quickly in the new city a cheap rental car with good conditions find: a rental car portal does this work for you and compares partly hundreds of providers with each other. we again compare the best portals so you know where best to start your search.
Choose now from our test or. comparison table a rental car portal from, the easy to use, offers many filter options and above all a good customer service with a free hotline.
Facts for comparison
Updated: 09.12.2021
Cheap-hire-car.De
Car rental check
Check24 car rental
car rental24
Happycar
Autoeurope
Cheap-car-rental.De
Car rental check
Check24 car rental
car rental24
Happycar
Autoeurope
- comprehensive insurance
- Liability insurance with high coverage (50 mio.)
- Glass, tire, underbody and roof protection
- No mileage limit
- Fuel regulation (full/full)
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- – stiftung warentest test winner 5/2016 (very good 1.4)
- – good advice: test winner car rental search engine
- – stiftung warentest 5/2016 (good 1.8)
- – test winner by ntv "rental car portals
- – stiftung warentest 5/2016 (very good 1,4)
- – stiftung warentest 5/2016 (good 2.2)
- – foundation warentest 5/2016 (good 2.2)
- – TuV saarland: price-performance ratio (very good)
- – stiftung warentest 5/2016 (good 2.1)
- payment also by direct debit
- Very good filter options
- Cancellation always 24 h before the start of the rental period
- Also affordable with american express
- Especially friendly customer service
- Transparent; understandable breakdown under agbs tab
- payment also by direct debit
- Very good filter options
- Also affordable with american express
- Especially friendly customer service
- Customer chat
- Chargeable service hotline
- Very good filter options
- Cancellation always 24 h before the start of the rental period
- Payable also with american express
- Friendly customer service
- Waiting loop
- Very good filter options
- Also payable with american express
- Often cheap offers
- Customer service short
- Very good filter options
- Payable also with american express
- Friendly customer service
- Moderately transparent
- Payment also by direct debit
- Also affordable with american express
- Friendly customer service
- Lack of filter properties
- Insufficiently transparent
Cheap-car-rental.De
Car rental portal-buying advice:
how to choose the right product from the above car rental portals test or comparison
- A car rental portal allows you to search for a car online using a variety of filter options (e.g. (e.g., rental period, fuel level, insurance coverage, number of kilometers) to find a suitable rental car offer. The rental car portal compares prices and conditions and then compiles a selection of the best offers.
- Often rental car portals regularly entice with rental car bargains. But cheap does not always mean better. Who spends more, enjoys a higher insurance protection, a fair fuel regulation as well as free kilometers and drives more carefree by the vacation.
- Since the prices of the online portals are always updated daily and are constantly changing, it is worthwhile to compare different offers with each other. With a bit of luck and a little patience, you can save between 40 and 100 € on a booking and add to your vacation budget.
- In terms of transparent business and rental conditions, most rental car portals do not live up to expectations. We explain which contracting parties customers have to deal with when making a booking.
Who individual and independent of travel groups or local transportation schedules if you want to organize your next vacation, book a rental car online beforehand. Customers receive support from rental car portals. You compare different car rental offers and find your customers a suitable offer quickly and conveniently. What stands out: many of these portals lure with conspicuously low prices.
But watch out! Customers should not immediately buy the cheapest offer. In the end, many bargains turn out to be expensive because additional insurance is required or only a certain number of kilometers is included in the offer.
So that you can explore your travel destination without worries in the future, we will show you what you should pay attention to when booking through a rental car portal and which rental car portal from our comparison performed the best.
1. Is the competition for rental car portals fierce??
Car rental portals are a dime a dozen! This shows at least the simple search engine query on the Internet. Customers are rarely aware that there are three different types of portal behind the various rental car portals. Basically they have always three ways to rent a car through one portal:
- Via the website of the agents, which only provides different car rental offers from tour operators or from car rental companies on its site
- About the operator, who is responsible for the financial processing and refers customers to the local car rental companies
- Directly via the website of the car rental company or. Direct provider
We clarify what is hidden behind them!
1.1. The intermediary
Among the large number of car rental portals, there are those that mainly act as intermediaries. That is, they make available on their website only the cheapest offers of the organizer and refer the customers only to the respective organizer. Intermediaries own do not have their own fleet of vehicles, but have some offers from car rental companies in their offer and therefore refer customers directly to the car rental company. In addition, most intermediaries also take care of changes or cancellations of the booking for the customer.
Among the best known intermediaries are:
- Cheap car hire
- Rental car24
- Check 24 car rental
- Car rental check
- Happy car
- Car rental price comparison
- Car rental market
1.2. The operator
Topless: the operators offer a wide range of different vehicle classes on their websites.
