What is drop off in car rental, or rather, what is one-way car rental? Quick answer: they are the same thing, also called one way rentals.
This post was born a bit like that, by accident. It was not budgeted because I thought in the post about the how to rent a car and the one on the 8 tips for renting a car, I had talked about it in depth, but I think it’s better to do an ad hoc post.
I have seen that, many of you, especially for the Mexico road trip, tell me that they want to rent the car at location A and drop it off at location B, and then re-hire it at location C and drop it off again at location A (or maybe at yet another location, D). Where: A, B, C, D are all locations in the same country.
What is one-way car rental? Or drop off?
I learned about the concept of drop off just as I was creating the itinerary for my trip to Mexico. I wanted to making a road trip rent and drop off the car in two different locations. Nice, cool! Too bad they were asking for something like $600 surplus.
Let’s cut to the chase: one-way rental means, precisely, renting and returning the car to two different locations.
Why is the one-way rental fee important?
If you are planning your trip on your own, you are probably tallying up the costs for staying within budget. The one-way rental fee, if not budgeted for, is likely to “throw off” your calculations. It is an unexpected expense that, at times, can be downright onerous. Being aware of this cost allows you to better plan trips and stops.
When is it worthwhile to do a one-way rental?
If you are willing to spend more (while also knowing how much more) to leave the car in a different place than where you “picked it up,” you may also want to consider doing a non-circular itinerary. In the case of Mexico, for example, you could go from Cancun to Mexico City with stops in Yucatan and Chiapas and in the beautiful San Cristobal de las Casas, then returning the car in the Mexico City car rental.
When is one-way rental not worthwhile?
If, on the other hand, you are not willing to spend more, you will obviously have to rule out paying for the drop off. You will have to make a circular itinerary, appropriate to the days you have available.
What about two one-way rentals on the same trip?
In this case you must be prepared for no less than two drop off costs. Good for you and blessed, too. You can visit two different areas of a country, shortening the time from one to the other with internal flights. The problem, in this case, will be with credit cards. As I have advised you in posts on the tips for renting a car, make sure you have enough available credit card ceiling to be able to support both security deposits.
How much does the car drop off cost?
Good question. As always, the answer is: it depends. It depends on the company, the country, and many other variables that we cannot estimate in a standard way. My advice is: search for a rental car on Discover Cars Hire (I recommend you put it as a FAVORITE) , the one way fee will appear just below the rental price and you will be charged when you pick up the car.
Once you have booked the car, I recommend that you email the rental agency where you will pick up the car to request confirmation on the amount. If there is no response, contact the company directly.
Please note: international one-way car rentals are also made in Europe (I have not ascertained for abroad). Interesting solution if you want to visit several states.