You need to know the average cost to rent a car per day. If you want to know how much is to rent a car for 3 days. Be ready to deal with the price increase because you won’t be able to find a car rent with $20 per day rate anymore. Since the pandemic, things aren’t really going well with the car rental industry because of the lack of car rental supply. As the result, the price may not only increase quite significantly, but you should be ready with the lack of car rental availability. In most cases, when you want to make a sudden rent, you will only meet 2 options: You may be required to pay higher or you will not get the car you want.
Car Rental Industry Today
If you often rent a car, you’d realize that the prices have gone up within the last few years. The prices might have dropped a bit within the last months, but the price has never returned to its original state. In the past, you could expect a $20 rate for a day, but now, the lowest rate may be $35.
If you are renting the economy cars (which are considered the cheapest models being offered), you may be required to spend the minimum rate. However, if you go with luxury models or high end types, you may have to pay higher. And this applies for a daily rate. Imagine how much is to rent a car for 3 days if a day of rent costs you at least $50 for the economy model.
The Standard Cost
If you are wondering how much is to rent a car for 3 days. It’s most likely that you will be charged for a daily rate. Unless you are going to travel for 5 to 6 days, then you can get the weekly rate. As it was mentioned before, the car rental cost ranges between $50 and $80 a day and it’s for economy types. There would be some contributing factors that will determine how much you’ll have to spend within a daily basis.
If you rent the vehicle from airports agents, you may have to spend more. It can be up to 40% of the standard rate. Let’s say that you may be charged $50 a day for the agencies outside the airports. If you rent the car at airport agencies, then you may have to spend $70 a day.
To give you ideas of how much you will have to spend for a daily rates at airports, there are some comparison data from similar agency (but within different locations).
- Alamo, for a starter, charges $94 for their Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport, $119 for Los Angeles International airport, and $101 for Chicago O’Hare airport.
- Avis charges $106 for their Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport, S115 for their New York JFK airport, $132 for Los Angeles International airport, and $114 for Chicago O’Hare airport.
- Budget charges S114 for their New York JFK airport, $132 for Los Angeles International airport, and $103 for Chicago O’Hare airport.
- Enterprise charges $105 for their Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport, S109 for their New York JFK airport, $119 for Los Angeles International airport, and $101 for Chicago O’Hare airport.
- Hertz charges $93 for their Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport, $104 for Los Angeles International airport, and $85 for Chicago O’Hare airport.
- National charges $114 for their Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport and $112 for Chicago O’Hare airport.
This data was the latest one taken in April 2023, from the beginning to the end.
Factors Affecting the Prices
You can imagine how much is to rent a car for 3 days if you choose National from Chicago O’Hare airport. You will have to spend $336 for a 3-day worth. Then, there are other contributing factors that may affect the price.
The first one is the car type. As it was stated before, economy car is the most affordable type. Let’s take an example from Avis and their Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport. An economy car (Ford Fiesta) has 4 seats that can accommodate one big bag and one small bag. The daily rate is around $105. A compact type (which is slightly higher than the economy) has 5 seats and able to accommodate 2 big bags. The example is Ford Focus. The price range is similar, set at $105.
Intermediate car (Chevy Cruze) that has 5 seats and able to carry 2 big bags and a small one is set at around $106 per day. A van model (like Chrysler Country and Town) comes with 7 seats arrangement and can accommodate 4 big bags. The rate is $144 a day. From there, the price experiences a big bump. Premium model (Ford Taurus) is set at $238, while the luxury model (Lincoln MKZ) is around $250 a day.
Supply and Demand
Supply and demand will also affect the price factor. If you take a look at the price table before, you will see that the price at JFK airport is relatively higher when compared to other airport locations. Keep in mind that New York is a popular spot for tourists. Demands for car rental is generally higher, especially during peak season. When demand is high and supply is low, price would be higher.
Final Words
In the end, if you want to know how much is to rent a car for 3 days. You need to determine your traveling destination. Perform the search of available car rental agencies. You should also need to take a deeper look into your traveling plans. Will you be spending most of your times on the road?
If yes, then renting a car seems like a good idea. But if not, you should consider other alternatives, such as public transportation or Uber. Do you need the car for making a lot of stops or going over far-away distance? If yes, you should rent the car. But if not, consider using Uber instead, or any other ride-hailing service.
In short, you should have the knowledge about the average car rental cost standard. You should also make a solid planning on how you want to go around and travel. Only by doing so, you can really know how much is to rent a car for 3 days and how much you should prepare.
