Have this happened to you: you’ve booked a great deal on a rental car, only to find the price skyrocketing as your bill is rung up at the rental counter. In the end you are paying almost double the rate you have expected? Where are these extra rates from?
Have this happened to you: you’ve booked a great deal on a rental car, only to find the price skyrocketing as your bill is rung up at the rental counter. In the end you are paying almost double the rate you have expected? Where are these extra rates from?
There are many kinds of extra charges the car rental companies can add to your bill; the following are some common ones you should not ignore.
Taxes and Airport Surcharges
According to different policies in some countries, the fees for car rental will include taxes ranging from 10%～30%.The prices you see online always include this. Unfortunately, you probably can't avoid state and local sales taxes.
Mileage
Be careful of the mile limit per day. Check this point with the company, otherwise you will pay more than you have expected.
Gasoline Charges
You will often pay a high premium for returning a car with an empty tank, so in most cases you'll want to fill up before you return your vehicle.
Drop-Off Charges
An extra fee is usually charged if you return a car to a different location than where it was picked up. Different companies will have different price. However in China you will not worry about this problem much, for most of the companies will not allow you to do this. But attention is needed.
Early Return Fees
You might imagine that returning your car a day or two early would be a good thing for your car rental company, but unfortunately you'll most likely be dinged for that too. Many car rental companies will charge you for early returns.
License Fees
Generally speaking, some car rental companies will charge extra to recover the costs of licensing their cars, usually between 3 and 8 percent of the cost of the rental. You may not be told about this fee in advance, so make sure to ask.
International Driving Permits
Renting a car and driving it in a foreign country is not the same as in your home country. The car rental company will ask you to have an International Driving Permit (IDP), which is basically just a piece of paper that translates your information into 10 different languages and is recognized by over 150 countries. Remember that you can do this job in your own country.
GPS Rental
If you want a GPS in your car, be prepared to pay certain fee for this service also.
May be buying your own and taking it with you.
Upsizing and Reduced Fuel Economy
Last but not least, it is also common for an agency to run out of cars in a certain size class. In such cases, the standard practice is to upgrade you to a larger vehicle. That’s all well and good, except that bigger get worse mileage, and you might find yourself spending far more gas than your expectation.