The most convenient way to explore Europe is by automobile, but you don’t have to spend your children’s inheritance on rental cars. By following some of the simple tips below, you can save hundreds of dollars and put them to more enjoyable uses:1. Do some price comparisons using the Websites identified below.
A rental car’s cost depends upon where (and sometimes when) you secure the car and the amount of time you possess it. Local supply and demand sets a car’s base price, before any additional taxes or fees. If you plan to visit several countries in no required order, arrive in the one with the least expensive cars; 30 days in a compact car from the Frankfurt, Germany airport is $310 less than from the Luxembourg airport.
2. Be flexible when choosing the pick-up location.
Typically, airports and train stations are the costliest locations to obtain vehicles. If feasible, reserve your car at one of the rental agency’s city offices; oftentimes, no taxes or other service fees are levied on the base price and the car can conveniently be returned to the airport without a charge (understand the return procedure before leaving the airport to fetch the car). Renting our example compact car from a Frankfurt city office, rather than from Frankfurt airport saves you $180; even after paying for a taxi, you have enough money for gasoline, dinner, and a hotel room.
3. If the car will be returned in another country, ask the agency if a vehicle from that country is available on their lot.
Typically, the one-way drop-off fee (around $150 for a pick-up in Frankfurt and a drop-off in Paris) is waived because you are doing them a favor. Ask about the return procedure at the final destination.
4. Pay with a major credit card and decline the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) insurance.
The CDW insurance from the agency’s Frankfurt city office for our example compact car costs almost $400. Credit cards typically provide free insurance coverage for 30 consecutive days (be sure to review your card’s benefits disclosures). To safely insure for more than 30 days, make several reservations for no more than 30 days each, return the car after each reservation, and use a second card for the next rental period (or go without a car for a day, and use the first card again).
5. Consider a short-term lease for around 30 days or more.
Auto Europe has partnered with the Peugeot car company of France, offering non-European residents factory-new vehicles for up to 6 months of possession. The “Open Europe” program requires at least a month of advance reservation and the return of lease documents (15 minutes of effort). Your car is selected from a wide range of models, shipped to a number of European arrival cities, fully insured, tax-free, and may be driven within countries often restricted by rental car agencies. The delivery fee within France is free, but is distance-based when the car is shipped to other countries. In France, a compact car can be leased for 45 days for $230 less than renting the same vehicle in Paris. If delivered to Frankfurt, the same lease car is $310 more than a comparable city rental (because of the delivery fee); the lease becomes more cost-effective after about 70 days. Remember that gasoline and your time are not cheap, so the convenience of an uninterrupted, fully insured, drive-anywhere car may still be worth the extra lease money.
I have used and recommend the following car rental Websites:
- Auto Europe (http://www.autoeurope.com/)
- Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com/)
- Travelocity (http://www.travelocity.com/)
- Sixt (http://www.sixt.com/).
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