Shop around for car rental
Putting your dates, destination and the type of car you want into aggregator sites such as Skyscanner, Carrentals.co.uk and Kayak will give you a broad picture of what local and international companies offer and at what price.
Booking a car at the same time as your flights does not mean you are locked into the same price, provided your agreement has free cancellation. Many providers allow you to cancel up to 48 or 72 hours before you are due to pick up the car, meaning you can continue to shop around for the best prices.
Prices often change and operators will offer discounts if they feel they have too much stock. In one example, an SUV booked in Los Angeles for 20 days in August cost £725 in April. About three weeks later, that was down to £544.
Rental companies will usually require a credit card to take a deposit for any potential damage, so make sure that it is in the driver’s name.
Beware the extras
You will typically be provided with some level of insurance when you hire a car but will have to pay an “excess”, or initial amount, which can mount up to thousands of pounds if there is an accident or damage to the car. Car hire companies will often try to sell you insurance to cover these excesses, but it can be extremely expensive so go for a standalone policy instead. These can be bought for one or more trips and the cost depends on where you are travelling to and for how many days.
Annual European excess policies start at about £30. There can be limits on how much can be claimed in a single incident, such as £10,000 on a £32 policy from Leisure Guard.
If the hire deal you’ve chosen specifies that the car must be full of fuel when you return it, be sure to fill it up a few miles from the airport as petrol stations at or near rental drop-off sites often mark up their prices significantly.
Remember your phone is a free alternative to a satnav through apps such as Google Maps and Waze. Child car seats can be taken on a flight for free, so there is usually no need to rent one at your destination if you are prepared to lug yours through the airport.