Car rental in Israel

International Rental Companies or Local Low-Cost Providers - What Should You Choose?

Very often our customers do not understand the difference between large international car rental companies (Europcar, Avis, Hertz, Sixt ...) and local Israeli low-cost providers (Eldan, CalAuto, etc.). And the standard question is: "Why are international car rentals more expensive than many local car dealers?" What is the difference? Let's finally try to find out.

Here are some basic criteria by which you can assess the level of a rental car company:

• Vehicle fleet;
• Condition and age of the cars;
• Service and technical support during and after the rental period;
• Number of staff per shift;
• Prices for additional insurance, services, and damages;
• International standards and quality certifications.

Now a bit more about each of the aforementioned points:

1) Large international companies typically have fixed contracts with suppliers of leading global brands - BMW, Mazda, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, etc. Accordingly, they receive significant discounts when purchasing cars. Local car dealers do not have such contracts and are forced to buy cars from cheaper manufacturers. Often with minimal equipment. Purchases are mainly made at the end of the year to at least receive a discount on the already outdated model.
Cars used for rentals often need to be replaced because they can reach high mileage within a year and pass through hundreds of hands. Unfortunately, customers do not always treat a rental vehicle with care. All these factors lead to a car that is simply "worn out" after being used for one or two years. At this point, it turns out that this is a large international company: it is the company that not only rents cars but also sells used cars on time. And every year it buys new ones.

2) The service of the rental office does not end with the pickup and return of the vehicle. Sometimes cars break down. Both new and old. With low-cost providers, the chance of getting an older car is much higher, and accordingly, the likelihood of a breakdown increases. In this case, you need technical assistance or a tow truck, which can take much longer than if you had picked up the car from a large company (the difference can be several hours). Moreover, the appearance and interior of these vehicles are often not in the best condition.
Often additional service is required after returning the vehicle. For example, issues related to incorrect payments, high deductions for damages, and sometimes you even receive incomprehensible bills or charges to your card months after the rental period ends. Therefore, a cheaply rented car will end up costing you much more in most cases.

3) Companies that position themselves as low-cost providers focus exclusively on price while simultaneously not guaranteeing high-quality customer service. This can manifest in huge queues at the reception and vehicle return, lack of staff both at the reception and in the parking lot, both when taking over the vehicle and returning it. When renting a car, there is a term "Cost" as in any other business. That is, the costs of operating the vehicle for the owner. Vehicle purchase, insurance, maintenance, vehicle depreciation, etc.). As mentioned earlier, car prices at small companies are usually higher or at least as high as with all others. Accordingly, if a car is rented at cost price or cheaper (and local car dealers do this to attract customers and flood the market), they have to get money from somewhere else to avoid going bankrupt. We already know that they save on staff, but that is not enough and they have to save somewhere else as well. The answer is simple: on the costs of additional services (insurance, GPS, child seat, additional driver, toll road payments, fines, etc.). And the most important thing to pay attention to when renting a car from low-cost providers is the increased or double deductible in case of damage.

4) When booking a vehicle with large international providers, you can be sure that if something unexpected happens, you can always contact international customer service and the rental office has no choice but to resolve the situation. Even if the local branch cannot or does not want to solve the problem for some reason.

We wanted to remind you of the old saying with this article: "A penny saved is a penny earned." Fly on vacation, rent cars, and have a good rest!