Most expensive countries for car hire in Europe revealed
The dearest European country for hiring a car in has been revealed - and it's not one that you would think
3:54PM BST 31 Jul 2015
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Portugal is the most expensive country in Europe to hire a car, according to new research.
More than one in five British holidaymakers is planning to hire a car on the Continent this summer, thanks to the strong pound and the prospect of cheap petrol at the pump, says the Post Office.
The travel currency arm of the Post Office has released its annual Car Rental Report, which says that the costs travellers encounter for a week's rental varies greatly across Europe. It shows that it costs £553 to hire a car for a week in Faro, Portugal, including 40 litres of unleaded petrol, an additional driver and sat nav hire, and only £248 for the same in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Croatia was second most expensive destination (£547), followed by France (£447). Germany was the second cheapest (£264), followed by the Netherlands (£277).
The cost of car hire in Europe
The report said that of the 2,000 adults surveyed who had hired cars abroad, half had done so in Spain, where a week’s rental costs £355 in Malaga and £415 in Majorca.
The report also urged holiday drivers not to cut corners on car rental by neglecting to purchase excess waiver insurance (EWI) that reduces the excess payable for accidents or theft to zero. The Post Office said half of UK drivers failed to take the optional extra.
The potential excess costs renters could incur in the case of an accident or theft varies across the Continent, with those hiring in Switzerland staring down the barrel of a £1,270 bill – a fee that could be prevented by paying £102 for additional insurance, which also covers tyre and windscreen cover. The figures are an average of the three car hire companies in each country.
Those hiring in Turkey face the lowest excess payment, of just £292, while Spanish tourists could end up paying £798. The cost of the additional cover in the respective countries is £50 and £94.
Andrew Brown from the Post Office said: “It’s a false economy to cut costs by sticking to the basic hire cost. We advise motorists to protect themselves against costs that could run into hundreds of pounds if the car suffers damage or is stolen.
“Don’t leave it until you get to the rental desk in your holiday destination where you will be bombarded with questions and may sign on the dotted line without understanding what’s included and what’s not."
Telegraph Travel consumer expert Nick Trend said that buying a policy that covers the excess from another source, a global car insurance company, for example, is an alternative option to purchasing EWI.
