A search for an airport car rental on Kayak.com at Detroit's Metro Airport turned up these curious results: A Ford Focus for $27/day at Rent-a-Wreck in Canton, about six miles off the airport property, or a Hyundai Accent at Thrifty for $101/day from the airport.
Even with Rent-a-Wreck's $25 each-way shuttle from the terminal, the bill comes in below the airport car rental cost.
A side note: when I searched through Travelocity, I found an airport car rental compact deal with Thrifty for $56/day -- not exactly a bargain, but it sure beats $101/day. It's also more attractive than the Rent-a-Wreck deal that is limited to 100 miles/day and requires that $50 to get to-and-from the rental point.
Your search at this moment would end with much different results. But it's likely airport car rental rates will come in much higher than off airport rates.
Airport car rentals involve a host of fees that off airport rental facilities don't have to pass along. Travelpulse.com breaks down these added costs. It cites a Travelocity study showing the average airport tax on car rentals is a whopping 28.04 percent, compared to 14.9 percent at off airport rental locations. Over several days, that can add significant cost to your trip.
Also cited in the Travelpulse report are lists of airports with the highest and lowest single day tax rates. Referring back to the example above, it's hard to believe Detroit is listed as the second lowest airport single day tax rate (only St. Louis was lower among major airports).
Let's try the same search with the airport listed as having the highest rate. That would be Cleveland, which the report says tacks on $20.75/day in additional taxes.
Once again, Rent-a-Wreck comes in lowest on the off airport rates with $26/day. The lowest airport car rental in this search was Dollar Rent-a-Car at $93.
Despite the single day tax rate differences between Detroit ($6.13) and Cleveland ($20.75), the results are fairly similar.
Obviously, taxes aren't the only culprit. Other market forces are at work.
There is the convenience of not having to fight traffic and unfamiliar streets in a larger city. Cab fare in Detroit between the airport and downtown rental facilities could run $70 or more.
Each city is unique in its situation. It always pays to investigate and determine if the airport car rental convenience is worth the added price.
Here is a strategy:
To estimate cab fares for major cities, search for a Web site such as TaxiFareFinder.com or look at mass transit options. Cab fare often proves more practical, unless you have the good fortune of finding a car rental office next to a subway or bus stop.
Remember, the more days you keep the rental, the more important it will become to employ this strategy. Don't pay too much for airport car rental convenience.