Tour operators, also known as rental car brokers, also do not have their own fleet of vehicles, but they have a large car rental contingent, which they have previously agreed with numerous car rental companies. They are therefore also acting as an intermediary, since they refer customers to the car rental company or. Direct on-site referrals.
They have the task to offer customers both the best and the cheapest offers compare prices as well as services of direct suppliers. At the same time, the organizers for the financial handling responsible and often offer an additional liability insurance or a fully comprehensive insurance in a favorable total package.
The best known tour operators include:
- Autoeurope
- Car del mar
- Rentalcars
- Holiday cars
- Autoescape
1.3. The car rental company
Car rental companies, including direct providers, are virtually the last piece of the puzzle on the way to the right rental car. They have their own fleet of vehicles and most of them belong to international chains. If you book through a direct provider, you can also get insurance packages etc here.
In our comparison, however, the local direct providers play only a subordinate role, since the processing of the payment and the support of the customers is usually taken over by the intermediaries and organizers. In addition, the direct contact between the customer and the local rental company usually only takes place on site when the car is picked up.
The best-known car rental companies include:
- Hertz
- Europcar
- Sixt
- Avis
- Budget
- Alamo
2. Is the website the ideal search tool to rent a car?
2.1. All car rental portals are visually appealing
The website of a car rental portal should above all be clearly laid out.
Something positive right at the start – all rental car portals, whether they act as intermediaries or organizers, can score with a clear start page.
Customers only have to enter the pick-up or. Enter the return location and the date of travel and the first car rental offers will be displayed on all six portals without exception.
Particularly positive, that billiger-mietwagen, mietwagen24 and check24 mietwagen already offer the possibility to select popular additional options such as insurance, vehicle class, fuel regulation or individual accessories in advance on the start page.
2.2. German please!
An exception: with autoeurope, you choose the pick-up/drop-off location from a list of cities whose names are all in english. Instead of munich or lisbon, book your rental car in munich or lisbon. For users who are here on a german website, this could possibly score. Appear a little strange.
2.3. many filter options prevail
One point in which five out of six rental car portals are also convincing is that, in addition to the first search results, they also offer generous filter options can be made available for the individual offer. customers can quickly complete their offer, whether it be by adding a additional driver, a navigation system or the like.
Only the operator autoeurope falls out of line here – the filter landscape is limited here only to gearshift/automatic, fuel control and the performance packages. Only when an offer is selected can optional extras be chosen.
Each time a check mark is placed in the filter options, the price and offer are updated so that customers can keep an eye on the costs at all times.
With the insurances all score!
This is what your carefree package should look like
- comprehensive insurance incl. Theft protection, preferably without deductible
- Third party liability with a high amount of coverage like 50 mio. €
- additional policies such as glass, tire, underbody and roof protection
- Free number of kilometers – if the number of kilometers is fixed, it is necessary to pay for each additional kilometer driven
- Fair fuel regulation – pick up full and return full
In terms of insurance coverage, customers have the possibility to select their individual coverage with the help of a filter. Pleasing in this context:
All rental car portals in our comparison offer customers as first result besides a price-performance winner a "carefree offer" to.
This includes both the reimbursement of the deductible for fully comprehensive and theft insurance as well as the insurance against glass, tire, roof or underbody damage included. Also included are often a fair fuel regulation, a liability insurance and an unlimited mileage.
In addition, the type of vehicle, the equipment and rental conditions displayed. Thus you have all important information at a glance.
3. What is the booking and cancellation policy??
3.1. Booking
Once customers have selected the best offer for them, there is only one simple step left to complete the booking process. besides the input of personal data, the input of bank data takes place.
With all rental car portals in our comparison, but also with many other portals, the following takes place payment of the rental car by prepayment with credit card. A positive exception is autoeurope for example. With the organizer in addition to credit card payment, prepayment by direct debit is also possible possible.
payment option: the payment options determine the landlords. Any car rental company each country decides which payment options are available for its vehicles. payment by credit card has established itself worldwide (visa, mastercard) enforced. Some rental companies allow also include the payment american express. payment with diners club is only accepted by a few rental companies. Some car rental companies also allow payment by debit card. Cash payment is rather unusual.
After booking customers then receive the most important documents by e-mail. This includes booking confirmation, invoice, voucher or. car rental voucher, rental conditions and a checklist for the rental.
note: to make the booking decision easier, the pages below each offer show the customer ratings for the local car rental companies. This ensures trust. The only exception is mietwagen24 – the intermediary does not provide ratings of direct providers.
