Business travelers with corporate accounts are accustomed to renting brand new cars with all the bells and whistles, but for the budget-conscious traveler, a cheap car rental can make vacationing a low cost affair. Fortunately, there are many choices for travelers with tight budgets, and a little research will reveal your options.
Looking for Discounts and Deals
One approach in the search for a good and cheap car rental is to leverage the incentive packages which most rental agencies offer. If your vacation plans are flexible, you can often find “last minute” deals for travel expenses like airline tickets and rental cars.
Travel agencies and car rental companies often offer these deals when an upcoming weekend is very light on bookings. Rather than having an airplane fly half-empty, or a rental car sit unused in its lot, these agencies may extend a deeply discounted deal for travelers who are willing to book on short notice.
If your schedule doesn’t allow for that kind of spontaneity, you can look for different types of sales. In many cases, you make travel reservations in combinations in order to benefit from a “package” discount. For example, you may pay far less for a package reservation including both hotel and cheap car rental together; compared to the higher price you would pay if you made each of those reservations individually.
You may also find incentive deals offered when you register a free user name on the website of a car rental agency. Create an account with a rental car agency and sign up for the electronic newsletter, and you will likely receive a stream of coupons and sales directly to your email inbox.
Investigating Cheap Car Rental Agencies
Another avenue for investigating a cheap car rental is to look for agencies which specifically hire out low-cost vehicles. For example, there are rental agencies that specialize in renting out older cars, and these rentals come at a considerably lower cost than even the “sale” prices at the standard companies.
The car you end up driving won’t be fancy or flashy or new, but the maintenance and upkeep of these older fleets are impeccable, and the financial savings are well worth it. If you have any reservations about driving an older rental, it is a simple matter to look up any company’s record of safety inspections to reassure yourself.
From a safety standpoint, in fact, these older rental cars are considered preferable by many seasoned travelers who are wary of standing out as tourists or visitors. Unfortunately, destination locations are sometimes plagued by criminals who consider tourists as easy marks. A thief who specifically targets the tourists, however, is most often looking for the easily identifiable indications like a high-end rental car. The less expensive older rentals, for this reason, can be much safer to drive.
It is also worth noting that driver insurance on these older cars is significantly lower than coverage for newer models, allowing your travel budget to stretch even further. For the cost-conscious traveler, a cheap car rental will allow you to enjoy your travels without emptying your wallet.
John is passionate about automobiles and automobile technology, and writes for Hertz rent2buy providing first time used car buyers in France with simple tips to ensure a good purchase.