Last summer, savvy travellers could have saved over £100 on car hire by booking closer to their departure. Prices for a week’s hire fell by an average of £116 between January and July 2024 – with potential savings of up to £266 in Milan. This ‘holiday hack’ is possible because many rental companies offer a 48-hour free cancellation policy, allowing car hirers to cancel an existing booking and take advantage of a new deal closer to their holiday.
iCarhireinsurance.com, a leading provider of car hire excess insurance, is crunching the data again this year looking at car hire prices for a medium rental car, e.g., a VW Golf or Ford Focus, for a week from 26 July to 2 August 2025 in seven European destinations, depending on whether the hire car is booked in January or April 2025. Six rental companies’ (Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt) prices are surveyed.
The newly released data for April finds prices have fallen in all destinations except Dalaman, where they have risen slightly. The average price for a week’s car hire if booked in January 2025 was £384, compared to £346 if booked in April 2025. The biggest saving is in Faro, Portugal, where prices are down £100 on average for the summer.
Ben Wooltorton at iCarhireinsurance said: “Last year we saw prices fall as we headed towards the summer and this trend seems to be repeating. While there’s no guarantee it will continue, booking early can give you peace of mind - just make sure the rental company allows free cancellations so you can switch to a better deal later if needed.”
| Year / Destination | Average Car Rental Rate (29 July – 5 Aug 2025) if booked in Jan 2025 | Average Car Rental Rate (29 July to 5 Aug 2025)if booked in April 2025 | Difference in price between booking in April 2025 compared to January 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | £345 | £316 | -£29 |
| Crete | £481 | £429 | -£52 |
| Dubrovnik | £383 | £320 | -£63 |
| Faro | £354 | £254 | -£100 |
| Nice | £412 | £399 | -£13 |
| Dalaman | £315 | £325 | +£10 |
| Milan | £400 | £382 | -£18 |
| AVERAGE | £384 | £346 | -£38 |
One of the most overlooked costs when hiring a car is excess liability – the amount you’re liable to pay if the car is damaged or stolen, even if it’s not your fault. Which is on average £1,600.
At the rental desk, excess protection often costs £189 for a super damage waiver and £53 for tyre and windscreen cover – a combined average of £242 per week. However, a standalone excess reimbursement policy from a specialist provider like iCarhireinsurance.com costs from just £3.492 per day, or £41.993 for an annual European policy, offering a potential saving of up to £2081.
Standalone car hire excess reimbursement policies not only offer significant savings but usually include cover for damage to vulnerable parts of the vehicle such as tyres, windscreen, undercarriage and roof – areas often excluded when excess protection is purchased from the rental company. Renters should note that they will still need a credit card for the rental company to hold the excess as a deposit, as standalone excess insurance reimburses the hirer directly.
- £208 is calculated by comparing the price of the combined average cost of excess protection in the survey, £242 with the price of an 8 day single trip European car hire excess policy for a 30 year old UK resident from iCarhireinsurance, £33.15 = £208.85.
- £3.49 daily price is based on a UK resident aged between 30-85 travelling in Europe for 10 days or longer
- £41.99 annual price is based on a UK resident aged between 30-85 buying an excess Europe annual policy excluding in-country cover.
