Rental car price comparison is an important discussion for you budget travelers. The price you see on the screen is often not the price you will pay. You may be surprised when you see a car rental credit card bill. How do the prices compare?
*note this car rental price comparison is based on my experience in the United States.
Basic Price
What you see on most car rental aggregator sites is the base price per day. Of course this is a good start to determine the cheap/expensive car rental price you are looking for. Make sure the car rental price fits your budget.
Read: 10 Disney World Free Activities
Total Optional Service
This price will not be visible on all car rentals (only visible after you finish the credit card confirmation). The number of optional services will vary by car rental company. In general the total optional services will consist of:
- Tire battery cost (quite cheap) calculated per day
- Change of vehicle license (less than $1) which is calculated per day
- Customer facility fee (range $2 – $5) calculated per day
- Energy recovery fee (quite cheap) calculated per day
- State surcharge (range $2-$3) calculated per day
- Concession restoration fee (between 10% to 12%)
Sales tax
Sales tax is mandatory applied to you pay for a car rental.
Products/Services Not Taxable
This is an additional optional fee in addition to those already mentioned. Included in this fee are car seats, GPS, insurance, etc. offered by car rental companies.
Read: Greyhound Shipping Reviews
Insurance
Car rental insurance has several types starts from basic coverage and complete. The price will be more expensive with a complete type of insurance. What is the insurance coverage like?
- Loss damage waiver: bear if there is damage to the rental car
- Personal accident and effect: according to its meaning, it will bear the costs for passengers if there is an accident
- Emergency sickness plan: according to its meaning, coverage is given if the rental car user is sick
- Supplemental liability insurance: another type of additional coverage.
Other Factors
In addition to all the costs described, there are also several other factors that will add to the cost component of a car rental:
Toll: prices vary widely between companies and the city where you pick up a rental car. Let’s say car rental A in Orlando will charge $11.99/day and car rental B in Tulsa will charge $3.95/day Toll.
Additional driver: if there is more than one driver there will be an additional fee that you have to pay. The range is between $15 to $20 per day
Young renters: most states have a rule that drivers under 25 years will be charged a young renter fee of $25 per day.
Read: Euro Trip Planner
Rental Car Price Comparison Final Price
That’s a rental car price comparison review. In the end, the best price you get from a rental car price comparison is not the final price you get, it is the basic price for renting a car unit only. By taking basic insurance and toll fees per day (plus additional driver) you should anticipate the final car rental price to be around $125 – $200 extra from the rental car price. For example: if the price of renting a car for two days is $145 then you need to anticipate the final price you are going to pay is $270 – $345. Be sure to prepare enough budget for your next car rental plan.
