Car Rental Fee Saving Tips: Get the Best Deal

Getting a good deal on your rental car can be a frustrating experience. For one thing, some companies won’t tell you how much your total bill will be until you return the car. Others try to cram unnecessary insurance down your throat for higher fees. Still others will say you will pay a certain amount when you drop off the car, but you get a nagging feeling they aren’t telling you the whole story—and when you drop the car off, you find out your worries were right.

There are some things you can do to take the heat off your pocket book and compare the deals. For one thing, work with the companies that will give you your cost up front with no additions. There will be few enough of them that you won’t have much comparing to do. Also check the internet for coupons and other special deals an agency might be running.

While you’re there, you can check the internet for total pricing, a program started by the travel booking agencies to help mitigate the mounting fury of consumers over mounting fees that were often hidden in the car rental contracts. A study done by Travelocity in 2005 revealed that car rental customers suffered almost a 25% increase in their rates in taxes and surcharges, with the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston rating the worst at around 66% higher.

The total pricing plan was designed to give the renter an inalterable price for the rental car, one that will match the bill when the car is returned. Travelocity.com was the first of the online agencies to offer this service, and guarantees the final bill to a 1% accuracy. If you rent your car through Travelocity.com, you will not pay more than 1% over your quoted price. That’s a good way to get a selection of quotes you can compare accurately.