Report: Rental car fuel tops $9/gallon in U.S.
05-04-11, 04:55 PM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Report: Rental car fuel tops $9/gallon in U.S.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...a-gallon_n.htm
Better fill up that tank before returning!
Better fill up that tank before returning!
The price of gasoline has reached more than $9 a gallon for drivers who don't pay ahead of time and who return their rental cars without a full tank.
By Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY
Rental car lots at Los Angeles International Airport.
Enlarge
A USA TODAY survey of auto rental gas prices at 13 big airports on April 25 found Hertz was charging $9.29 a gallon at all 13. Dollar and Thrifty were charging $8.99 a gallon at two.
At $9.29 a gallon, Hertz customers renting a Ford Club Wagon, which has a 35-gallon fuel tank, would owe Hertz $325.15 for gas if they returned the wagon with a nearly empty tank and hadn't prepaid for the gas.
Renters who pay ahead of time for a tank of gas from Hertz or another car rental company, though, may find the per-gallon price cheaper than at many local gas stations.
MORE: What rental car companies charge for gas
STORY: High rental car gas prices irk many travelers
Of 102 prepay prices charged by the eight big car rental companies at 13 airports on April 25, 54 were cheaper than the average price at local gas stations that day. Forty-three prices charged for prepay gasoline were higher, USA TODAY's analysis of rental company prices and the AAA auto club's gas-station data found.
Most or all rental companies' prepay prices were less than the average at local gas stations at Chicago's O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York's JFK and LaGuardia and Seattle-Tacoma airports.
Though renters who prepay may pay less per gallon than at local gas stations, it's questionable whether they save money by doing so.
Prepayment is for a full tank of gas and can benefit renters who return vehicles with a nearly empty gas tank. But many renters who pay ahead return vehicles with a substantial amount of gas in the tank and are not credited for it.
Most or all prepay prices were higher than local gas station prices at the Atlanta, Denver and Miami airports. At Boston, San Francisco and Washington Reagan, prepay prices at four rental companies were lower than the average at nearby gas stations, while four were higher.
Although the prices anger some travelers, rental companies say they're not in the fuel business and offer gas as a customer convenience.
By Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY
Rental car lots at Los Angeles International Airport.
Enlarge
A USA TODAY survey of auto rental gas prices at 13 big airports on April 25 found Hertz was charging $9.29 a gallon at all 13. Dollar and Thrifty were charging $8.99 a gallon at two.
At $9.29 a gallon, Hertz customers renting a Ford Club Wagon, which has a 35-gallon fuel tank, would owe Hertz $325.15 for gas if they returned the wagon with a nearly empty tank and hadn't prepaid for the gas.
Renters who pay ahead of time for a tank of gas from Hertz or another car rental company, though, may find the per-gallon price cheaper than at many local gas stations.
MORE: What rental car companies charge for gas
STORY: High rental car gas prices irk many travelers
Of 102 prepay prices charged by the eight big car rental companies at 13 airports on April 25, 54 were cheaper than the average price at local gas stations that day. Forty-three prices charged for prepay gasoline were higher, USA TODAY's analysis of rental company prices and the AAA auto club's gas-station data found.
Most or all rental companies' prepay prices were less than the average at local gas stations at Chicago's O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York's JFK and LaGuardia and Seattle-Tacoma airports.
Though renters who prepay may pay less per gallon than at local gas stations, it's questionable whether they save money by doing so.
Prepayment is for a full tank of gas and can benefit renters who return vehicles with a nearly empty gas tank. But many renters who pay ahead return vehicles with a substantial amount of gas in the tank and are not credited for it.
Most or all prepay prices were higher than local gas station prices at the Atlanta, Denver and Miami airports. At Boston, San Francisco and Washington Reagan, prepay prices at four rental companies were lower than the average at nearby gas stations, while four were higher.
Although the prices anger some travelers, rental companies say they're not in the fuel business and offer gas as a customer convenience.
05-05-11, 08:36 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
At $9.29 a gallon, Hertz customers renting a Ford Club Wagon, which has a 35-gallon fuel tank, would owe Hertz $325.15 for gas if they returned the wagon with a nearly empty tank and hadn't prepaid for the gas.
05-05-11, 09:13 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
Just think, though......there are places outside of the U.S. where gas could run you close to $9 a gallon at any time. World-wide, we have lower gas prices than all but a handful of OPEC countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.
I may get a few stones tossed at me for saying this, but, to an extent at least, we Americans have been spoiled.
I may get a few stones tossed at me for saying this, but, to an extent at least, we Americans have been spoiled.
05-05-11, 09:37 PM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Just think, though......there are places outside of the U.S. where gas could run you close to $9 a gallon at any time. World-wide, we have lower gas prices than all but a handful of OPEC countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.
I may get a few stones tossed at me for saying this, but, to an extent at least, we Americans have been spoiled.
I may get a few stones tossed at me for saying this, but, to an extent at least, we Americans have been spoiled.
05-05-11, 10:27 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
Someday $9 will seem like a bargain. For now the $9 being charged by rental car companies is easily avoided.
Much of rental car revenue is from business travel and many of those travelers don't care about this price per gallon.
Much of rental car revenue is from business travel and many of those travelers don't care about this price per gallon.
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05-06-11, 07:14 AM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
That doesn't just apply to rental cars, but (often) to plush hotels and restaurants as well.....the company plastic (and sometimes taxpayers) foot the bill.
05-07-11, 05:54 AM
#9
Out of Warranty
The cost of the fuel is not the only component of the price at the pump. Here in the US, taxes are a large contributor to disparities in the per-gallon cost. In Europe and the UK, taxes are MUCH higher as these nations see the fuel tax as not just a "user tax" for public roads and highways, but as a self-regulating tax that citizens can choose to reduce by changing their driving habits, or avoid by taking public transit.
Some nations tax you on the displacement of your engine too - a double-whammy for those of us who would prefer to drive something larger than a 700cc mouse motor.
Once the camel's nose is in the tent . . .
Some nations tax you on the displacement of your engine too - a double-whammy for those of us who would prefer to drive something larger than a 700cc mouse motor.
Once the camel's nose is in the tent . . .
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