Holiday Car Hire
Q How can I get the best price for a holiday hire car?
Book early and, if you can, book online. You can save as much as 60% by booking a few months in advance, but even if you just book weeks, or even days, before your trip, it will always be cheaper than just turning up on the day.
If you’re online, you can use price comparison websites such as skyscanner.net or carrentals.co.uk to find the cheapest deals on offer for your dates and destination. Don’t just look at the overall price, though. Check the terms and conditions to make sure that you’re comparing like with like.
A key thing to look out for is fuel policy – some rental firms give you a full tank that you pay for upfront, and tell you to return the car empty, with no refund for any fuel left in the tank. That’s very difficult to do if you’re not driving far, and even if you are, could you work out exactly how much fuel to allow for the drive to the airport? The websites mentioned above both let you filter your search by fuel policy – the best deal is usually one that lets you return the car with the same amount of fuel as you started with.
Look out for extra costs if you want more than one person to be able to drive the car – that can add as much as £8 to £9 a day. Again, it’s always cheaper to add the extra drivers when you book, rather than when you turn up, but it’s also worth asking yourself whether the other person will actually drive much. If not, you could save a lot by just booking for one driver.
Q What about insurance?
It’s very common for firms to include basic insurance in the price, but then impose a huge excess that means you could be charged hundreds or even thousands just for scratching the car. They then try to sell you another, very expensive, policy to cover the excess.
If you think you’ll want the excess cover, you can buy a stand-alone policy from an insurance company before you go for a fraction of the price that a car hire firm will charge you – typically £2 a day rather than £25. You can compare policy prices at sites including direct-carexcess.co.uk and moneymaxim.co.uk.
If you choose to buy your own excess insurance, the car hire company may demand that you put a deposit of as much as £1,200 on your credit card. There’s no way round this, so make sure you have a high enough credit limit on a card belonging to the person who’s making the booking.
Q Is it true that I’ll need a code from the DVLA to hire a car?
Yes – this is to allow car hire firms to check for points on your licence, now that paper licences have been scrapped. In practice it seems that very few firms ask for a code, but if they do, and you don’t have one, you’re stuck. You can apply for a code via gov.uk or by calling 0300 083 0013, and you need to allow 21 days.
Q I’ve heard of people being charged for damage they didn’t do. How do I protect against that?
Unfortunately this is also very common. Always have a good look at the car, inside and out, before you drive away. If you see any damage, even just a scratch, or if the interior is especially dirty, take pictures.
If you can, it’s always best to draw the firm’s attention to any issues and have them recorded on the hire paperwork before you drive away. But if you’re in a hurry to leave, taking photos on a smartphone gives you a record of the time and date. Then take pictures again just before you leave the car, as it usually won’t be inspected until after you’ve left.
Q Anything else to watch out for?
Check on the paperwork what time the car has to be returned by, and give yourself plenty of time – contracts often allow the company to charge for an extra day if you’re late. Also make sure that it’s reasonably clean, especially inside, or you could be hit with a cleaning charge.
Then keep all the paperwork and the photos until your credit card bill arrives. Check that you’ve been charged the agreed amount with no extras, and that you’ve got your deposit back, before you get rid of it.