Car hire prices have gone up from between 30% to 100% in the locations of Barcelona, Nice and Milan from Easter 2013 to Easter 2014, according to research by iCarhireinsurance.com, the specialist provider of stand-alone excess car hire insurance.
Milan has seen the greatest rise with the average price to hire a compact car over the Easter week period doubling from £225 in 2013 to £456 for an Easter 2014 booking (14 to 21 April).
iCarhireinsurance.com researched the five rental companies of Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt to find out the costs to hire a compact car for a seven day rental over the Easter holiday days in both years.
In Barcelona and Nice, car hire costs have risen by almost a third compared with Easter 2013 prices (Barcelona had risen by 31% and Nice by 30% respectively), i.e.:
Barcelona: In 2013, the average car hire price was £242, rising to £316 in 2014
Nice: In 2013, the average car hire price was £219, rising to £285 in 2014
However 'extras' bought from the rental desk including hiring a child's car seat, sat nav and buying excess insurance to protect a traveller against the first part of any claim if the car is damaged, which can cost up to £1400, across the three locations of Nice, Barcelona and Milan, show little change in costs over the period:
Excess insurance continues to be the largest single outlay at the rental desk, costing on average £120, only £2 up on 2013 prices. This is still, however, over five times the cost of an excess policy from a specialist insurer, like iCarhireinsurance.com, where a daily policy is from £2.99 (or an annual policy is from £39.99.
Hiring a Child's Car Seat: Prices down by £7: The average to price to hire a child car's seat in 2014 is £57, compared with £64 in 2013.
Hiring a Sat Navs: £1 cheaper!: The average to price to hire a sat nav in 2014 is £79, compared with £80 in 2013.
"Prices to hire a car have jumped considerably since last Easter, so the best way to keep your costs down is to plan ahead and research good value alternatives to spending money at the rental desk when you pick up your hire car. Not hiring a child's car seat or a sat nav and buying a better, more comprehensive excess insurance from a specialist provider, like iCarhireisurance.com, could save a traveller an average of £235 across all three locations in 2014 - a hefty sum to spend on Easter treats," said Ernesto Suarez, founder and CEO at iCarhireinsurance.com.
