1. The daily rate is the first false signal
Aggregators show the "base" rate: without accident & theft cover, without Unlimited mileage, without airport transfer. At checkout, 30-60% can be added to the displayed price.
Ask for the final price before any booking. At driveXplore, the price you see on the site includes:
- Daily rate
- Third-party insurance and accident & theft cover
- Unlimited mileage
- Additional driver
The only extra line: €20 each way for the airport transfer, if you choose terminal pickup. No asterisk.
2. Check the full-insurance excess
With some operators, "included" accident & theft cover usually comes with a 1500-€2000 excess: you pay the first €1500 of any scratch. One door dent near the Old Town can get close to that quickly.
With us, the accident & theft cover is complete, without a major excess on your side. If an incident happens, follow our phone instructions and continue your trip.
3. Watch the card deposit
This is where the market differs most. Large companies block €500-€1500 on your card for the whole rental period: money you cannot use for anything else.
At driveXplore, the deposit is a €50 security deposit. That is it. Paid at pickup, returned at dropoff. We do not block the card.
4. Fuel policy
You will see three options in the market:
- Full → full: fair, and what we do. The car comes with a full tank; you return it the same way.
- Full → empty: you pay for the tank in advance. In practice, you lose any fuel left over.
- Empty → empty: the least transparent setup. You pay "estimated" fuel at inflated prices.
It is better to start with an operator using a full → full policy. With us, the refuelling fee is €20 plus the real fuel cost, not a "penalty" amount.
5. Check Google reviews, not the website
Any operator's site can be full of glowing testimonials. Check Google Maps and TripAdvisor: search the company name and read the most recent reviews, especially 1-3 star reviews. That is where real problems show up.
driveXplore has 5.0 on Google, based on real customer reviews. You can see them all on our Google profile.
