What started off as an affordable trip with cheap airplane tickets and discount hotel rooms, or discount travel packages, can quickly turn expensive if you are not careful when renting a car. Car rental rates are way up as a result of car rental companies dramatically cutting the size of their rental fleets.
The average rate for a weeklong rental of a compact car at an airport location last year was $335, an increase of 51 percent over the prior year.
Rental car companies have become increasingly creative in coming up with ways to charge their customers additional fees. Their representatives push the purchase of Collision Damage Waivers (CDW) and Loss Damage Waivers (LDW). They dont mention the word insurance though because CDW and LDW dont insure anything. These policies merely state that the rental company will not come after you for vehicle damage.
Rental representatives also try to sell additional liability protection, personal accident insurance, and personal effects coverage to cover theft. Full coverage can easily run $35 a day, sometimes more than the daily rate of the car rental itself. Often such coverage is not beneficial because typically it only pays out after your personal car insurance and/or credit card (note, this perk varies by type of card) has first paid its portion of the accident.
Car rental taxes and surcharges are way up. Unfortunately those taxes are not being used to fund better rental facilities and airport upgrades. Instead much of the money is simply going to pay general municipality obligations.
Smart travelers would do well to consider the following prior to renting a car:
Read the fine print before renting and know all taxes and surcharges you will have to pay.
Insist that you be given the type of car you reserved unless a free upgrade is available.
Do not accept wasteful add-ons such as prepaid gas.
Consider whether you might be better off using public transportation after adding in the full cost of renting a car, including gas, parking fees, and valet gratuities.
Consider taking a Hotel Shuttle to your hotel and then have a car delivered to you to avoid extra Airport Fees collected by the municipalities.
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