3.2. Cancellation
The cancellation of the offer is possible without any problems via the rental car portals from our comparison. Mostly the cancellation free of charge depends on the organizer, why customers booking through an agent will find offers with either a 24- or a 48-hour cancellation period. The only exceptions are billiger-mietwagen and check24 mietwagen. They enable their customers independently of the organizer always free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of the rental period.
Basically the cancellation online, by mail or by phone. With mietwagen-check, however, cancellation is only possible in writing.
Good to know: if customers who have booked through an agent wish to make changes or cancellations, they can simply contact the agent’s customer service department. The intermediary takes care of all matters related to the change of the offer or the cancellation of the contract. Of course, customers can also contact the operator directly.
4. Customer service
Customer service around the clock?
All rental car portals in our comparison are both reachable by mail as well as by phone. And that mostly free of charge from the german fixed network.
The only AThe exception is car rental check, where the service hotline is chargeable. For this the agent can with a customer chat points, which is cost-technically above all for the customers, who are abroad.
Although all rental car portals are available to their customers daily and on holidays, one portal stands out in terms of its opening hours. Check24 mietwagen is available to its rental car customers daily from 8 am to 2 pm, while the other portals have remarkably short opening hours, especially on weekends.
On the phone, the rental car portals are again on a par. The employees of the telephone customer service are service-oriented with all mediators and organizers and take care of the customer’s concerns before, during and after the booking. Only with check 24 car rental did you have to spend some time in the waiting loop, but at least with good music. Similarly, the employees of mietwagen24 seemed somewhat short-tempered.
5. Business and rental conditions – who is actually the contractual partner here?
chaos in the contract web: we recommend you to read the terms and conditions carefully.
When booking a rental car via a rental car portal, many customers are not always aware of the following, with whom the contract was actually concluded. This is mainly due to the fact that on the websites of the portals the contracting parties are not displayed clearly enough.
All portals in our comparison have in common one must read on the websites of the mediators and organizers already diligently in the agbs and in the imprint, in order to disclose the contract network.
The following table shows you that when you make a booking, you are basically concluding three contracts.
- Provides offers of the organizer on the website
- No provision d. Performance
- The agent’s terms and conditions apply
- Has partially also offers of car rental companies in the offer
- contract arises through booking
- Contents: services such as fully comprehensive insurance, deductible, free kilometers, etc.
- Conclusion of the contract by delivery of the voucher/car rental voucher
- Responsible for the financial processing
- customer is directly referred by the organizer
- Contracting on site with local landlord
- Local conditions apply and the customer must abide by them
- These may differ from the terms of the contract
If the local conditions do not correspond to those of the organizer
Basically it is not unusual, that the local conditions are different, as those agreed in the contract with the organizers in germany. For example, it can happen that a rental car "without excess" was agreed with the organizer, but the local rental company on site charges an "excess".
In such cases: the customer is always bound to the local rental conditions and has to pay the deductible in case of damage "for the time being" figures. However, since the services agreed with the organizer apply to the customer, the customer can recover the costs from the organizer by submitting the invoice.
6. The search for the super bargain
Attention: rental car portals lure customers with numerous low-cost offers. However, these are often accompanied by limited mileage and inadequate insurance coverage.
On the websites of the rental car portals, searchers are provided with numerous favorable offers. Da one quickly loses the overview between a good price and a good offer.
Often, low prices are accompanied by limited mileage or inadequate insurance coverage.
We have checked for you and show you on the basis of two trial bookings, which portal makes the best offer for the best price.
6.1. One week in mallorca
This is what we want:
- october, 7 days, saturday to saturday
- category small car: fiat panda, seat mii, opel adam or fiat 500
- No deductible
- Glass and tire protection
- Fair tank regulation (full/full)
- No mileage limit
Majorca: the balearic island is one of the most popular destinations for a rental car round trip.
The result of our test has shown: if you compare the offers of the different portals, you can see with a booking up to 40 € save. Bargain hunters will find the best deals at check 24 mietwagen, mietwagen24 and happy car in particular. A strikingly positive aspect was that even after repeating the booking twice, there was no there were hardly any price fluctuations at intervals of several weeks.
Although billiger-mietwagen had the most expensive offer at the time of the first booking and was about 20 € more expensive than the competition, the portal was able to catch up with the competing portals in terms of price only one week later. In response to a question from the portal’s customer service on the subject of price fluctuations, they stated that the prices always up to date and therefore be subject to constant change. This was also confirmed by the customer service representatives of the other portals in our comparison.
