Tips to save on refueling a rental car
Saving on the rental price and purchasing our premium insurance are not the only ways to keep the costs of traveling with a rental car down. Among the most important expenses there is certainly the gasoline, an unavoidable cost that can be reduced with some precaution.
Choose the power supply that best suits your needs
Diesel-powered cars usually cost more than the petrol-powered ones, but if your intention is to rent a car for a long time and travel many kilometers, the choice of spending more on a diesel car could turn out to be a nice saving in the end.
Improve the efficiency of your car
There are small changes to your car that can help reduce your gasoline consumption.
- Keep your tires under control: properly inflated tires can save you fuel as well as ensure a safer ride.
- Keep the car light: the fuller the car, the more it consumes.
- Turn off the air conditioning: air conditioning consumes a lot of gasoline. If it is very hot, at low speed it is better to keep the windows down, at high speeds it is better to keep the air conditioning on, perhaps not too much, and the windows closed.
- Do not fill up: again in terms of weight, a full car consumes more than one that is not.
Find the cheapest gas station
Simple enough as a tip, but much more useful than you imagine. Today there are several sites and apps that check the prices of petrol stations in order to find the cheapest petrol station nearby! Keep in mind that usually you have to return the car full: look for the closest station to refill the tank, otherwise the rental agencies may add some surcharge.
Drive well and save money
We often forget this but the biggest impact on fuel consumption is the way we drive: doing it more evenly and precisely increases engine efficiency and therefore also helps to save gasoline. Among the most important precautions:
- Always accelerate gradually.
- Shift gears gradually: It seems trivial, but shifting gears at the right time and in the right way will help you save money.
- Avoid sudden braking: always keep a good safety distance and start slowing down before stops, even in this way you save money.
Which formula to choose?
On GoCarHire.co.uk you will find several fuel formulas:
- The "full-full" formula, the most common, which involves collecting and returning the car with a full tank. Recommended.
- The "full-empty" formula, thanks to which you will not be forced to refuel before returning the vehicle. Has additional costs.
- The extremely rare "empty - empty" formula, which involves receiving a car with a minimum quantity of petrol. In this case, the customer can manage the supply as he wishes. There is no refund for the extra petrol left in the tank.
- The formula "pre-purchase of fuel with partial refund", used mainly in Spain, requires that a car be delivered with a full tank. At the time of delivery, the cost of the fuel used plus an administrative fee will be deducted.
Our advice, on balance, is therefore to orient yourself whenever possible on rentals that include the "full-full" formula.