Summer car hire study shows prices are 27% cheaper than in 2023

A 12-country study of car hire costs worldwide reveals that prices have almost fallen back to pre-pandemic levels. A week’s car hire worldwide is now 27% cheaper than in 2023 and 42% cheaper than in 2022.

Hiring a compact family car (e.g., a VW Golf) this summer will cost £380 a week on average, which is getting close to the 2019 cost of £310. This is significantly lower than in recent years when prices spiked post-pandemic. The average rental price in 2022 was £652, and in 2023 it was £520.

Conducted by iCarhireinsurance.com, a leading provider of car hire excess insurance, the survey looks at the costs for a week’s hire from 27 July to 3 August 2024 in 12 countries worldwide (Australia, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and the USA) and compared the costs from the six rental companies of Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt.

Australia (£297 weekly rental average), Spain (£306 weekly rental average), Germany (£311 weekly average rental) and Turkey (£360 weekly rental average) are the cheapest places to hire a car this summer, and Italy (£446 weekly rental average), Switzerland (£460 weekly rental average) and France (£523 weekly rental average) the most expensive.

Although the main rental prices have fallen, one area where customers are still faced with significant charges are the optional extras that are offered at the rental desk, including car hire excess protection (often referred to as theft and collision damage cover) £168, tyre and windscreen excess cover £33, an extra driver £64, a sat nav £71 and a child’s seat £67.

If all extras were selected, they would cost £403 in total, pushing the average price to £783 for a week’s hire.

Car hire excess protection, is usually the most expensive extra if bought from the rental desk. These protect drivers from the excess liability, which is the amount a driver is liable to pay if a hire car is stolen or damaged even if it is not the driver’s fault.

The study reveals the average price for excess protection is over £200. This is over six times more expensive than a stand-alone car hire excess policy from a specialist insurance provider, like iCarhireinsurance.com, which charges from £33.15 for a week’s European policy, which covers damage, theft, and tyres and windscreen cover.  Annual European polices are from £41.99.

For those travellers who do not take out excess protection, this study reveals the average excess amount they could be liable to pay is around £1,500.

Ben Wooltorton at iCarhireinsurance.com, said, “It’s good to see car hire prices almost back to 2019 levels. Hiring a car is an excellent choice for people wishing to explore their holiday destination and it’s good to see that prices are stabilizing again after the high costs we’ve seen since the pandemic.

“However, there might be more bargains closer to the summer, so it’s worth checking closer to your holiday and taking advantage of the free cancellation 48 hours before collection that a lot of the major companies offer.

“Also, don’t get caught out buying expensive extras at the rental desk and ensure you bring your sat nav and child car seats with you and consider buying car hire excess insurance from a specialist insurance provider, like iCarhireinsurance.com.”