Seasoned travelers know that getting on a plane and flying to your destination is only half the battle. It’s easy to focus on confusing terminals, long layovers, and outrageously expensive sandwiches, but the plane isn’t going to drop you off at your hotel. Once you get to sunny Los Angeles, you’ve got to hire transportation for the rest of your stay. If you’ve booked a car at LAX before, you know that car rental rates can be an unpleasant surprise. Avoid add-on fees and sticker shock with one simple trick!
What Makes LAX Car Rental So Expensive?
There are a lot of extra fees associated with renting a car from any airport. However, LAX is one of the worst offenders. You’ll have to pay a host of fees on top of an already inflated daily rate. No matter what, you can’t avoid the local sales tax, which is a whopping 10%. Let’s break down the airport-specific fees that you’ll encounter if you try to rent a car at LAX.
If you rent from a company at LAX, you’ll have to pay an Airport Concession Fee. A staggering 11.11% surcharge. This fee isn’t required by law, but vendors charge it to balance the cost of operating out of LAX. Another airport-specific fee is a Tourism Commission Fee. Car rental companies at an airport or hotel must pay an additional 3.5% to the California Travel and Tourism Commission. While 3.5% isn’t the largest fee we’ve mentioned so far, it still takes a bite if you’re on a budget. Next comes the Customer Facility Charge. This $9 a day fee only applies to people renting a car from LAX. This charge caps at $45, so it’s doesn’t compound after 5 days of renting.
On top of everything else, most LAX car rental companies charge a Vehicle License Recovery Fee. In many states, the Department of Motor Vehicles charges rental car companies extra to register their vehicles. In this case, the rental companies pass the cost on to you.
How Do I Avoid All of These Fees?
After paying for your flight, the last thing you want to deal with is a pricey LAX car rental. The best way to avoid all of these taxes and fees is to rent a car from somewhere else. That’s the simple trick. Circumvent the entire system and go to a independent car rental company instead. You’ll find that the cost of a short Uber ride to a local independent car rental company is a lot cheaper than paying extra for an airport car rental. You also won’t be limited to what cars they have at their airport. Independent rental companies often have a better selection of affordable vehicles than the national brands.
People who avoid the airport car rental kiosks can save up to 50% on their next rental. Not only are the daily rates higher at the airport, there’s almost 25% in fees and surcharges tacked onto the bill. After a long flight, you don’t want to deal with that kind of nonsense.
Looking for a Rental Car in Los Angeles?
At Value Rental Car we understand that renting a car from LAX is a lot more expensive than it should be. We offer clean and affordable rental cars for local driving in LA. We’re located just a few miles from the airport. We offer GPS rentals if you need some help getting around the city. If you’re a college student, we want to get you on the road. We rent to drivers under the age of 21, and we offer cash and debit card car rentals. Let us know what we can do to help.