What You Need to Know About One Way Car Rentals

One way car rentals are an important option to consider when planning a long-distance vacation. Whether you’re traveling for work or for pleasure, or even if you’re planning a move out of state, a one way car rental provides you with a flexible form of transportation. Travelers choose one-way car rentals for a variety of reasons: to avoid retracing their steps on vacation, to take the place of an expensive flight, or to enjoy a cross country road trip without putting additional miles on their own vehicle.

Avoid Air Travel Issues
Traveling by car, truck or minivan is a great way to see the sights that would have been forever overlooked from 30,000 feet in the air. You’ll also have the freedom to pull over and stretch whenever you please, enjoying stops at roadside diners, visitor’s centers, and famous attractions. What’s more, one way long distance car rentals help you avoid the stresses of airport travel. Forget about airport security, luggage carousels, and boarding passes.

Leave Your Car At Home
One of the biggest benefits of traveling in a one way car rental is avoiding unnecessary wear and tear on your own vehicle. Perks like car rental roadside assistance help protect you against the cost and hassle of vehicle malfunctions, while special extras like satellite radio and GPS help keep you entertained and on course.

• Discounts
• Flexibility
• Mileage restrictions are eliminated
• Stress-free travel
• Roadside assistance
• Avoid unnecessary wear and tear on your own vehicle

Who Offers One Way Car Rentals?
Most car rental companies offer one way rentals, provided they have more than one rental location. While smaller companies may offer one-way rentals, you will have the most choice if you rent from a larger independent car rental company that has many locations throughout the state or country. The Car Rental Express vehicle reservation system makes it easy for travelers to locate companies that offer this convenient travel opportunity.

The Hidden Costs of One Way Rentals
One way car rentals can be pricey, especially if you book through a major rental chain. The cost is due to two factors: drop-off surcharges and high base rates. The drop-off surcharge is the penalty some companies charge for leaving your vehicle in a different location than from whence you picked it up. If the company doesn’t hit you with a high surcharge, it could be because the base rate is padded. Either way, most companies will charge you more for a one way rental than for a round trip vehicle.

The following are some strategies to follow when researching a one way rental:

• Shop Around – The Car Rental Express website allows you to comparison shop hundreds of independent car rental companies, many of which offer one way rentals. Our intuitive system makes it easy to compare one way rates and allows you to review any applicable surcharges.
• Keep an Eye Out For Coupons – Many car rental companies offer special coupon codes to help you save on one way rentals. Travelers can look for these deals in the Car Rental Discounts area of the CRX website.
• Follow the Seasons – Sometimes, car rental companies need to move their fleet from one part of the country to another. Just as snowbird travelers head south for the winter, many large independent car rental companies will need to move the majority of their fleet to southern locations. Once spring rolls around, the reverse happens. If you’re traveling in the right direction, you could score a great deal.
• Consider a Driveaway – Some independent car rental companies also offer driveaway services. This is an arrangement in which the owner of a car pays for a driver to move his or her vehicle from one location to another. The driver typically pays for lodging, food, and fuel beyond the first tank of gas. Driveaways are a great way for flexible travelers looking to take a low-cost road trip.