Here's How Rental Car Companies Hide The Fees That Make Renting So Expensive

Renting a car can be a frustrating and sometimes harrowing experience, full of misinformation and, most annoyingly, hidden fees. Vox attempted to untangle the confusing web of car rental fees so people will know what they’re getting into.

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It’s not just car rental fees customers have to be wary of (though they definitely should be); taxes and state fees also add up fast as Vox’s Emily Stewart pointed out:

A family friend recently reached out about the cost of their rental car from Budget at the Denver airport. They sent over the receipt, and it’s really something to behold. The base rate for an eight-day rental is $555.19; the total they owe is more than $400 higher.

Deciphering what each line item corresponds to requires navigating a ton of jargon. A “concession recovery fee” costs $77.74; the “Colorado road safety fee” is $19.17; an “energy recovery fee” is $7.11. A look at Budget’s glossary and some googling provide an explanation of the fees, especially where they come from. The concession fee is a kickback to the airport. The state fee helps pay for Colorado’s roads. The energy fee is because customers are supposed to chip in to keep the company’s lights on, which seems like it could be rolled up into the base rate but okay.

It’s ridiculous that consumers would need to look in a glossary to decipher the list of charges they’re faced with. More importantly, it’s representative of the issue with rental car fees and taxes: They’re coming at you from every which way, and many of them you can’t avoid. The guy at the counter trying to sell you on insurance is someone you can hopefully say no to (more on that later), but the locality that’s figured out that a rental car tax is a nice way to pay for a new sports stadium, not so much.

“People are not wrong to hate all the fees that they’re hit with, but we distinguish between fees that are unavoidable and those you can potentially do something about,” said Chuck Bell, director of financial services policy at Consumer Reports.

Even looking over some of my own rentals from the past shows ridiculous fees and taxes, some of which don’t even have an explanation. For instance, In January 2022, I rented a car from Hertz for four days totaling $148.75. Not bad right? Until you look at the fees. I calculated that just over 60 percent of the total — or $89.26 worth— was just fees and taxes. Facility fee? That’s $10. Vehicle license fee? I have no idea what that is but that was a fee that was charged per day for a total of $8.12. Concession fee recovery? That’s Hertz charging me $34.22 to cover their part of the fees that its charged to do business at that particular location.

Screenshot: Hertz

Many of these fees are as bad or worse than the airline industry, an expert pointed out to Vox:

“The fees in the car rental sector, in many ways, are worse than fees in the airline sector because there’s a factor of sticker shock,” said William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, an anti-monopoly think tank.

The fees are just one part in the frustrating process of renting a car. The rental companies are after every penny they can squeeze from customers as well. From false accusations of theft, to being finessed into taking on expensive extra insurance when you don’t need it, there’s plenty to look out for. Head over to Vox to read more.