News Published on : 17-Nov-2021 14:34:46

Online searches for holiday car rentals have been increasing since October with more of us wanting to explore on our travels abroad. But did you know there could be hidden costs within the reams of paperwork you have to complete before driving off? To help travel experts at comparethemarket.com reveal five of the most common costs and how to avoid them: 1. Insurance Basic insurance is usually included when hiring a car abroad. But it often comes with a hefty excess sometimes close to £ 2 000 which you ll have to pay if the car is damaged or stolen. When collecting the car you may have the option to take out a super collision damage waiver which decreases the excess that you would pay should something go wrong and you need to make a claim. 2. Fuel Most providers have a full-to-full policy meaning they ll hand the car over to you with a full tank of fuel and expect you to return the car with the same amount in the tank. If you don t you could face an extra charge as the company will have to refuel the car themselves. 3. Delay Your agreement will be for a fixed number of days often at a daily or weekly rate. If you re late returning the car no matter what the circumstances are you could be charged a pre-agreed fee. Most rentals work in 24-hour periods so if your agreement begins at 11am on the day of pick up the car often needs to be returned by 11am on the agreed day. If you bring the car back in the afternoon you ll likely be charged for a full extra day. 4. Age Younger and older drivers could face extra charges or higher fees because of their age as they could be considered a higher risk behind the wheel. It s worth shopping around with different providers and checking the terms and conditions before you sign on the dotted line. 5. Admin Car rental companies will often charge admin or processing fees if they have to deal with any issues from your rental like speeding or parking fines damage repairs or cleaning the car once it s returned.