You can rent cars in nearby Kent and save a bundle on taxes, he said. Unfortunately, they couldn t s

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By Christopher Elliott | January 24, 2010 | One Comment The best rate Darren Popik could find on a weekend car rental at Austin-Bergstrom International dollar rent a car costa rica Airport dollar rent a car costa rica recently was $114. So he decided to look elsewhere.
Popik, a Los Angeles-based blogger, widened his search to other car rental locations in the Texas capital. And he found a lower price through Enterprise Rent-a-Car. It was a much better deal, he said.
Why such a dramatic price difference between on-airport and off-airport locations? Local taxes and airport concession fees, according to Robert Barton, president of the American Car Rental Association. The fees cover the companies costs of renting airport facilities dollar rent a car costa rica and of shuttle services to and from the terminal for customers, but the taxes can fund local projects that may or may not have anything to do with airport users.
Take Barton s recent two-day dollar rent a car costa rica rental at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, for which he paid $27. After a 5 percent dollar rent a car costa rica vehicle license fee, a 10 percent concession fee, a $12 airport fee and a 77 cent-per-day tourism fee were extracted from the price, only about half of the rate went to his car rental company.
Neil Abrams, a car rental analyst with the Purchase, N.Y.-based Abrams Consulting dollar rent a car costa rica Group, says that the rate difference between an airport and off-airport location has historically been substantial. For example, the average weekly rate on a compact car the kind many leisure travelers prefer was $363 at an airport, according to a survey his company recently conducted. By comparison, the same rental taken off-airport cost just $202.
In some cities, renting dollar rent a car costa rica at an airport makes sense almost every time. Denver comes to mind. When Amy Pollick hired a car in the Mile-High City recently, in-town rentals were unbelievably cheaper, dollar rent a car costa rica she said.
Trouble is, my only friend in Denver wasn t in town to meet us at the airport and take us to the office, recalled Pollick, who works for a newspaper in Decatur, Ala. Cab fare to and from the airport would have completely dollar rent a car costa rica wiped out any savings we realized.
You can rent cars in nearby Kent and save a bundle on taxes, he said. Unfortunately, they couldn t shuttle you to and from the airport, so you had to take a cab. For a short-term rental, it s not worth it. But if you re staying dollar rent a car costa rica for several days, that often pays off, he added.
The other issue is convenience. Rent a car that s miles away from the airport, and you could save a lot of money. But if your flight leaves around rush hour and you don t give yourself enough time to return the vehicle, you might also miss your plane. That s happened to me a time or two.
We shouldn t have to be making these calculations, of course. dollar rent a car costa rica We should be able to rent from the airport at a fair price when we re flying into town. I can t think of any other business that routinely doubles its rates between stores without breaking the law.
Any other business would be prosecuted for price gouging. There s just one thing: Car rental companies aren t doing this. The taxes and fees are for the most part being added by airports and municipalities, which makes these higher prices dollar rent a car costa rica perfectly legal.
I think most travelers expect gas to cost a little more in certain neighborhoods and a little less in others. They anticipate price fluctuations on restaurant meals, groceries and other items they might buy while they re on the road. But the exorbitant airport markup on rental cars defies reason and takes advantage of the people who are bringing tourism dollars to a destination: you.
Unfortunately, there s little travelers can do to help narrow this unacceptable price difference. Until motorists refuse to rent their cars at the airport, which is unlikely, airports and counties will continue overtaxing their passengers, to the detriment of car rental companies, and us.
Christopher Elliott is an author, journalist and consumer advocate. You can read more about him on his personal website or contact him at *protected email* . Got a question or comment? You can post it on the new forum .
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