Car hire costs soaring for summer holidays
A WEEK’S car hire this August will cost holidaymakers on average 77 per cent more than before the pandemic.
Prices are only slightly lower than last year with high demand and depleted stocks keeping deals often more than double levels seen in 2019.
The US – where a motor vehicle is almost essential – is the most expensive. A week’s rental is likely to set sightseers back a staggering £546 on average, an increase of 92 per cent.
Which? looked at figures for more than 8,000 rentals in nine holiday hotspots including Italy, Greece and Spain and compared with 2019. Prices were up 100 per cent in Cyprus, 106 per cent in the UK and 126 per cent in Italy, where a week in August has increased from £209 to £473.
Hidden
The consumer champion, after quizzing 2,700 members, gave Which? Recommended Provider status this year to car hire firms AutoReisen and Cicar in the Canary Islands.
Both achieved customer scores of 91 per cent and were awarded five stars in several categories. Alamo (72 per cent), Enterprise (72 per cent) and Hertz (71 per cent) came in joint third and fifth places respectively.
Goldcar got customer score of 54 per cent and despite low prices scored just two stars for value for money.
The Which? survey found Zest Car Rental was the best broker with a score of 87 per cent. DoYouSpain.com was bottom with just 55 per cent.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “People should avoid the firms with the cheapest headline prices because too often they will later be stung by hidden charges.”