1. The daily rate is the first false signal
Aggregators show the "base" rate: without full insurance, 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 full insurance
- 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" full insurance 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 full insurance 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€ flat 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 stars on Google, based on 66+ real reviews.