How to get holiday car hire

Looking for advice on holiday car hire?  You’ve come to the right place.

Booking car hire to go on holiday can be a real minefield. There are price-comparison sites, brokers and airline car-hire deals that you can trawl through – and that’s before going to the car-hire companies themselves.

Follow the Your Hols step-by-step guide to How to hire a car though and you won’t go far wrong….

Check price comparison sites

To be sure of finding the cheapest headline price, check one of the price-comparison sites. These compare prices on offer from lots of different companies and you can then benchmark them against each other. You don’t book through the comparison site – if you see a price you like, their website will direct you to the company offering the deal and you then book direct.

Some to try include:

Moneysupermarket
Car Hire Market

Check the brokers

Brokers are companies that liaise with car-hire companies to get the best deal in certain destinations. You book through them rather than through the car-hire company, but when you arrive in resort, your booking reference will direct you to pick up your car with another company. You might, say, book with Holiday Autos but pick your car up from Hertz.

Some to try include:

Nova Car Hire
Affordable Car Hire
Holiday Autos

Booking through airlines

Most airlines these days seem to have some kind of deal with a car-hire company so you can book at the same time as booking your flight. It’s tempting to do it as it can all roll into one booking and many of them will autofill fiddly information like your arrival and departure times. There’s no guarantee that they will be cheaper than anyone else, even if you are booking through a low-cost airline, so check with price comparison and brokers before taking the plunge.

Are all cars the same?

Well obviously not… and the difference in the car you book will affect the price  – a mini is going to be cheaper than a 4×4. Most car hire companies offer banded categories of car as they cannot guarantee certain models. Quotes usually come in certain bands such as economy, family, 4×4. While most descriptions are somewhat standardised between companies, always check the specs to make sure you get like-for-like quotes.

“Many people choose the size and features of a vehicle based on price. But it’s worth thinking about how it’s going to be used,” says Brian Swallow of Enterprise Rent-A-Car UK. “It might be cheaper up-front to get the smallest car, but if you’re planning an adventure holiday it may pay to choose a more appropriate car such as a four-wheel drive and avoid charges for damage. Although a good car rental company will allow you to upgrade your vehicle back at the branch, thinking about what you need it for in advance could save you time and hassle.”

What about insurance?

The main cause for concern here is going to be the kind of insurance that is included in the booking. Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Theft Waiver usually are, while Personal Effects Cover and Personal Insurance should be included in your travel insurance policy. You could be offered Super Collision Damage Waiver which will reduce the excess and cover some extras that might not be covered by regular CDW such as windscreens. Check how much this will cost and make a decision on whether to take it out. You can shop around for this extra cover – it doesn’t have to come through the car hire company.

“Car rental companies will typically charge customers the agreed excess, which is the amount the customer pays if a vehicle is damaged and they are at fault,” advises Brian Swallow of Enterprise Rent-A-Car UK. “Customers who have taken out excess protection in order to reduce the excess will be charged a lower amount. If the repair costs are less than the excess the customer will be refunded the difference” 

“If you have taken out separate excess insurance with another company, the rental car company will still charge you the excess amount which you’ll have to reclaim from the insurance company. Make sure you collect all of the documents required to make a claim, this may include a police incident report from the site of the accident, the original booking documents as well as the rental agreement.

Check on any fuel restrictions

Many companies have their own fuel policies, so it’s worth checking before you book. Some companies – especially in Spain – will impose a one-off “mandatory fuel” charge to cover a full tank of fuel which you will have to pay when you pick up the vehicle. This is in addition to the cost of the car hire. Research by Enterprise Car Insurance UK shows that this is typically around £66 (€80) and if you’re booking online, this fee may not be clearly flagged up on the web site.

“Check the return policy carefully,” advises Brian Swallow of Enterprise Rent-A-Car UK. “For example, you may have been provided with a full tank of petrol and be expected to return it full. Or you may have been supplied a vehicle with half a tank and have to return it at the same level. Alternatively, you may have opted to purchase a full tank and return it empty. Decide which option is best for you and whether you are driving enough miles to make the full-to-empty option sensible for you. You might be surprised just how many miles a new fuel-efficient car can do on a full tank.”

Any other extras?

Car seats for babies and kids will cost extra – but if you just need a booster there are ways around it. Trunki does a kids backpack that doubles as a car booster and Bubblebum does a blow-up version that can fold away easily in luggage and weighs next to nothing.

Other major costs include adding a second driver – if you are travelling long distances or don’t want one of you to always be the designated driver, it’s usually a cost you may as well shoulder.

When it comes to sat-nav, hardly any companies offer in-car versions – it’s a good way for them to make some extra money. If you have your own at home, it may be cheaper to upgrade your maps to ones including your destination and pack it in your luggage.

You could also look at the cost of downloading an app to your smartphone. Tomtom has very good ones – but you do need to take into account the cost of data when abroad.