deal.”

“Our survey looking at last-minute car rental prices across popular holiday destinations for British holidaymakers finds that the average cost of booking now versus back in January has fallen by over £116, showing significant savings can be made,” Wooltorton continued.

As well as shopping around for the best car hire price, savings can also be made on extras bought at the rental desk.

The most expensive of these is car hire excess protection which protects a hirer from having to pay the excess amount if the hire car is damaged or stolen, which can be as high as £2,000, according to this study. The rental companies charge, on average, £165 for a week’s super damage excess policy and £45 for a tyre and windscreen excess policy, costing £210 in total.

Buying a standalone car hire excess insurance policy from a specialist insurance company, like iCarhireinsurance.com, before you travel, costs from £33.15* for a week's protection (from £41.99* for an annual policy) and includes damage, theft, and tyre and windscreen cover – this is around six times cheaper than buying from the rental company.

Other extra charges include paying for an extra driver, costing £58, on average, renting a sat nav, costing £80, on average, and hiring a child’s car seat, costing £64, on average.

Ben Wooltorton said: “It’s important to check the prices of any extras you may need, so there are no costly surprises when you pick up the rental car. Considerable savings can be made by buying car hire excess insurance from a specialist insurance provider, like iCarhireinsurance.com, rather than the excess waivers sold at the rental desk, as well as bringing your own sat nav, or using your smartphone, and travelling with your own child’s car seat. Also, think about if you really need to put an extra driver on the policy.”