by U.S. News Feb 5th 2014
By Geoff Williams
Photo By: David Goldman/AP
You're renting a vehicle, not buying it, but many consumers have likely
looked at their bill and wondered if that's really the case.
When it comes to rental cars, most consumers know the price they start
off with isn't always the price they end up with. A rental includes
sales tax, and hopefully everyone knows that if you bring your vehicle
back with virtually no gas in it, the company will charge you a premium
to fill it up (unless you opted for the prepaid tank option, which can
work out unless you return the car with close to a full tank). Extra
insurance from the rental car company will also increase your bill.
At least the latter expense isn't hidden. Unfortunately, there are
other, less-visible add-on fees and unexpected costs that can come with
renting a car. We did not name the rental car companies in the following
anecdotes, to avoid getting into a he said, company said argument no
one will win.
An authorization hold. This is the most ominous and
devious of fees if you're unaware that it's coming, but rental car
companies typically warn consumers at the counter beforehand.
Some rental car companies will "hold" an extra few hundred dollars on
your credit card or debit card beyond the rental fee price, then credit
the money back to you when you hand over the keys. That may be all well
and good if you've budgeted for it,
but you may run into problems if you find that $200 in your bank account
is unexpectedly unavailable. And the hold is only released when you
return the keys in theory. If you use a debit card, it may take several
more days to get the money back.
It's beyond annoying, but there is a valid reason for this practice. The
hold is there in case you spill grape juice all over the passenger seat
or drive the car into a pile of manure (if you've seen the "Back to the
Future" movie series, you know it could happen).
Charges for damages. You might be charged even if you
weren't the person who damaged the rental car. Charmaine Weems, a
government worker in Philadelphia, rented a car for one week in 2011
when her own car was at the mechanic. "The car had cigarette burns in
the back," Weems says. "I started to say something to the manager, but I
thought because he was the manager, he knew it was there."
When Weems returned the car, the staff said she was responsible for the
burns and tacked an extra $300 onto her credit card. "I urge everyone to
check and go over every dent or marks and burns in their car," Weems
says.
You'll help your cause even more if you take photos of any damage you
see -- and make sure the manager makes the condition of the car clear on
the contract. Walt Meyer, a freelance writer and speaker based in San
Diego, learned this the hard way.
About four years ago, he rented a car for a friend who had bad credit and couldn't rent one on his own.
"We listed him as a second driver on the car," Meyer says. They both
noticed a large gash in the roof of the vehicle and asked if they could
rent another one. No dice. Meyer took photos to prove they rented the
car with a gash on it, and his friend drove off.
"About two months later, I get a notice from a collection agency saying
that I had damaged a rental car, refused to pay and it had been
forwarded to them for collections," Meyer says.
The bill: $4,000. Meyer eventually got everything straightened out, but it took a lot of phone calls.
Your credit may be affected if you use a debit card. Some rental car
companies will do a credit inquiry when you rent a vehicle, and if that
credit check shows up on your credit report, at least in some cases,
according to Dollar Rent A Car's website, it "may have an effect on your
credit evaluation."
It will probably be a very minimal effect, but if you're hypersensitive
about your credit score and rent a lot of cars, it's worth knowing.
Cancellation fees. If you line up a rental car and then
cancel it, you may be charged a fee, often around $10. If you prepay
and don't show up, your money will reappear in your bank account
eventually, but the industry standard no-show fee is $50.
Higher costs for airport rental cars. As many travelers
know, it's almost always more expensive to rent a car at the airport.
Some studies and surveys have suggested as much as 25 percent more. So
if you're visiting an area for a while, it might be cheaper to pay a
taxi or shuttle service to take you to a rental car agency away from the
airport.
That's a suggestion from Maranda Gibson, who worked at a big-name rental
car agency for five years. "It isn't uncommon to see daily rates $10 to
$15 cheaper away from the airport," Gibson says. "Another thing to
consider is the additional taxes and fees you pay for renting at an
airport ... They add up pretty quickly."
Upgrading your car for free will cost you. It happens
all the time: You reserve an economy car, and the company upgrades you
to something bigger and better for no extra charge. That's true, except
for what you'll pay in gas. You're probably too happy to be given a
bigger car for free to think about that, however.
Toll booth fees. Last summer, Dianne Langston, a
Realtor based near San Francisco, wanted to buy a new car but didn't
want to rush the process, so she and her husband rented a car weekly for
about five months. They had a good experience -- at first.
"I enjoyed the opportunity to try out different styles of vehicles for an extended period," Langston says.
She also had a FasTrack responder, which automatically deducts the cost
of toll booths from her credit card. What she didn't know is that many
rental car companies use services that charge drivers when they pass
through all-electronic, cashless toll booths. Langston didn't catch on
right away, partly because the fee charges were separate from the rental
car. She racked up at least eight $24.75 charges during her five months
of renting cars.
Some rental companies offer to charge drivers a fee that allows them to
go through tolls without paying, but those can come with per-day charges
even if you only go through, say, one toll booth.
Plan ahead. That's a plea from Gibson, who was often
behind the counter, lining up cars for consumers. "Far too many times, I
experienced someone booking a big SUV the day before a holiday and knew
that no matter what I did, I was not going to make that vehicle happen
for my customer," Gibson says.
She suggests booking 24 hours in advance during slow periods and as
early as possible if the rental overlaps with a major holiday. If you
put some forethought into renting a car, you may avoid making other
mistakes, like not budgeting for an authorization hold. Plenty of people
rent cars with nary a problem, but if you're careless, you might find
yourself wishing you had taken some other mode of transportation -- like
traveling the friendly skies. Everyone knows there are never hidden
fees when you travel by plane.*
*Except booking fees, baggage fees, seat selection charges, in-flight movie fees, meal fees ...
tags:
vacations, vacation, rental, rentals, car, travel, budget, cost, hidden cost, cancellation fees,
