Renting a car cheaply? Check out these 6 tips!

Want to rent a car cheaply? Then there are a lot of things to consider. Whether you want to rent a car in the Netherlands, Spain or America, there are a few tips you can always use. Renting a car is easily arranged but the choice of different cars and providers is huge. Sometimes a particular rental car seems very cheap but if you look a little closer at the conditions, there turn out to be some snags. To help you rent a car as cheaply as possible, here are 6 useful tips for you.

Tips for finding a cheap rental car

Here are 6 tips to consider when looking for a cheap rental car.

#1 Pick up and drop off your rental car smartly

When you want to rent a car, it’s useful to know that you always rent a car by the day. You can enter what time you want to pick up and return the car when you search, but make sure you make smart use of that 24-hour rule. Say you pick up the rental car at 10:00 and return it at 11:00 the next day. Then you will have to pay for 2 days. So that one extra hour will cost you a lot of extra money. In that case, it is smarter to return it at the same time or keep the car until 10:00 the next day. You will then pay just as much, but rent the car for 23 hours longer.

#2 Book your rental car well in advance

Another important rule when renting a car is that it’s best to book as early as possible. Especially if you want to be nice and cheap. If you wait too long, the cheapest cars are often already gone.

Price increases due to shortage of cars: There is currently a great shortage of rental cars worldwide. To survive the corona crisis, car rental companies have had to sell a large portion of their cars. Since demand is rising fast, there are not enough chips for new cars and prices are rising tremendously due to the shortage. As a result, many rental cars are double the price or even fully booked. It is best to book as early as possible to be sure of a rental car that is still somewhat affordable. Sunnycars currently offers the Flex Service for free. This allows you tocancel or change your rental carup to 1 hour in advance for free.

#3 Decide in advance which car suits your trip

The cheapest rental car is not always the cheapest in consumption. If you’re going to drive through the mountains, for example, it’s better to choose a car that suits that rather than a very cheap little car. After all, you will end up using more gasoline in the mountains with that small city car.

#4 Pay close attention to the fine print when renting a car

Renting a car involves all sorts of terms and conditions that can sometimes make a big difference. Consider, for example, how many free miles are included and how much you have to pay for extra miles. In addition, you probably also want to know whether insurance is included in the price or if you have to pay extra for it. Other things to consider are the deposit, the deductible and possibly the cost for an additional driver. Also important to know: when picking up a rental car, you must always be able to show a credit card in the name of the main driver. This applies to every rental company worldwide. Don’t have a credit card yet? Then we recommend this credit card.

Tip: When booking your rental car with Sunnycars, full insurance is always included in the price. This full insurance covers any damage to the car in case of an accident as well as scratches, breakdown costs and the excess that you normally have. This way you will certainly not have high costs afterwards when something goes wrong. This is because your own car insurance does not apply to a rented car. This insurance is not mandatory but we like it because you don’t have to worry about anything during your trip.

#5 Check the tank arrangement

The tank arrangement is another important point to pay attention to when you want to rent a car as cheaply as possible. The most economical refueling arrangement is “full-to-full. This simply means that you get the car with a full tank and also return it with a full tank. Empty-to-empty is often less advantageous because it is difficult to estimate how much gasoline you are going to need. Chances are you won’t return the car with an empty tank. So then you pay for gasoline you didn’t use and that’s a shame because gasoline is not cheap.

#6 Book with a reliable Dutch party to avoid hassles

Perhaps the best tip of all is to use a comparison site. Often you can’t see the forest for the trees and therefore finding a cheap rental car takes a lot of time. We always book a car through Sunnycars and we highly recommend it. With a rental car you always have a chance of damage and problems on the road, so it is smart to book with a reliable party. Sunnycars always includes full insurance, you can change your booking for free and all terms and conditions are clearly stated. They also have a 24/7 emergency number where you can get help in case of problems in Dutch. So you don’t have to worry about snags and if something goes wrong on your trip, everything is always reimbursed and taken care of. Sometimes you pay just a few dollars more than with other companies but then you don’t have to worry about anything anymore. Especially at the more adventurous destinations, this is totally worth it as far as we are concerned.