How to Find a Cheap Car Rental in 2025

I love Land trips. You get in the car and you can go anywhere you want. There’s a freedom to a road trip that you can’t get on trains (and don’t get me wrong, I love train travel too). Small towns, beautiful parks, historic buildings….whatever you see, you can stop in and stay as short or long as you want!

Over the years, I’ve taken dozens of road trips. Some destinations are fair About me For them (think New Zealand, Ireland, Iceland, USA, South Africa, etc.).

However, when you don’t have your own car, renting one can be difficult. No one likes to do this and we all (rightfully) worry about being robbed. There are always a lot of questions when it comes to renting a car.

Where can I find the best offers?

How do I know this cheap car rental site is legit?

What are the things I should be careful of?

What about insurance? Do I really need that? Or is my credit card insurance good enough?

In this post, I’ll share my tips and tricks to help you find a cheap (but reliable) car rental and how to avoid common pitfalls that many travelers fall into.

Step 1: Join the rental company’s mailing lists and loyalty programs

Most car rental companies advertise deals to their subscribers first. Once you know you’re going on a road trip, join the major car rental company’s mailing lists. This way, you can disable any deals offered as soon as they are announced.

To find the major car rental companies at your destination, simply visit the website of the airport you are arriving at and see which car rental companies are available there.

Additionally, like airlines, many car rental companies have loyalty airlines that offer perks such as discounts, reward upgrades, and free rentals. Enterprise, Avis, Alamo, and Hertz are among the major players in the market that offer free loyalty programs. Sign up for it so you don’t miss any perks, offers or promotions.

Step 2: Find a car using Discover Cars

While you can certainly check each car rental company individually to get a deal, the best way to compare prices is to use an aggregator. These websites aggregate information from each car rental site so you don’t have to spend time manually comparing prices before booking.

Discover cars he Best car search aggregator To use because it pulls more cars from more websites to ensure you find the best deal (it searches over 500 websites for deals). It covers 165 countries and over 50,000 locations worldwide!

You can use the tool below to check prices and get a quote quickly and easily to compare car rental offers DiscoverCars comparison tool for cheap rentals:

Make sure to compare the weekly and daily rates as well. For example, if you need a car for 4 days, compare the price for a 7-day trip as well. Sometimes it is cheaper to rent the car for a whole week and then return the car early.

Step 3: Check for discounts and deals

Some car rental sites share the discounts directly on their website. For example, Budget and Avis have “Last Minute Deals” sections on their websites where you can find amazing discounts as long as you are flexible with dates and destination.

Most major car rental companies also offer discounts and deals for certain groups as well. For example, Avis offers a discount of up to 35% for AARP members (AARP is an interest group in the US for people aged 50 or over) while Budget offers a discount of up to 35% for veterans. Check and see if there are any discounts or deals you qualify for before booking, such as corporate discounts, government discounts, senior discounts, or discounts that stem from any hotel or airline programs you’re part of.

Many travel credit cards also have car rental perks or discounts.

Step 4: Check out the sharing economy

Now that you’ve found the best deal, it’s time to do a quick comparison with sharing economy websites like teaching. Turo is like Airbnb but for cars. Locals list their car and price daily and you can browse the options and book a car. It’s not available everywhere (currently only in the US, Australia, France, UK, and Canada) but you can find it in most major cities. Depending on your needs and the length of your trip, you may be able to find a cheaper deal.

Renter must be at least 21 years old, have a valid driver’s license, and have proof of a good auto insurance score. You can either pick up the car, drop it off, or meet the owner somewhere to get the keys.

Prices can be as low as $25 per day, making it an affordable option if you book early.

And if you’re looking for an RV, check this out Share a shelfwhich is similar to Turo but focuses only on RVs and campers. They have the largest inventory out there.

There is also the location Imoova.comWhere you transport people’s vehicles to them. You will be on a deadline where vehicles must be delivered by a certain date, however, prices are usually just $1 per day – and many include some money for fuel as well.

Step 5: Reserve your car (and book early!)

Book early. Like booking flights, the closer you get to the date, the more expensive the car will be – assuming there are still any cars to rent! The recent pandemic has sent car rental prices skyrocketing as people shift from trips abroad to road trips at home. The best time to rent a car is when you know you need to rent a car! Don’t wait.

You can click here to get a direct quote from DiscoverCars aggregator of global rental comparisons.

9 questions you should ask yourself before renting a car

Now that you’ve found a cheap rental car, here are some considerations to keep in mind before booking a rental car:

1. Are there driver requirements? – Some countries impose additional fees if the driver is under 25 years old. Others require a certain amount of driving experience before a person can rent a car (usually one year). Each country has different requirements, so be sure to read the fine print before booking. You can learn more about obtaining an international driving license in this blog post.

2. What does your travel insurance policy require? Car companies always push you to obtain additional insurance when renting a car. But should you? It depends on whether you have your own travel insurance with collision coverage, your own car insurance, or coverage through your travel credit card.

Some travel insurance and credit card companies want you to decline insurance from the rental agency, while others insist you obtain it and file a claim with them first. Before you rent a car, make sure you understand what your current travel insurance plan requires. The credit cards listed here have good auto insurance coverage.

3. What’s not included? – Once you find a rental car, companies usually try to sell you all kinds of extras. GPS, liability insurance, satellite radio, and a child car seat – these are just some of the extras that most rental cars don’t include. Find out what’s included and what’s not included, so you’re not surprised when you receive your car.

4.Do you need to fill the tank at the end? – Some car rental companies allow you to hand over the car as is but this is very rare. Most insist on filling the tank beforehand. If you don’t, they charge you a very high fee for gas when you fill it up. I always fill the tank again before I leave the car again.

5. How can you avoid being scammed? – Before heading out on your trip, take photos and videos of the car. Specifically, the bumper, windshield, and tires, as these are the areas most susceptible to damage. This way, when you return it, they can’t blame you for any pre-existing damage. I always walk with the person who hands me the car and walk with someone when I hand it over.

6. Do you have unlimited miles? – Unlimited mileage is slowly becoming standard. However, this is not always the default, make sure you have unlimited mileage for long road trips. Otherwise, you will calculate the miles so you will not be charged additional fees.

7. Do they charge for an additional driver? -If you’re going on a road trip with friends or family, you’ll probably be involved in the driving. Unless you’re traveling with your spouse or domestic partner (which some companies provide as an extra driver for free), this means you need to pay an extra driver fee, usually around $10-$20 per day! Limit your additional drivers if this is the case, otherwise you will be charged a fortune. Also keep in mind that it is illegal to charge additional drivers in some places (such as California).

8. Where is the pick-up/drop-off location located? – Most travelers pick up their rental cars at the airport. Although airports are convenient, they charge companies a fee to operate there, a fee that is passed on to the customer. It’s worth checking to see if there’s a price difference for locations outside the airport. If they are easy to access, you will likely find a cheaper price there.

9. Is the car automatic or manual? – If you are from the US or Canada and are used to driving an automatic car, you may be surprised when renting a car abroad, as manual transmissions are the standard in most other parts of the world. For this reason, it is usually more expensive to rent a car with an automatic transmission. Double-check that you’re renting a car you can actually drive (don’t risk trying to teach yourself how to drive a rental car).

Road trips are one of the best ways to explore a new destination, and the freedom of owning a car is unparalleled, allowing you to get off the beaten path and have all kinds of adventures. Knowing a few things before renting a car can save you a lot of time, hassle and high prices.

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