To get a cheap car rental for your vacation you can follow a series of very simple tricks. Booking with free cancellation, paying in advance or being very careful with insurance are some key recommendations to avoid overpaying for your rental car for the next trip.

If you want to rent a cheap car for your next trip, you need two things: caution and patience. Contrasting the different offers and researching the agencies with the help of applications, comparators and online platforms are key elements to getting a great car rental experienceyou’re your next vacations.

On specialized pages such as Skyscanner, Smarter Travel and Capture The Atlas, they provide valuable tips for renting cheap cars, reducing last-minute payments. There are also many travel blogs, such as Comiviajeros or Sin Codigo Postal, in which adventurers with experience in traveling the world share with the audience their tricks to get cheaper rental cars.
Here are some tricks to save money when it comes to getting a vehicle for your next getaway.

Don't wait to rent at the airport

Renting a car at the airport makes the final cost more expensive due to additional taxes and fees. It is better to select a location outside the airport, which usually means savings of up to 20%. In addition, if you hire the car at the airport, you will be in a hurry and you will not have time to check the offers. The best thing is to calculate the prices of the different rental locations in the city and compare them with the airport ones.

Use online comparators

Technology can be your greatest ally to save on car rental. On the Internet there are many car rental online comparators. The most prominent are RentalCars, RenCars, AutoEurope, HappyCars, PepeCar and Skyscanner. Remember to include all relevant filters to refine your search.

Find discount coupons

Goldcar, Stilo, Groupon and Radarcoupon are websites where you can find discount coupons for online car rental. Try several and refine your search to get the best offer tailored to your trip.

Choose cheap car models

The most important thing is to choose a car that is comfortable, safe and adapted to your needs, such as the amount of luggage, number of travelers or the type of route you are going to take. You don't need to go for the most expensive models which is a waste of money. An economical rental vehicle that fulfills its function is sufficient.

Eliminate the extras that you don't need

The usual thing is that the car rental company offers you a series of extras, but many of them will not help you and will only add money to the final price. Evaluate which ones are essential for you, and save by using Google Maps as your own GPS, or taking your own baby seat. Beware of fake offers and added commissions.

Rent your vehicle weeks in advance

From Skyscanner they recommend renting the vehicle the same way as when you book a flight; with as much advance as possible. The results will be better if you rent between 4 and 8 weeks before your vacation and outside of high season.

Check if your own insurance covers the unforeseen

As explained by Rastreator, rental cars are required to include basic Civil Liability insurance that covers you against personal and material damage that you may cause to third parties up to a limited amount for each incident.

You should pay close attention as there are other guarantees that can increase the cost, such as damages, roadside assistance, insurance against theft or windows and wheels. If you extend the coverage towards All Risk, they usually offer you the option of linking it to an excess to make car rental cheaper. In any case, the first step is to check if your own car insurance covers possible unforeseen events. You can also use online rental car insurance comparators.
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Free cancelation reservation

Just in case any problem arises that prevents you from finally going on vacation, it is best that the service you hire has free-cancelation option. Most car rental companies offer this possibility at no added cost, up to 24 or 48 hours before the vehicle pick-up time. A trick that some specialists use is to reserve several vehicles with free cancellation and as the rates drop, cancel the reservation until you get the cheapest one.

Pay in advance if it implies a discount
This option is tricky and you should think it through. There are companies that offer car rental discounts of up to 35% for paying the reservation in advance, but they are usually reservations that do not allow cancellations.

Book tour packages that include various services
Instead of booking the components of the trip separately, a convenient and profitable option is to go for tour packages or combined hotel, flight or car rental reservations, which offer valuable advantages to both hotels and consumers. In addition, they will save you paperwork and time when preparing the trip.