The Rental Agency’s Refueling Policy
One your rental contract, you will have a paragraph specially
dedicated to the rental company’s refueling policy. It usually
states that the renter must refuel the car within a certain
distance from the return lot. This paragraph also provides
for a prepaid fuel option, which means that the renter doesn’t
have to bother but will pay the rate set forth in the contract,
which is usually higher than if the renter filled the tank.
However, if the renter doesn’t opt for the prepaid option
and also fails to fill the tank, the renter will have to
pay the agency to refuel the car. The rate is much higher
than one would normally pay at a commercial pump, and it
would save a lot of money for consumers to fill the tank
themselves. The charge to refuel the rental car is usually
based on a per gallon price stated in the rental agreement
and multiplied by the number of gallons that the rental
company needs to fill the tank.
However, rather than refuel the car, do the calculation,
then charge the customer, many agencies simply estimate.
They do this by multiplying the fraction of the amount needed
to fill the tank by the number of gallons the tank holds.
While this relies heavily on human judgment, we all know
human judgment and calculations can be inaccurate, even
if only slightly. But when you’re paying sometimes double
the price per gallon to refuel the car at the rental agency,
it can mean a good chunk of change.
For instance, consider the car with a 12-gallon tank. If
you have four and a half gallons of this tank to fill, you
can do so at a gas station for about ten to twelve dollars.
A rental agency that is charging twice the pump price may
estimate your use at a half gallon. So you will pay perhaps
$4.50 per gallon for 6 gallons of gas—or $27—where you would
normally pay $2.25 for 4.5 gallons, or a little over $10.
So save yourself some money, surprises, and grief by filling
up the tank of your rental car before you turn it in. Don’t
let the car rental agencies soak you for something you could
pay less than half for someplace else.
