How much does it cost to rent a car? Car rental costs may vary depending on many factors. In order to determine the actual cost of a car rental, we must first examine various contributing costs and then sum them up to find the final cost.
The first cost that you encounter is the base cost. The base cost depends on factors such as the type of car you want to rent and the rental period. Renting an ordinary sized car costs approximately $38 daily while a van costs approximately $140 daily. The base cost can be less depending on the rental period. In many cases, it is cheaper to rent a car on a weekly basis as opposed to renting on a daily basis.
Taxes are also additional costs that come with car rental fees. Taxes are unavoidable regardless of the country you are renting a car from. Car rental taxes include energy recovery fees and license Fees that average to a $1 daily. An additional rental tax and a prevailing tax also apply when renting a car. All taxes are passed to consumers therefore they are bound to contribute to the overall cost of renting a car.
When determining the actual cost of renting a car, it is also important that you consider the cost of insurance. Insurance is very important when taking insurance cover. Insurance such as Personal Accident Insurance costs $3 daily and covers death and medical care benefits.
Personal Effects Insurance costs approximately $2 daily and covers all personal items that you may carry with you as you use the rented car. Liability Insurance is also important and costs $12 daily. It covers for injury, property damage or death. Many car rentals come with liability insurance however the other insurance types have to be purchased when renting.
Fuel costs are also important costs to consider when renting a car. For instance, if you want a fuel efficient car, you should look for a car with a small engine that will serve you effectively. Fuel costs are inevitable for cars running on fuel thus this costs should be considered. You can also rent a hybrid or an electric car if you want to eliminate fuel costs. The downside is that hybrid or electric cars are rare to find. They might also be more expensive to rent therefore a careful consideration should be made on the cost effectiveness.
There are also additional costs such as damage waiver costs. These are costs that you may inflict on the car that are not normally covered in car rental insurance. It is important that you check carefully on the rental agreement to confirm if such losses are covered because they might end up increasing the costs of renting a car.
Finally when asking yourself how much does it cost to rent a car, you need to add up all the above costs for a final figure. The total cost of renting a car is usually $46 with inclusive taxes only. The final cost may easily double if all the above charges are included.