Car rental: how to pay less?

While the French are expected to flock to rental cars this summer, check out our tips for reducing the bill.

If many French people are preparing to travel abroad, after more than a year of restrictions of all kinds, the vast majority should however prefer travel to France this year. And while one in two drivers should take their own car, rental agencies will also be taken by storm by vacationers, even risking a shortage as demand is so high. As a result, prices should then soar, especially in the regions most popular with tourists. This is not why it is not possible to reduce the bill somewhat. Auto-Moto gives you just a few tips on how to pay less for your car rental this summer.

Book in advance

This is undoubtedly the most obvious advice, but not always the easiest to implement depending on your personal constraints. But anyway, book your rental at least two months in advance allows you to benefit from preferential rates, and above all to have a wider choice. Because generally, the most accessible models such as city cars and compacts leave very quickly. Doing so early therefore gives you more flexibility and guarantees much lower prices, without effort!

Avoid train stations and airports

Again, this tip cannot always be applied, especially if you are planning to travel to a relatively isolated location where the only contact with civilization is in those locations. But if you can, prefer less frequented places to go to an agency, or downtown. On its site, the rental company Sixt explains, for example, that there is a difference of € 20 between a rental departing from Berlin airport and another directly in the city. If you are neither in a hurry nor too busy, use the public transport network at your vacation spot, just to save some money.

Use an online comparator

This unstoppable trick, however, again involves doing it a little in advance. Rather than going to the first agency you come to, consider checking the web and comparing offers. All you have to do is look for your dates and your vacation spot to find the cheapest rental company and the model that best suits your needs. It won’t waste your time, but you risk having great savings!

Choose the right dates

It seems pretty obvious, but be aware that dates to which you go on vacation have an influence on the rental price. Logical, because the demand will undoubtedly be more important on August 15 at the seaside than on November 12. But in the same week too, the prices can go from single to double, which is why it is better to avoid starting a weekend rental, if it’s possible. On the other hand, demand is less strong in the middle of the week, and it will therefore be wiser to choose these days, even if it is much more restrictive.

Opt for alternative rentals

Finally, if the traditional rental is still too expensive, you can fall back on the alternative offers. Renting between individuals may be possible, allowing you sometimes to benefit from significantly reduced rates, but also greater flexibility, by finding a vehicle closest to you. Another still unknown possibility is the rental at 1 €. Very economical, this alternative allows you to rent a car for next to nothing, in a way playing the role of a conveyor. Indeed, rental companies sometimes have to repatriate their cars from one agency to another, which generates exorbitant transport costs for them. With this solution, businesses save money, and so do you! On the other hand, this solution is not at all flexible, leaving no choice on the date, nor on the agency of departure and arrival, nor on the model.