They sure do. Several factors cause rental car prices to vary, and your travel destination is a big factor.
I recently researched rental car rates in Canada and found that prices vary hugely, depending on the Canadian city I chose as my destination.
To compare apples to apples, I used the same one week pick-up and drop-off dates, specified the city’s international airport as the pick-up location, and always chose a compact model.
Here are my results, with all amounts in Canadian dollars:
The cheapest Canadian airport to rent a car in is Calgary, Alberta. Hertz rents a compact Ford Focus for $128.49. Avis rents a compact Chevy Cobalt for $146.99.
First runner-up is Victoria, B.C., where the Focus from Hertz costs $164.90 per week, and the Cobalt from Avis is $163.99.
Second runner-up is Quebec City, Quebec, where Hertz rents the Focus for $260.49, and Avis rents the Cobalt for $239.99.
The most expensive Canadian city was Toronto, Ontario, where it costs a whopping $340.49 per week to rent a Focus from Hertz or $319.99 for a Cobalt from Avis.
Travel advisors say picking up a rental car from an airport is the most costly way to rent.
My comparison of Hertz and Avis shows they’re often correct.
If I pick the Cobalt from the Avis office at the Quebec Hilton and drop it off there, it will cost $196.00, a $44 savings.
But if I pick up the Cobalt from the Avis office in downtown Victoria, the weekly rental rate is exactly the same as if I picked the car up from the airport.
Strangely, if I pick up a Focus from Hertz’s midtown Victoria office, the rate jumps to an unbelievable $499.
It definitely pays to do the research!
