Extra costs

When they picked up a rental vehicle, some of our members were confronted with "extras" - both large and small - they hadn't expected from the information they read on the company's website.

We asked the New Zealand Rental Vehicle Association how clear additional costs should be on a company website. Their response: "Most rental vehicle companies will clearly show on their website their daily hire rates, and if there are additional charges for extra drivers ... or for drivers under 25 years of age. If you're in doubt, check these out with the company."

We found that some of the costs were hard to find on the companies' websites. You need to know what costs to watch out for when booking a car online.

What to look for

Look out for these extras when hiring a car:

• You'll need a credit card to pick up the car and that can be an opportunity for rental companies to charge extra. For example, Europcar's credit card charge is 1.3 percent of the total cost of rental and Britz's is even higher.
  
  
• It's usually extra to add additional drivers to the rental agreement - around $3.50 per day.
  
  
• Picking up the rental car from a "premium" location such as an airport or ferry wharf will usually attract another fee. A Toyota Camry from Budget would cost $34 more if we picked it up from Wellington airport.
  
  
• Drivers under 25 will most likely be charged extra - for example, $28.15 per day if you rent from Avis.
  
  
• Companies will charge a "relocation fee" if you drop your car off at a different location. But this additional cost might be waived depending on your destination, or if you rent for a certain number of days. Europcar charges $337.50 if you hire a compact car from Auckland airport and drop it off at the Wellington ferry terminal. But there's no charge if you hire in Wellington and drop the car off in Auckland or if you hire for five days or more.
  
  
• Depending on the rental agreement, you could be charged extra if you exceed a certain kilometre allowance. For example, Capital City Cars allows the first 100km free - and then charges 20 cents for every kilometre after that.

In the small print
Norman Dix rented a car from Europcar at Wellington airport. The company website said that there were no "hidden charges" - but when Norman went to pay at the counter he was surprised by an extra charge of $4.50 to use a credit card. There were other costs as well: "It was an extra $3.50 per day to have my wife entered as a driver, just in case I took sick or became incapacitated - so much for no hidden costs!"

Rental companies are getting better at including all costs in the quoted price. For example, Europcar's credit card charge is noted in the booking process: it's obvious provided you know what to look for (see "What to look for" above). But other costs - such as the cost associated with adding an extra driver to the rental agreement - could take some digging to uncover.

Insurance you don't need

Personal Accident Insurance (injury or death, plus medical expenses) should already be covered by your travel insurance overseas or ACC here.

Personal Effects Cover (baggage and other personal effects) should already be included in either your travel or your home contents insurance.