DON’T PAY CAR HIGHER PRICES British holidaymakers could save £500 by shopping around
Give big fees the swerve
BRITS are advised to bypass sky-high car hire by shopping around to save up to £500.
A Sunday People probe found huge price differences of £333.54 for the same vehicle in the same week and excess insurance charges of £200.
Ernesto Suarez, of iCarhireinsurance said: “People do a lot of planning for holidays and should apply the same diligence to booking the right rental car.”
One shock example was a five-door Hyundai i10 listed at £428.19 with Enterprise, via Ryanair. com, for a week from August 20, picking up at Palma airport, Majorca.
But we found the same car for the same week in the same location at just £94.65 on travelsupermarket.com.
Brits blew £475 million on unexpected costs last year. And the prospect of “hidden extras” puts off 20% of UK holidaymakers from hiring a COMPARE prices online and take our tips to save pounds on hire.
Go for firms allowing a return with the same fuel you started with to avoid inflated petrol charges.
Don’t pay for extras that you could you easily have brought car abroad, says research by travelsupermarket.com. Normally, car hire includes thirdparty cover which doesn’t cover mishaps such as chipped windscreens. So thousands are persuaded to take the extra “zero excess” cover by pushy airport hire staff. For example, hiring a medium-size car from 30 July to 6 August 2016 at Milan Airport, Europcar charge £222 for excess waiver. But iCarhireinsurance.com charges £23.92 for the same cover. That’s £2.99 a day, £198.08 cheaper than the rental firm. If you have an accident, the rental firm will charge you the excesses that apply and you can recover them from your waiver policy provider. Enterprise said: “Deals online differ, so it makes sense to always look into detail. We are priced competitively.” Europcar said: Excesses on our vehicles vary. Options are explained so customers can choose. We do not prevent customers from purchasing a policy from another company.” yourself from home, including sat navs and child seats.
Pay in local currency. Using Sterling can result in sky-high exchange rate charges.
Phone the firm and ask about discounts and special offers.