Overview of the offers of the rental car portals (as of 22 December 2009).08.2016):
- fully comprehensive/theft protection without excess (principle d. refund)
- Liability insurance: at least in the amount of the legally required coverage in the respective country of rental
- Glass and tire protection
- No mileage limit
- fuel regulation (full/full)
- fully comprehensive insurance/theft without deductible (principle d. refund)
- liability insurance: at least in the amount of the coverage required by law in the respective rental country
- Glass and tire protection
- no mileage limit
- Tank regulation (full/full)
- Comprehensive insurance/theft without deductible (principle d. Refund)
- Liability insurance: 50 mio. €
- Glass, tire, roof and underbody protection
- No mileage limit
- Tank regulation (full/full)
- comprehensive insurance/theft without deductible (principle d. refund)
- liability insurance: unlimited
- glass, tire, underbody protection
- No mileage limit
- Tank regulation (full/full)
- Fully comprehensive insurance/theft: incl. Reimbursement of the deductible
- Liability insurance: unlimited
- Glass, tire, roof protection
- No mileage limit
- Fuel regulation (full/full)
- Comprehensive and theft cover: without excess (by reimbursement)
- Liability insurance: unlimited
- glass-, tire-, underbody protection
- No mileage limit
- Fuel regime (full/full)
Book sooner rather than later! The majority of the customer service recommends: the earlier you book, the greater the chance to secure a bargain price. Often, especially during peak season and at popular travel destinations, only the expensive offers remain. Should you still find a cheaper offer shortly before the start of the trip, customers can simply cancel free of charge and rebook or change their booking.
6.2. A weekend trip to munich
This is what we want:
- october, friday to sunday
- Vehicle category upper class: 3 series BMW
- No deductible
- Glass and tire protection
- Fair fuel regulation (full/full)
- Mileage limit allowed
the bavarian capital has plenty of culinary delights to offer in addition to architectural highlights.
With our second trial booking we rent a october weekend ein vehicle at munich airport, to explore the bavarian capital’s surroundings. almost the same claims – no deductible, a glass and tire protection as well as a fair fuel regulation (full/full. Only exceptions: this time we take the upper class à la 3 series BMW and in terms of free mileage a certain mileage limit is also enough for us. After all, we do not want to spend the weekend in the car.
The result of our booking showed that you can save can save up to 80 – 100 €.
The gmietwagen24 and happy car offered the cheapest rates, plus a vehicle like a volvo S 60 or even an audi A4 4T AC. However, customers have to accept a limited number of kilometers or a low level of liability insurance (around. €) calculate.
Customers at check24 mietwagen and autoeurope have to pay around €20-30 more, but they get a car similar to a mercedes C-class or a BMW 3-series. Again, there is a possibility that the coverage of the third party liability is low and a mileage limit is given.
With one price difference of more than 80 € offered billiger-mietwagen and mietwagen-check however the most expensive offer. Twice there was a vehicle according to an audi A6, but in return the customers get a comprehensive liability (50 mio. €). At the same time there was a very good insurance cover and free mileage on top of it.
The offers of the rental car portals at a glance (as of 30.08.2016):
- Comprehensive insurance/theft without deductible (principle d. reimbursement)
- Liability insurance: at least in the amount of the legally required coverage in the respective rental country
- Reimbursement for glass and tire damage
- Fuel regulation (full/full)
- Incl. 750 free kilometers per rental
- Fully comprehensive/theft without deductible (principle d. reimbursement)
- Liability insurance: 8 mio. €
- Glass and tire protection
- Tank regulation (full/full)
- No mileage limit
- comprehensive insurance/ theft: incl. Reimbursement of the deductible
- liability insurance: 50 mio. €
- glass, tire, roof protection (glass and tire damage according to principle d. reimbursement)
- Fuel regulation (full/full)
- Including. 750 free kilometers per rental
- fully comprehensive/theft without deductible (principle d. reimbursement)
- Liability insurance: 8 mio. €
- Glass, tire, roof and underbody protection
- fuel regime (full/full)
- No mileage limit
- fully comprehensive insurance/theft protection without deductible
- Liability insurance: 50 mio. €
- Glass, tire, roof and underbody protection (principle d). reimbursement)
- Tank regulation (full/full)
- No mileage limit
- Comprehensive and theft coverage: without deductible (by reimbursement)
- liability insurance: 50 mio. €
- Glass, tire, roof and underbody protection
- Tank regulation (full/full)
- No mileage limit
Conclusion: when customers full program of insurance coverage choose, it will be more expensive, for this purpose customers drive but also more carefree through the vacation.
