€3/Day Rental Car Guide: How to Beat the System
Recently, I have successfully rented cars with zero issues for as little as:
- €3/day in Sicily
- €7/day in São Miguel (the Azores)
- €8/day in Cyprus
- €8/day in Warsaw, Poland
- €23/day (~$27) in Hawaii, USA
A quick look at the DiscoverCars deals for the next week reveals even more absurd prices:
- Barcelona, Spain – €1.80/day
- Majorca, Spain – €1.20/day
- Rome, Italy – €2.60/day
- Lisbon, Portugal – €1.10/day
- Warsaw, Poland – €2.50/day
- Crete, Greece – €2.90/day
- Miami, USA – €5.10/day
And many more:
- Tenerife, Spain – €3.70/day
- Madeira, Portugal – €1.60/day
- Dublin, Ireland – €9.80/day
- London, UK – €9.10/day
- Vienna, Austria – €6.30/day
- Budapest, Hungary – €5.10/day
- Prague, Czechia – €9.40/day
- Athens, Greece – €1.90/day
- Istanbul, Turkey – €12.30/day
- Casablanca, Morocco – €4.20/day
- Dubai, UAE – €11.10/day
- Melbourne, Australia – €15.70/day
- Auckland, New Zealand – €18.10/day
- Toronto, Canada – €12.70/day
- Cancún, Mexico – €13.40/day
The Strategy Is Simple
- Book a deal from an aggregator site. These are loss-leaders designed to lure customers in, especially during the off-season.
- Purchase annual rental car insurance from an independent provider (as low as €50/year).
- Decline all up-sold extras and insurance at the counter. You are already covered.
Explaining Insurance
On aggregate sites like DiscoverCars.com, rental companies use “bait pricing” to lure you in. Once you arrive, they will try to upsell you their own insurance or “extras”, which can quadruple the cost. Decline it. Just pay the base cost. Your rental will already include:
- Third Party Liability (TPL) – always included in EU, UK, and Australia; usually included elsewhere (but double-check).
- Collision Damage Waiver / Theft – comes with a clearly stated Excess/Deductible (usually €500-€2000)
The excess is the maximum amount you risk paying out of pocket in case of a collision or theft. Rental companies will offer their insurance (upwards of €20/day or €150/week – that is how they make money) to bring excess down to €0. But you can refuse it and be still covered if you purchase an annual policy from an independent provider such as:
- Cover4Rentals (EU/UK residents) – starting at ~€75/year.
- Worldwide Insure – starting at ~€79/year.
- ReduceMyExcess – starting from ~€54/year (for 1 driver).
Note: Prices vary depending on your residency, where you want to rent, number of drivers and other details, but usually it pays for itself after the first trip.
If you prefer not to purchase an annual policy, you can opt for the “Full Coverage” offered directly by DiscoverCars during checkout. This typically costs €8–€15/day. It is more expensive than an annual independent policy for frequent travelers, but eliminates the need to manage a separate contract.
A daily budget of €10-€40 is a choice. One day of work in Australia funds my entire weekly trip.
System to Secure the Cheapest Deal
- Timing: Book 1-2 weeks before the trip to get the best price. Booking months in advance is often more expensive.
- Weekly prices: Renting for a full week can be cheaper than 5 or 6 days, as it triggers a weekly rate.
- Flexibility: Most bookings are fully refundable up to 48h before pick-up.
- Credit cards: A credit card in driver’s name unlocks the best deals and lower deposits.
- Debit cards: You can still find great deals using the “Debit Card” filter on DiscoverCars.
- Reviews: Check Google Maps reviews for the specific rental company. Some of them will make it difficult for you to decline the extras.
- Avoid direct booking: Never book directly through the rental company’s website. You will likely pay 2x – 4x the price compared to using a broker.
- Evidence: Always take photos or a 360° video of the car at pick-up to document pre-existing damage.
Credit cards
A credit card is a powerful tool for getting access to the best deals out there. A credit limit of €1000-€1500 will unlock the vast majority of them, the required deposit will be blocked on your credit card. Having a higher limit will allow you to rent multiple cars in a short span of time without worrying about when the deposit will be released (sometimes it can take weeks, and a lower credit limit can essentially block your renting capacity for this time).
Requirements for getting a credit card vary wildly across different countries and legislations. In some places, having a steady income is necessary. Elsewhere, it is possible to use your savings as collateral.
Another option for those with trusted family members is getting them to create an “additional credit card” in your name, linked to their bank account. In this way, your eligibility is not relevant, as the responsibility for paying back what is spent is on them. You can simply transfer the amount of the credit limit to their bank account as collateral.
In some banks, credit cards come with their own car insurance policy, potentially saving you from having to buy an external policy. If you own a car and have an insurance policy, it might also cover rental cars – double check that.
There are still plenty of great deals for debit cards (use “Debit Card” filter on DiscoverCars).
What Can Go Wrong
The Rental Desk Encounter: Treat this interaction as a high-pressure sales environment The lower the rate you secured online, the more aggressive the rental agent will be, as they are incentivized to recover revenue through insurance up-sells. Come prepared, remain firm.
- Embossed Numbers: My rental voucher for Bucharest stated: “The card must have embossed numbers“. The provider refused to honor the voucher price because my credit card had flat-printed numbers rather than the raised (embossed) ones. Check your fine print carefully. After further research, I learned this is a common practice in Romania used to force upgrades.