Rental car prices see decrease due to coronavirus crisis

After Hertz and Advantage filed for bankruptcy protection in May, some costumers worried that might mean a shortage in rental vehicles this summer.

But the opposite may be true as bankruptcy protection does not mean companies are no longer doing business.

With domestic air travel starting to pick up rental car companies are depending more reservations because their vehicles are sitting in lots with no where to go.

“With the coronavirus pandemic, people aren’t flying. If they’re not flying, they’re not renting cars.” stated travel industry expert Steve Danishek.

The surplus of vehicles puts enough pressure on rental car firms. Translation: Good availability and lower compared to the normal rental prices.

“The rental car rates are very very low. I’ve seen rates for a week from now dropped to 12 to 16 dollars a day plus taxes,” Danishek stated. “They’re just sitting there waiting to be rented. So you can get great values on even specialty cars like SUVs or convertibles or large vans.”

Danishek stated that generally, car rental rates are as much as 40 to 60 percent lower compared to the pre-pandemic prices.

Rental car companies said they’re taking extra care to make sure their cars are virus- free, with routine cleaning and disinfecting of the automobiles, regular cleaning and sanitizing of their facilities, and additional COVID-19 safety training for workers.