Stiftung Warentest: Car rental portals in check
Stiftung Warentest has subjected rental car portals to a thorough test: According to the provider, many rental cars are available for four euros a day - but does the offer keep what it promises? And how accommodating are the portals in accidents and theft? Many a bargain turned out to be a big rental car trap in the test. But there are also trustworthy portals like the two test winners.
Goods test: rental car portal Check24 and cheaper rental cars in first place
The first place is shared by two portals with a "very good" (grade 1.4):
- Check24: The search and filter options are excellent, praises Warentest. In addition, you will not only see the cheapest offer, but also the all-round carefree and price-performance winners. With the all-round carefree package, you can be sure that you won't be surprised by any hidden costs. Booking and canceling the rental car also worked perfectly. A total of approximately 800 car rental companies from over 180 countries are listed here.
- Billiger-Mietwagen.de: Even if the search option is minimally worse than at Check24, you will quickly find a solid and affordable offer. If you make a mistake - no problem, because you can cancel the rental car online without any problems. Around 600 car rental companies in 150 countries cooperate with Billiger-Mietwagen.de.
Rental car tail lights: Rentalcars and Autoescape
- Autoescape (grade 3.2): Cancellations are not difficult, but cost 30 euros processing fee. It is not customer-friendly. In addition, German law does not apply to the foreign company Autoescape. While this is permitted, it can lead to difficulties in the event of an accident or theft.
- Rentalcars (grade 3.3): According to the terms and conditions, you lose the right to the booked car in a few minutes late, but you do not get your money back. This clause is inadmissible, criticizes the goods test. In addition, there are other shortcomings in the terms and conditions, such as changes in prices and services.
- All details can be found at test.de |
Stiftung Warentest advises: You should pay attention to this when renting a car
Book, pick up, bring back - renting a car can be that easy. At least if you consider these tricks:
- Full tank: Most car rental companies pay well for the first tank filling. The landlord will not pay you for the fuel that is still in the tank when you return it. The tip: Fully pick up the rules and bring them back fully is the fairest.
- Mileage limit: There is often a mileage limit, which is often hidden as a "free kilometer". If you drive long distances it can quickly become expensive. The tip: calculate the distance you want to cover beforehand. A mileage limit of 100 KM is usually not a problem for city trips, but a trip to the sea is usually cheaper without a limit.
- Second driver and hidden costs: There are often many additional costs, such as a second driver, navigation system, child seat etc. When booking, pay attention to additional options and read the fine print.
- Comprehensive insurance: You should always include fully comprehensive insurance with theft protection - but it is often already included in the rent. At most, the deductible can vary. But it should not be over 500 euros. Additional insurance is optional. Stiftung Warentest recommends that you also insure damage to glass, tires, underbody and roof. A liability sum of 50 million euros makes sense for liability insurance.
Help hotline for all cases
The car rental portals only compare and mediate between car rental companies and customers. The problem: If there are difficulties, it is often not clear who the right contact person is.
- Often you have to contact the car rental company directly, but the service could not be more different: In the CHIP test of the rental car companies you can see which car rental companies can also be relied on in the event of accidents and theft.
- For short distances, a car via car sharing is often cheaper. We show which providers are worthwhile in a large car sharing comparison.