If your first drive will be from an airport to a hotel for the night, why not take a shuttle van to the hotel instead? Doing this may save you the price of a day’s rental. Even if you must drive the same day your flight lands, you may not have to get the car at the airport. By picking it up downtown, you can often avoid hefty airport surcharges.
If you have personal auto insurance or charge the rental to a major credit card, you will probably be covered at least for collision damage – so you shouldn’t have to purchase the car rental company’s collision or loss damage waiver (CDW or LDW) insurance. If in doubt, ask your insurance agent or credit card issuer.
Always compare rental agencies – including some less common ones.
Just about everyone knows the big brands – Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, and so on – but there are a lot of less obvious brands that may offer better rates. Budget, Sixt, Thrifty, and Fox are just a few of the available ones.
To cover all your bases, you can book through an online travel agency website – like Hotwire or Priceline- to compare a few different rentals. Extra info on rent a car in Cuba
Don’t Walk Up
Like a flight, you’re going to find the best car rental rate beforehand online. Actually, if you are booking a car with less than 24 hours advance notice your rates may skyrocket.
If you walk off the airplane with the thought of just walking up to the car rental booth to rent you’ll likely be surprised by the high prices. We always aim to rent a car with at least 24 hours notice. If you do need a car on short notice, it’s best to go with smaller independent providers who can negotiate a rate with you.
Use an online deal aggregator and compare prices.
Sites like CarRentals.com, Priceline and Kayak.com give you the opportunity to compare prices from many different rental car companies at once, which is always something you should do before booking a car. Don’t overlook off-brand rental agencies like Fox Rent A Car, which may not be available in every area, but tend to offer anywhere from a 10 to 50 percent discount off what you would pay with a more well-known rental car agency. Extra info about car hire in Faro
Insuring your rental car can be confusing. Most of the time, the deal you choose will come with basic cover as standard. Extra insurance is not a legal requirement, it’s entirely your choice whether you buy it. (To find out more, see What’s the best way to insure your rental car?)
Rental companies will offer you additional waiver cover or insurance. It will always cost money, and none is legally required. It is entirely up to you whether you buy it or not. For example:
Super Collision Damage Waiver (SCDW)
Each rental company sells its unique version of Super Collision Damage Waiver. It usually covers car parts that basic damage insurance doesn’t, such as wheels or mirrors. If you buy SCDW you might be liable for a smaller excess or be able to leave a smaller security deposit at the counter, or no security deposit at all.