Booking Car Hire

Getting the right car at the right price can be a long, complicated process, and you can easily be confused when comparing one company against another.

As all my calculations and quotations are in British Pounds, I will be using that currency throughout in my comparisons.

Insurance & Extra Options

Not knowing the different requirements when booking a vehicle can seriously mislead the beginner. For instance, if you are a non-US resident (like me) travelling to the UK and you happen to book your car through the rental company’s American website, you will find that the hire price is significantly cheaper than if you booked the car through the UK website.

This might lead you to believe that you have found a bargain price and grab the reservation.

But beware! On collecting the car in the UK, the rental company will be asking you to provide proof of basic insurance before allowing you to take the vehicle. “What insurance?” you ask… (this is because residents of the US and Canada enjoy free insurance on their credit card)

You will then have to purchase the hire companies (overpriced) insurance, which added to your ‘bargain’ reservation will be costing you MUCH more than if you booked the car through the UK website in the first place!

One secret to saving money on car hire is to take the basic package only. The basic package should normally include the following: Third Party Insurance, specified Mileage Allowance, Road Tax and Licence Fees, Premium Location Surcharges and VAT.

It also includes Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Theft Waiver (TW) insurance cover for a major crash, write-off or total loss of the vehicle, but leaves you liable for the first £1000.

If there are any small scratches or minor damages, adding up to, say, £500 worth of damage, it means you have to pay it in full.

The car hire company will try to strong-arm you into buying their “Super” CDW insurance to cover the first £1000. But the charge for this (as much as £150/week) can almost equal the price of the car hire!

A much cheaper alternative is to pre-purchase a “Car Hire Excess Reimbursement Policy” from an independent insurance company like woldwideinsure.com. A “Deluxe” policy can be as little as £2.40 per day for short rentals or in the case of rentals exceeding 18 days, it is more economical to purchase an Annual policy for a mere £45.

Unlike the car hire firm's own policies it will cover you for a vast number of mishaps.

Apart from the excess reimbursement cover (up to £5000), it also protects you for towing charges, personal accident, lost baggage, lost keys, curtailment of rental, lock out charges, misfuelling of the vehicle, road rage and car jacking.

In the case of my intended 30 day hire, the insurance saving amounts to nearly £500!

Hire Rates

Hire rates can vary greatly and when you enter you’re your hire dates and search for a vehicle, you will normally get their standard rack-rate. However a number of car hire companies have a space to enter a promotional, discount or coupon code.

Do a search on the internet for promo/discount/coupon codes for the relevant company and when you find a few, try them out and see the difference it can make to the price! (not all codes will work)

I managed to find a code for a 5% promotional discount and was excited. I looked a bit further and found a 10% discount for Diners Club, but I was overjoyed when I found a promotional discount that gave me a whopping 15% discount off the standard rate.

Don’t just settle for the first rate you find. A little research and digging can save you a bunch of cash.

I was able to save saved a massive £115 on the rate (which after the £45 for excess insurance still leaves me £70 up!).