The eight items that turn a €200 rental into a €450 one, how to spot them before booking and which of them simply do not exist with us.
The price you see on a comparison site is almost always the bare rental. It is not a scam: it is a business model where the margin is made at the desk, after the customer has landed, has the luggage in hand and has no alternative. Here is where it hides, item by item.
Excess and deposit. This is the heaviest one. Basic cover leaves the customer liable for €800 to €2,500 in case of damage, and to secure it the same amount is blocked on a credit card. At the desk you are offered cover that "zeroes the excess" for €15–25 a day: over ten days that is €150–250 that was not in the quote. With us comprehensive cover with zero excess is already included, which is exactly why there is no deposit to block.
Child seats and the second driver. Five to ten euros a day per seat, five to twelve for the second driver. A family with two children sharing the driving easily reaches €200 over a week. With us both are free, in any quantity.
Fuel. The formula to avoid is "full out, empty back": you pay upfront for a whole tank at an inflated price and return the car with whatever is left, with no refund. You almost always pay for fuel you never used. The honest formula is full-to-full, which is ours.
Mileage. Many cheap offers include 100 or 150 kilometres a day and bill the excess. In Sardinia, where a single beach can be 80 kilometres out, you break the limit on day one. Our mileage is unlimited.
Then come the smaller items that add up: the young-driver surcharge (under 25), out-of-hours pick-up, returning at a different airport, a compulsory cleaning fee on the invoice. Ours are three, all written on the conditions page: €75 for changing airport, a €30 preparation fee on rentals of up to three days, and €30 for the final cleaning only if you choose it.
How to protect yourself, in practice: ask in writing for the excess and deposit amounts before booking; check whether child seats and the second driver are included; verify the fuel policy and the mileage cap. If a rental company answers those four questions clearly, the price it gave you is the price you will pay.