How to cut the cost of holiday car hire

The cost of holiday car hire can sometimes rocket when you get to the desk at the airport. All of a sudden you're being asked to take out extra insurance, charged for child car seats and offered an uprgade. Put yourself in the driving seat with our fool proof guide to holiday car hire.

Purchase the most basic package.

The majority of the profit in car hire is made by the add-ons that hire firms try to sell to their customers. Especially profitable for them is CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) which covers the excess (typically £500 - £1000) which is not covered by their standard insurance. You should avoid CDW at all cost and arrange your own cover separately.

Shop around online for the best deals. There are lots of broker sites which are set up to find the best deals, but it's also worth checking for special offers directly on the websites of the big players in car rental.

Stick to on-airport hire companies – they are more convenient and tend to stock quality vehicles. Off -airport firms often stock a range of low quality cars and you really don't want to breakdown on holiday. Hire packages offered by airlines are rarely better deals than sourcing a car indpendently.

Take your own car seats and satnav.

The cost of hiring a satnav for one week can amount to more than the cost of a brand new satnav system. As satnavs are only small, it's no problem to take one in your luggage.

Child car seats are obviously a bit tricker but some airlines will allow each passenger to take a car seat on their flights for no extra cost. Low budget airlines tend to charge around £10 each way. The cost of hiring a seat can be around £70 per week.

Of course, if you are holidaying in this country, you can pick up the hire car locally and return home to fit the seats. Car hire in Ross on Wye tends to be a bit more straightforward than car hire on the Costa del Sol.

Source your own excess insurance,

The excess of rental car insurance tends to be around £500 to £1000. The car hire company will probably try to sell you CDW insurance to cover this excess. However, they will be looking to charge you around £150 per week for CDW. If you source the excess insurance independently you can get around £2000 worth of cover for an annual charge of approximately £40 to £50 or a one-off charge of about £33.

Check the small print

Before you sign the rental agreement, check the terms and conditions of the contract. The mileage you are permitted to drive for the rental period may be limited, or there may a surcharge for drivers aged under 25.

A lot of car hire firms are now charging for a full tank of fuel and asking for the car back empty. However, if you are on a small island, for example, it may be impossible to use anywhere near a full tank. So you end up paying for half a tank of fuel that you never used.

Have all damage to the car noted.

When you return the car hire, the rental company will inspect it for damage. So before you drive it away, you need to thoroughly check for any bumps or scratches, and make sure that someone from the rental firm signs the damage sheet. Photos or video footage is also good evidence.

When you return the car unblemished, park up and take photographs of each panel, the odometer, the wheels and the windows. If someone approaches you for the keys, make sure that they are actually employed by the rental company and are not a would be car thief.

Always retain all paperwork, and check your credit card statement for a few months after you get home to make sure that no payments have been charged to it.

Of course, most car hire firms are absolutely respectable and not out to rip anyone off. This is tas rue of car rental dudley in Ross on Wye as it is of car hire on The Algarve, or in the Canary Islands. However, as with everything in life, there are some unscrupulous people out there, so it is well worth taking these precautions and shopping around for the best prices.

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