Cheapest Way to Rent Car
- 1). Book early or book last-minute. Rates for rental cars are typically best either well in advance of the rental period or right before it. For last-minute bookings, sites such as Hotwire and Priceline offer significant discounts on available cars.
- 2). Rent the smallest car possible. The smallest cars are usually the cheapest to rent, and also use the least amount of fuel during your rental.
- 3). Compare different rental car companies to get the best price. Use a website, such as Rentalcars.com, that compares availability and prices across companies for a given time period.
- 4). Join free membership plans for the major car companies, such as Alamo, National, Hertz, Budget, Avis and Thrifty. Most memberships take only a few seconds to sign up for online and give you access to special deals and discounts.
- 5). Don't be tempted to add unnecessary extras to your rental car. GPS system rental, fuel pre-purchase, and other add-ons cost many times more than your actual rental.
- 6). Arrange for your own automobile insurance to cover the rental car during the rental period. Most policies will extend this coverage for free, allowing you to decline the extra insurance offered by the rental company. Likewise, many major credit cards will offer insurance coverage on a rental car, provided the rental is booked and paid for on that credit card.
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