Why You Should Book Your Rental Car in Advance

Like many services, car rental rates can change at any time due to a number of factors. Supply and demand plays a major part in determining how the rates are set at different times of the year, but booking in advance is a great way to secure rates before they increase.

In all cases, the rates are set by the rental provider—the company that owns the vehicle. Here at VroomVroomVroom, we compare the prices offered by a number of different providers, but we do not set the rate itself. Our purpose is simply to show you what rates are available, helping you to find a vehicle within your budget that suits your needs. Keep in mind, the rates we compare are subject to change, including where a booking is updated or modified.

Not only is it important to book in advance, but double checking your travel dates and times prior to booking will ensure that the rates you book will be the rates you pay. Modifying your booking at any time could affect your rates—often increasing them—as your booking will need to be reset at whatever rates are available at the time of the modification. If you need to make adjustments to your booking, we suggest doing so well before you travel in order to avoid dramatically higher rates.

For example:

Owen booked a car in May for $1,800

In August, Owen's travel plans changed and he realised he would have to update his rental car booking to include an extra week of travel. However, Owen waited until November to modify his booking, and because his travel dates were now so close, the new rate for his rental car was almost $70 more per day compared to what he had booked back in May. With the additional week added to his booking, Owen's rental car cost went from $1,800 to $4,600.

Want to learn more? Check out our page on booking a rental car in Australia.