I avoided £400 hire car charge thanks to handy Martin Lewis tips – 4 things you must do before summer holidays
A DRIVER has explained how Martin Lewis’ handy hire car tips helped them avoid a £400 charge while on holiday.
The Money Saving Expert shared four top tips to beat bills on your summer holidays, including the little-known “rebook trick” to slash your costs.
In his weekly email, Martin highlighted his “success of the week”, which featured a motorist called Chris and his experience of renting a car while in France for a wedding.
Chris explained: “Last year, we went to a wedding in France and bought excess cover for £6 for a long weekend.
Unfortunately, I kerbed the car and was charged £400 for repairs.
“I claimed excess cover and had it all paid back to me.”
Car excess cover is a form of specialist insurance, acting sort of like the insurance to your insurance.
When you rent a car, basic insurance will likely be included in the amount you pay for it.
But if you get in an accident, you will have to pay an excess amount on the damage, with the provided policy covering anything above that.
It works just like the voluntary excess you can opt for when taking out a permanent insurance policy to reduce your premiums.
However, rental excess can be quite high, sometimes running into the thousands, and is usually non-negotiable.
Martin’s team at MSE warned Brits that many hire firms will offer so-called “top-up” insurance to get rid of the excess, but this can cost upwards of £25 a day.
Instead, they urged drivers to take out an independent car hire excess insurance policy.
These can cost as little as £2 a day and mean that the separate insurer will cover your excess payment in the event of damage.
This is exactly what Chris did, receiving the full £400 back from his insurer, as well as a “cheeky bonus” thanks to a change in exchange rates.
He thanked Martin and added: “I will always do it in future.”
It comes after experts revealed three items you should never leave in your car during a heatwave – as well as two you should always keep in there.
Martin Lewis' four tips for cutting costs on summer holidays
- Always pay on plastic – it’s cheaper to use a specialist card with no foreign exchange fee
- Book airport parking ahead of time – you could save up to £261 per week away
- Get insurance ASAB (as soon as you book) – the closer you get to departure, the more expensive it gets.
- Use the “rebook trick” – If you find your hotel or rental car cheaper than when you first booked, cancel and do it again at the lower rate (unless there’s a hefty cancellation fee)