by Andreas Pilmes, Euro on Sunday
uVacation time is usually rental car time. But even during the Easter holidays, it was common to read that car rental companies were short on cars, especially in the popular holiday regions. The result: the prices rose enormously, there was talk of up to 200 percent.
That is unlikely to change over the summer. The shortage still reigns in many parking lots. That’s for reasons that are now fairly well-known: Automakers are short on parts — chips that weren’t being made in China during the lockdowns, as well as wiring harnesses that often come from Ukraine. With this in mind, the car companies have concentrated on high-priced models that bring in higher margins. And there is something else: many car rental companies have concluded sale-and-buy-back agreements with the manufacturers. Heit: The cars are sold back to the company after a short period of time and after a few kilometers. As a result, however, there is a lack of new cars among rental companies that could close the gap.
For Germany’s most popular holiday island, at least the all-clear has been given. According to the “Mallorca Zeitung”, 1,000 rental cars were delivered a few weeks ago, with another 2,500 to 3,000 to follow in May. However, prices have risen drastically: smaller cars would now cost 45 to 50 euros per day instead of the 15 to 20 euros that had to be paid in 2019.
In this situation, rental car portals, on which the offers of the rental companies can be compared, become really important. The German Customer Institute (DKI) tested this on behalf of uro am Sonntag. Twelve providers were examined with regard to price and service offerings, user-friendliness and features of the comparison computers and customer service. The price and service offer accounted for 50 percent of the test result. The most favorable rental car price, the number of car rental companies considered and the booking options within the portal were decisive. The user-friendliness of the comparison calculator accounted for 30 percent of the result; customer service in the form of the website and the quality of information at 20 percent. In order to make the whole thing as realistic as possible, the DKI testers used four concrete examples. You can find them on the following pages.
Big price differences
Three portals received the top grade “very good +” for the range of prices and services: Check24, Rentalcars.com and billiger-mietwagen.de. With the latter, the test customers were able to book the cheapest rental car and all the criteria were met. The average price for the four sample cases, each of which had a six-day rental period, was 373.74 euros. This is followed by Rentalcars.com with 382.09 euros and MietwagenCheck with 390.57 euros.
If you are only looking for the cheapest price, you should get information from several portals. The test showed that too. Because in the four cases there was the cheapest offer on four different portals. And price differences of more than 700 euros.
An important criterion in addition to the price is the free kilometers. In 19 offers they were unlimited. And then there is the choice: by far the most cars on offer were found at Check24. The largest number of landlords is also listed there. Incidentally, the contracts can be concluded directly in all portals except for Swoodoo, and in nine also by telephone.
Search made easy
The comparison computers themselves received positive reviews from the testers. They are all intuitive to use and clearly structured. Customers can use filters to search for the most common vehicle classes. Check24 offers the most filter options, namely 17 pieces. Billiger-mietwagen.de and Happycar are just a few of them. Anyone looking for “automatic transmission” or “free kilometers” can do so with eleven providers.
It was only possible to print out the results of the search at mietwagen24.de. At Auto Europe, Check24, Idealo, MietwagenCheck and mietwagen24.de you can have the results sent to you by email. In all cases, this is also possible without a customer account. The results can be saved at Check24 (with a customer account) and mietwagen24.de (without a customer account). If you want to compare rental cars and the services of the rental companies, you have to use Check24 or mietwagen.de, only there is this possible. A total of five portals received a top rating in this category.
The result was very similar for customer service. The hotlines of the portals were each tested and evaluated with five calls – except for Swoodoo, where there is simply no hotline. On average, the testers spent almost three and a half minutes in the queue. It was only 50 seconds for the fastest, Happycar.de. Sometimes the calls were not even answered personally. With seven providers, all calls ended up with one employee. And in 93 percent of the cases, the question asked was answered completely satisfactorily. The employees at Happycar.de were rated the friendliest, most helpful and most competent.
The testers also contacted us via email. All portals apart from Expedia responded to all five emails and 85 percent answered the respective question satisfactorily. The emails from Idealo were perceived as the friendliest.
The best portal
The DKI testers found the best overall package of price/performance, the comparison calculator and customer service at Check24. He scored 96.2 out of 100 points. The runner-up billiger-mietwagen.de was also top. 3rd place: rental car check.
The price at Check24 was not always the lowest, on average the portal was ranked 6th here. But: It met all the required criteria in three out of four sample cases. In addition, the desired rental car was always available at the desired pick-up station. And with an average of 237 cars on offer, the range is by far the largest. The Check24 comparison calculator has a practical “Reset filter” button, help and info texts in individual fields and the option of using a calendar to enter the date. The testers did not rate the fact that some of the information is preset as optimal. All requested filters for the vehicle search are available for this, for example by class, additional equipment such as navigation system or air conditioning and the payment methods. Customer ratings are also displayed.
Check24 also evaluates some car rental companies themselves, the criteria for this are disclosed and are easy to understand. A special feature: A comparison of more than two rental cars is only possible on this portal.
Only the hotline weakened a bit – for capacity reasons, some of the test calls could not be answered. E-mails, on the other hand, were answered and in a friendlier way than the average.
Nevertheless: If you want to be on the safe side with your rental car for the coming summer holiday, you should get on your computer as soon as possible and consult one of the portals.
The test scenarios
Test customer 1 *
Age: 25 years old
His wish: a small car, petrol engine, manual transmission, insurance with no excess.
Where does he need the car? Munich Airport
Price difference between the cheapest and most expensive offer: 480.47 euros
Best deal: Swoodoo
Test customer 2 *
Age: 68 years old
His wish: van, petrol engine, automatic. Insurance without excess.
Where does he need the car? Frankfurt Main Station
Price difference between the cheapest and most expensive offer: 718.54 euros
Best offer: Mietwagen24.de
Test customer 3 *
Age: 42 years old
His wish: mid-range car, diesel, manual transmission. Insurance without excess.
Where does he need the car? airport Cologne-Bonn
Price difference between the cheapest and most expensive offer: 363.54 euros
Best deal: Auto Europe
Test customer 4 *
Age: 53 years old
His wish: SUV, petrol engine, manual transmission. Insurance without excess.
Where does he need the car? Palma de Mallorca Airport
Price difference between the cheapest and most expensive offer: 501.21 euros
Best offer: Mietwagen.de
*All test customers wanted to rent the cars between April 25, 10 a.m. and May 1, 10 a.m. and return them at the pick-up location.
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Image sources: Maksim Toome / Shutterstock.com, Alexander Chaikin / Shutterstock.com, Finanzen Verlag, Finanzen Verlag
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