Rental cars are costly. If the upfront hire fees aren’t enough, there are lots of other charges that can double the cost. That can be anything from increased insurance costs to reduce excesses, to hiring a child seat.
If you know how the system works, however, it’s possible to minimise costs.
If you’re booking a hire car, the first thing to do is to use comparison engines that list more than one rental car company……more>
Now your company can cover ALL the eligible aged drivers employed in your company.
Yes, that’s right, why pay the car rental company’s expensive corporate excess insurance rate when you can use Tripcover’s much cheaper car rental excess insurance.
Simply have the car rental agreement in your company’s name and away you go.
Reduce your corporate rate with the car rental company and save. Just let them know that
you do not need their CDW or Collision Damage Waiver to cover your company’s excess
anymore and each time you take a rental out get one of our policies for the employee.
When renting a car in Australia or New Zealand, it is very important to have quality car rental excess insurance coverage for the vehicle. You have several options available, and by comparing and contrasting the different types of insurance, you can have a better idea of what you might need.
Credit Card
Many times, the credit cards you already have in your wallet will actually have collision coverage included on them. If you choose the right credit card to pay for the rental, you could actually receive coverage with zero deductible, or at least a very low deductible. This is quite different from the high cost of insurance through the car rental companies. The right card has the potential to provide coverage for the costs for which you might be liable, such as damage to the car, or even a theft but a lot of times does not cover the general exclusions such as windscreen, tyres, single vehicle accidents or undercarriage damage.
Another issue is that some that use this method of coverage for their rental vehicles have is that it can be a hassle to deal with the credit card companies. Still, given the amount that you could possibly save in the event of an accident, it does make sense at least to consider utilizing credit card coverage for the rental.
Make sure that your credit card company offers this type of coverage, as some do and some do not. Look through the policies regarding the coverage it offers, and make sure it is applicable in Australia or New Zealand – or any country you might be visiting for that matter.
Standard Travel Insurance
In some cases, you may also have collision coverage available through your travel company. If you buy a travel insurance policy for your vacation through many companies in Australia and New Zealand, you will have the option of adding on insurance for your car rentals. However, it is important to make sure that the travel insurance policy that you are considering using actually cover all the normal exclusions that the car rental companies exclude, such as windscreens and single vehicle accidents.
Dedicated Car Rental Excess Insurance
Of course, there’s always the option of buying your car rental excess cover (usually called CDW or Collision Damage Waiver) from the car rental company. This is something they will actually encourage you to do. It’s a simple solution since you can do it right at the counter. However, that does not necessarily mean it is the best solution. The cost of the insurance through the company is expensive, and could be close to the cost of the rental itself, which could double your overall expenditure. When you buy insurance through the rental company, you should not think that it will automatically cover the entire cost of damage or theft. Look at what your excess or deductible will be. It can be in the thousands in many cases. Car rental companies will sometimes offer an additional form of coverage that will drop the deductible to zero. Of course, this adds to the cost of your rental substantially.
Dedicated car rental excess cover is also offered now by such companies as Tripcover and this can be less than half the cost of the car rental companies’ rates.
However there is also the hassle of making a claim with their insurance provider Allianz Global Assistance in the event of an accident.
Take the time to research all of your options for your car rental insurance, and then choose the one that makes the best financial sense for you.
Resources:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/car-rental-cdw
http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g255103-i531-k5982489-Car_rental_excess_reduction_Tripcover-Perth_Greater_Perth_Western_Australia.html
For everyone that has rented a car in the past or are going to rent a car in the future you might like this little skit from Seinfeld:
Before you take the key, know what your damage liability is.
When booking a car rental, the price you believe you are paying and the price you actually pay by the time you complete the rental process might be quite different. You may book online and think that you are getting a great deal for a car for $175 for a full week only to walk out of the rental office paying more than double that. What happened? When you consider the addition of all of those extraneous and outside fees, the price of renting really can start to pile up quite quickly and it’s a sinking feeling. Let’s look at some of the things that can push the price, so you will have a better idea of what you need to be watching for with quotes and so you can avoid that sinking feeling.
You always need to consider taxes when you are renting a vehicle. It doesn’t matter where you are, there will always be taxes associated with the final cost so make sure you know the taxes in your area and estimate those if the quote does not already do that for you. Keep in mind that in addition to the state taxes, there can also be local taxes. Picking up a rental car in many Australian airports actually costs between 16% and 20% more than picking them up at a downtown location would cost. If you plan to rent for a longer period, it simply makes more sense to pick up from a downtown location instead, as it will save quite a bit of money.
Many times, a rental agency will charge your credit card a deposit when you rent. The amount will vary based on the company from which you rent. They will return the amount of the deposit after you return the vehicle, so long as there is no damage to the vehicle and you have not misused it in any way. An example of misuse might be smoking in the vehicle, for example. The deposit fees in Australia and New Zealand are generally between $100 and $500. You need to have at least that much available on your credit card.
Of course, you also need to think about insurance. If you have your own car or travel insurance, then there is a chance that you will not have to pay auto insurance through the rental company. However, this is something you need to consider quite carefully. It might be a good idea to choose a collision damage waiver or loss damage waiver so if anything happens to the vehicle you are not responsible for the repairs. In Australia, the rental car excess fee can be as high as AU$4-6,000. It can be very difficult to understand exactly what your insurance will and will not cover. By choosing the insurance through the rental company, it can also remove some of the burden from your own insurance policy. It’s a badly kept secret that car rental firms tend to charge excessive prices to insure the excess, and this is often as much, if not more than, the rental car cost itself. Keep that in mind and consider some of the online alternatives to insure your car rental excess (see comparison between Europcar and Tripcover below*). As always, it is very important to read the fine print on the insurance from the renal firm or other providers– yours and that offered by the car rental company – before you make your final decision.
Car rental excess reduction fees from Europcar versus Tripcover
* As mentioned above it can be very complicated to understand the rental car company actually covers. This table has four options from Europcar, with the bottom option being not to cover the excess of $4500. The 2nd option (CDW) reduces the excess liability from $4500 to $990. And if we look at the premium option, called GoZen, this reduces the excess liability to $0 although will set you back $301 for a 7 day rental. Compared to the Tripcover.com.au product, GoZen costs 4 x more and covers less items, given overhead and undercarriage options are not covered. Whereas with Tripcover damage liability to these areas of the rental car are covered up to $4000.
Another cost that you the quote really won’t cover is the cost of petrol. Not only will you have to calculate the cost of petrol on your trip, you also have to calculate how much the rental company requires you to place in the vehicle before you return it. Most often, you need to return a full tank, given the Australian rental companies tend to fill the car up before the rental starts. Find a petrol station and fill up before you drop off the car, otherwise the company will charge 2-3 times higher price per litre, if they have to fill up for you.
If you return the vehicle to a different location or city for any reason, there will generally be an added drop off charge. Those who plan to drop off at another location should check their online car rental quote to see if a one-way fee is charged and how much it is. It should be displayed in the actual online quote. If you book on the phone or through a broker make sure to talk with the rental company and let them know it’s a one way rental, and also ask about these fees to get the full picture of how much you will have to pay.