Rental cars

About

NOTE: This page is a daughter page of: Travel

I'm no expert on car rentals, and the insurance idea confuses me.... but here's what I've learned.

The 9 Best Car Rental Companies of 2020 - they suggest:
- Best airport locations: Hertz "Wide range of cars offered"
- Best for paying upfront: Budget "Has some of the cheapest car rentals in the industry"

To find the best deal I like to use kayak.com/cars (expedia or priceline are good too).

(#1) Hidden "fees and taxes". With many car rental sites and aggregators the daily or total price they show doesn't include "fees and taxes" which could up to double the cost (so pay attention to that)!
(#2) Confusing insurance options. Most cars will try to make their big money on extra insurance charges! These could easily 2x or 4x the cost of your rental to make you feel safe, but in fact that insurance you might pay on your regular car (if you use something like Geico), probably already gives you physical damage and liability insurance on any cars you rent. I'm not 100% on this, but I have decided against lots of the expensive insurance.
(#3) Airport surcharge. It's tempting to get a hire car from the airport (when you arrive), but if you're staying long enough you should check out other locations... you can easily Uber around and will probably get a much cheaper deal from the middle of the city.