Want to rent a car in a location and return it to a different one? How about returning the car in another country? Here’s what you need to know.
Renting a car to enjoy everything a city and the road have to offer is always a great choice, but sometimes you’ll find yourself thinking returning the rental car in a different location or state may be easier than driving back to where you picked it up.
Now, can you even return it in a different location?
Different pick-up and drop-off locations FAQ
Renting one-way with Rentcars
Rentcars is one of the largest car rental platforms in the world and one of the global leaders in the segment. You can compare prices and car rental options among hundreds of car rental companies worldwide. Check out the step by step process to rent a car at Rentcars.
How does one-way car rental works?
It’s very simple! When choosing your destination, dates and times, select the option ‘Return car to different location’ to be able to complete the new vehicle drop-off location and add the charge for the service to your rate. So, you’re done!
Can you return a rental car in a different location?
Yes, you can return the car in a different location. Usually, this is called “one-way rental”. However, please note that, sometimes, an extra fee may be applied to your reservation.
Does it cost more to return a rental car in a different location?
Usually, rental companies charge a return fee, but it depends on the pick-up and drop-off location, date of reservation, car category and more. A good way to know how much the return will cost is to search for the price of the rental returning the car in the same location and with different pick-up and drop-off locations.
Are one-way car rentals more expensive?
Well, if you’re going to return the car in another city, you’ll need to pay the Return Location fee. This fee is set by the rental company based on the miles, fuel, and hiring the driver who will then drop the car off. But, many times it’s cheaper to pay this fee than to drive to that first point where you picked up the car.
Who has the cheapest one-way car rentals?
It’s difficult to say. Because the cost of the Return Location fee is the combination of several things as described in the question before. Each rental company has its own price and it’ll depend a lot on the distance from one point to the other. At Rentcars, you can simulate these fees included directly in the rate, so it’s much easier to choose the best cost-benefit for you.
Can you return a car in a different state?
Yes, you can rent a car one-way out of state. In the US, it’s common to pick-up rental cars with plates from different states (they must have gotten there somehow, right?).
However, generally speaking, rental companies also charge the one-way rental extra fee based on how far the drop-off is from the pick-up as they’ll have to return it to its original city. This way, the more you drive away from the pick-up address, the more expensive the fee will be.
Can you return a car in a different country?
In some cases, yes. This is most common in Europe, where crossing borders is fairly easy. Usually, rental companies will let you cross borders with the rental car, but a cross-border fee may be also applied in addition to the one-way rental fee.
As the rules vary a lot depending on the location and the rental company, we always suggest you check the specific policies of each city, country and company.
Can you rent a car without a one-way or return fee?
It’s not common, but it happens. For highly popular road trips, this may be the case. For example, a lot of people rent a car from point A to point B and vice versa. That means the rental company doesn’t necessarily have to return the car to its original city.
Renting one-way with Rentcars
On Rentcars you can search for car rentals in over 160 countries and 200 rental companies. When you do, just check the option that says “Return car to different location”, enter the information asked and look for the best options!