Our tip for you: before booking, carefully consider which insurance coverage and additional options are best for you. Cheaper offers are not always bad, but can sometimes be associated with minor restrictions – for example, with regard to a low level of liability insurance. We recommend play it safe and always prefer a high level of insurance coverage.
7. Handing over the keys: what to look for when you pick up the rental car
When you pick up the rental car in your travel destination, you should go through the following checklist from us:
- Car rental voucher (prepayment) or reservation confirmation (without prepayment)
- Credit card of the main driver for the deposit of the vehicle
- Driver’s license/ international driver’s license
- identity card/ passport
- All costs are listed?
- Are all insurances listed?
- Are the extra costs (navi, child seat, etc.) covered by the insurance?.)?
- Amount of deposit/ receipt received
- Which refueling regulations have been agreed upon?
- scratches, dents
- tire or rim damage
- Sufficient tire tread
- Leaking liquids
- function safety belts, lights, brakes, windshield wipers, window regulator, air conditioner, horn?
- If the emergency equipment is complete?
- Are seats and outside mirrors adjustable?
- Fill level of the tank as agreed?
8. Frequently asked questions
8.1. Is it allowed to drive across the country border with the rental car??
A trip from the country of rental to another country must be declared to the rental company. Unannounced trips are not insured.
If you want to leave the country where you rented the car to visit other countries, you should consider some points in advance. Basically depends the the possibility of a trip abroad depends on the renter and the country as well as on the rented vehicle.
The reason for this can be the infrastructure of the car rental company, because not every rental company has the same infrastructure in the country of rental as well as in the country of visit. On the other hand, some car rental companies fear, especially with high-class vehicles, that the rental car could be stolen in the country of visit.
Because of this, it is especially important to already before booking in the rental conditions of the local rental company to look up. The following is a list of countries where cross-border travel is not permitted. Possibly also certain vehicle classes are listed there, with which also no foreign journeys are possible. Basically: the more expensive or. High class the vehicle, the less likely it is that a foreign trip will be possible.
Should you nevertheless plan to make a trip abroad with the rented vehicle, you should do so in writing be sure to include the following when booking wait for a confirmation from the car rental company. If necessary, the rental company requires fees for entry into another country, which must be paid locally.
If you had known? More and more rental cars are offered by the car rental companies with a GPS tracking system equipped. It entitles the rental company to locate the rented car and immobilize it in the event of an undeclared stay abroad. For example, the fuel pump or the engine control unit can be accessed and thus prevent further travel.
Please note: car rental companies are required by law, customers on such a GPS tracking in the rental conditions point out.
8.2. Can a rental car be returned in another country?
Now and then, it can be handy to rent a car in one country and return it in another – for example, if you live in munich and have booked a flight from salzburg, or if you are planning a road trip from italy to france.
Such a wish can be in principle are met by very few car rental companies. Even the major car rental companies like avis, europcar, hertz and sixt offer such one way rentals, even one-way rentals, only between certain countries and then often only at certain locations. For example, it is easier to return a rental car in France than in the Czech Republic because the infrastructure in France is better developed.
What customers need to know in the event of a international one-way rentals in any case consider should: for any one-way rental car rental companies charge additional fees. Finally, the car must also be returned again. The costs here can vary between 50 and 3.000 € lie.
8.3. do certain driving license regulations apply?
The minimum age prescribed by the lessor also depends on the vehicle class: the more expensive the vehicle, the more likely it is that the minimum age will be higher.
Basically there are no generally applicable age regulation when renting a vehicle.
As in the case of foreign travel, the regulations for the minimum age depend on the respective car rental company car rental company, the booking country and the desired vehicle class from.
In most cases, drivers of a rental car must pay their driving license for at least one year have a driver’s license for a longer period of time for higher vehicle classes. It is therefore not uncommon for some rental companies or vehicle classes to require a minimum age of 25 years is required.
Often, car rental companies also charge a additional fee for riders under 25 or. 23 years, the so-called young drivers, whereby the regulations here also depend on the respective rental company, the destination or vehicle class.
Is there a maximum age? The answer is yes. Some car rental companies actually write a minimum age of between 70 and 85 years lies. Depending on the rental company, additional fees may be charged for drivers over a certain age. Whether minimum or maximum age, customers should read the relevant provisions in the rental terms and conditions before booking.
8.4. Is the rental via a car rental portal cheaper than directly via the provider??
In most cases, the rental via a car rental portal or. Through an organizer or. Broker cheaper. Since the operators/brokers often buy a large number of vehicles from the rental companies, this usually has a positive effect on the final price for the customer.
Our recommendation: book your rental car for the next business trip or vacation via a rental car portal to save money.