Save time and search on Car Hire comparison sites
By Darren Cronian on Friday, March 9th, 2007

Today, I found out about a new site which specialises in car hire search, and is aptly named, car hire search. Apparently, the site features more than 20 car rental supplies including Avis, Alamo and Hertz, as well as brokers EasyCar and Expedia.

Save time and search on Car Hire comparison sites

Founder, Dan Robins said.

Rival car hire comparison engines feature fewer car rental companies and even then only feature airport locations. Yet many users prefer to pick up their car from a city centre location.

Fine words, but can Car Hire Search beat the Travel Rants test…

I wanted to pick up the car in Oslo from the 11 May to 14 May 2007 and chose a compact car from the list of options. The navigation was easy, and the site quickly delivered over 50 results, the best deal costing me £104 for 3 days rental.

The search results were ordered in price [always a good idea!] and the site informed me that the car had air conditioning, was four doors and manual – all good information to have at hand. I was happy with the price and type of car so clicked on book which took me straight to Avis

As I always do with comparison sites, I did a quick search on Henoo and found for the same dates, type of car etc. that the price there was £116, so it’s always worth searching on a few comparison sites to really get the best deal.


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9 responses to “Save time and search on Car Hire comparison sites”

Garri | 9 March, 2007 at 11:44 am

Searching a few comparison sites? It sorta defeats the object of a comparison site don’t you think?

Hey, I have an idea: what about a comparison comparison site ;-)

Lee Harrison(owner Select World Travel Malvern) | 9 March, 2007 at 2:10 pm

I love this post Darren, correct me if i’m Wrong, but i seemed to remember that you don’t Drive ?

Like most comparison sites, i think you have to question the validity and the Source and the Site.
My First Thought is, How is the Comparison site being Paid? and How reputable are the Companies and their offers?
My Philosophy in life has always been you get what you pay for and If a deal seems to good to be true, it usually is!
It doesn’t always follow as you have shown from your trip to Oslo, it seems that you had good value from your trip, although Paper Thin Walls and the Goings on, wouldn’t suit everybody.

Darren Cronian | 9 March, 2007 at 2:17 pm

Garri, the point I was trying to make [probably not very well] is if you want to get the best deal, you need to shop around. Comparison sites are great, but not all comparison sites compare the same companies.

So comparing 2 comparison sites will generally find you the best deal. It also depends if you want to “penny pinch” a difference of £12 is not that great, but it will buy you an extra pint in Oslo, or a few of them delicious hot dogs!

Lee, your right i don’t drive, which I suppose makes a mockery of me searching for car hire haha but I think its important that consumers know about car hire comparison sites because it will save them a lot of time [and maybe money]

You’ve made a very good point - you do get what you pay for, and if I wanted to stay in a luxury or better standard of hotel then I would have to pay for it. My Philosophy is that I spend, what 6 or 7 hours in the room, so I’d rather save the money there and spend it on something else. That said, I would of walked out if the hotel had not been clean - I do have some standards ;)

Garri | 9 March, 2007 at 2:27 pm

Darren, so my idea would be useful then: a site that compares the comparison sites ;-)

Darren Cronian | 9 March, 2007 at 2:30 pm

Nahh Garri.

That’s what Travel Rants is for ;)

Karen Bryan | 9 March, 2007 at 4:50 pm

Darren, I always advise people to look carefully at the supposedly inclusive price quoted by car rental firms. Many rental companies so - called inclusive cover can often leave you with an excess of several hundred euros. You can approach this is 3 different ways,
1 Cross your fingers that nothing happens to the car.
2 Pay additional insurance to reduce the excess to zero. The price for this cover varies greatly from one company to another
3 Purchase an annual insurance cover to pay the excess for around £50, worthwhile if you hire a car at least 2 weeks per year

Also you should check if the inclusive price covers more than one driver, if you are going to share the driving, some firms levy daily charge for additional drivers.

Darren Cronian | 9 March, 2007 at 4:54 pm

Great points as usual Karen!

Yes, it is worth pointing out about reading the small print aswell. Whilst sites like this will compare prices, you don’t know what is included from one company to the next, so take your time reading the details.

dan | 12 May, 2007 at 3:12 pm

In addition to checking the comparison sites, you may want to go directly to the car rental company’s website as well. I know that sounds like it might take too much time, but often times you can save additional $$ by booking direct. Also, consider looking at a site like AAA. They provide coupons that can shave off a few more $$.

Good luck!!!

M/s Sanver Travels | 15 January, 2008 at 8:48 am

Yes to get the best price you can make comparision between the car rental companies but if you visit the car rental companies sites directly don’t forget to visit the testimonials page.

If you are visiting India and require a car service you can try our car rental services. We provide airport transfers and car holidays in different parts of India. Please do visit our testimonials page and you can also call us at our UK phone (20) 8133 6894

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