Your next rental car may be 4 years old with 70,000 miles

Remember the good old days when you arrived at your rental car and got inside only to enjoy that amazing new car smell? Looking at the odometer, you could see the car only had 1000 miles under the hood. This was the one time you were driving in style. That was pre-covid. A week ago, my son rented a car to take for a long vacation. The car had over 70,000 miles on it and was 4 years old. The new car shortage from the manufacturers is causing massive problems for the rental a car industry. They can’t buy new cars, so they are holding onto cars longer and buying used cars to try to find enough cars to fill the explosive demand this summer. The only way you will be able to have that new car scent for the next few years in a rental car will be if you bring with you a “Little Trees” car air freshener that you hang on your car mirror.

Rental car shortage causing some travelers to check for cars first before they confirm their hotel and airplane tickets – If your vacation relies heavily on having a rental car and traveling long distances, then you better check to see if a rental car is available before you lock in your nonrefundable airline ticket and hotel reservation. Better to be safe than sorry.

One-way car rentals are hard to find and now even more expensive – The cost of a one-way rental has always been a shock to many travelers. This year with the car shortage many rental car companies are short cars and don’t want to give up any inventory for a one-way rental. Thus, they price it so high that if a customer does rent it the car company makes hay. Some car rental companies offer corporate rates that include one-way rentals at a reasonable cost. We have set up hundreds of corporate rental car programs with this money-saving option. Give us a call if you need some help.

Some people are trying the car sharing app Turo.com if they strike out with car rental companies – I just went on the car sharing app Turo.com to see what the price was to rent a car in Lincoln, NE from a private owner. I was surprised to find quite a few cars, trucks, and SUVs for rent. The lowest price was $38 a day for a VW Passat to $287 for a 2020 Corvette. I have never used Turo.com so I am not an expert. I would tell you there are about as many people that say it is great as those that say they would not do it again.

Be sure to ask for a little training if you rent a hybrid gas-electric vehicle – This last December I thought it was really cool to rent a hybrid vehicle. I must admit that I should have asked some questions before I left the car rental lot. One gauge showed electric charge, and another showed how full was the fuel tank. I was completely confused. When and where do I charge the car? Should I just fill up the tank and not worry about the charge level? I should have known and simply googled a YouTube video on hybrid vehicles.

Don’t forget that renting a car in many large cities is a big mistake – If you are traveling to a large metropolitan city, the cost of renting a car is very high. Add to that the parking fees, toll fees, insurance, taxes, and fees and you can easily pay upwards of $200 a day for a rental car. You can take a lot of Ubers and taxis for that amount of money and skip all the hassle.

On a final note – As I reminded you last week, always walk around the car and take a video before you get into it and when you return it to the car rental location. This protects you if a car rental company sends you a bill and says there was damage to your rental car when you returned it. 

Greece – Footsteps of Apostle Paul – Free Travel Night – We invite you to join our free and informational travel night hosted by Fr. Brendan Kelly this coming Sunday, July 24, at 7 PM at St. John’s Catholic School and Church’s Social Hall, 7601 Vine Street, Lincoln, NE 68605. During the presentation, our tour host, Fr. Brendan Kelly, will walk you through one of the most exciting journeys to Greece, following the footsteps of Apostle Paul. Top it off with a 3-night cruise to Mykonos, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Patmos, Crete, and Santorini. This fascinating journey takes place from May 31 – June 9, 2023. CLICK HERE to see the detailed tour itinerary. Let us know if you can join us on Sunday by CLICKING HERE; we would love to see you there. For more information, call or email our friendly group department at 402.435.8888 / GroupDepartment@executivetravel.com.