Pre-Paid Gas Yay or Nay

[Lovely_Star]

Traveling next week, renting a car and wondering if this will be worth it. I keep hearing mixed reviews. The rental agencies usually tell you that they charge you cheaper prices per gallon than off site, but you have to bring it back on E.

[thereuare]

Please follow-up your previous Priceline Virginia Beach thread with whatever you ended up doing for that trip... then reply to this thread and we'll comment on the above.

[Lovely_Star]

Okay

[thereuare]

I don't purchase the pre-paid gas. There are usually two types of pre-paid options:

1) prepay and return the tank as empty as you'd like.

--> this is not a good option as you'll inevitably not be able to return the car completely empty, therefore paying for gas you're not using

2) prepay for the gas at a fixed rate per gallon based upon what you have used, and get a lower rate by agreeing to use the rental company's gas pumps

--> their rates, even at the discount 'commit before you travel', are almost always higher than what you can get at stations nearby the rental location

Unless you think you're going to cut it close missing your flight or need the time for some other reason, take the 3-4 minutes it takes to fill the tank yourself, imo.

[Lovely_Star]

Thanks thereuare,

Interesting \every agency I've rented from always pushed the pre-paid gas, they say that their cost per gallon is cheaper than what it is off site. Never saw it as an issue of convenience (not worried about missing plane) I just was under the assumption that it was in fact cheaper. One time we rented in Orlando and declined it...we traveled to Tampa 2x and ended up having to get gas 2x. That time the gas that the rental agency quoted was in fact cheaper than what the per gallon price was in the city. So on our next weekly rental we opted for pre-paid gas because again we were told it would be cheaper for us...never got to "E" on that trip so IDK :)

[Doppelganger]

The "per gallon" price from the rental company may be less, but they charge you for a full tank, based on the stated capacity in the owner's manual (I'm assuming). If you don't bring it back bone dry, you'll be paying for gas that you didn't use.

Example:

Bring it back full, fill it up yourself:

Let's assume you are "near empty" when getting ready to drop off the car.

Fill up the car at $2.80/gallon, and it takes 12 gallons, for a cost of $33.60.

Pre-buy the gas, bring it back empty:

Let's assume you bring it back in the same condition as above, and whatever gas is in the tank is gas you paid for earlier.

Pre-pay price was $2.60/gallon, and the tank capacity is 14 gallons. You will be charged $36.40.

Basically, with pre-paying for gas, whatever gas is left in the tank when you return the car is fuel that you are paying for twice (albeit, the 2nd time is a little bit cheaper than the 1st).

It's in the rental company's interest to have you pre-buy a full tank of gas, because they know that its unlikely that they'll actually have to put a full tank in to fill it back up themselves.

[Lovely_Star]

Thanks everyone for your responses. We recently returned from our trip and opted out of the pre-paid gas option, although I had to override DH on this one. It cost us less than $25 to fill up the tank, gas was a little over $3 a gallon (in STT) and we were near E.

[terpfan1980]

Just visiting these forums for a bit and catching some of the threads I might otherwise have missed. I know your response above is from a few weeks back, but I wanted to add to those thoughts a bit.

For me, I try to make an informed and intelligent decision when it comes to pre-paying for a tank of gas. If I'm fairly certain that I'll use all of the tank of gas and then some (meaning I might have to put in a little more before I can return the vehicle), then I'll likely pre-pay for the gas in the tank and try to plan out just how much additional gas I'll add along the way. You make a good point about what the rental companies will charge for the gas in the tank, though I've found in most places the prices charged for the gas already in the vehicle isn't far from what it would cost me to buy gas at a reasonably close (to the airport) gas station.

I will say I have new found respect for vehicles with on-board computer systems that monitor fuel efficiency and mileage. On my most recent trip I rented a vehicle from HOTWIRE (using the links on this forum) and got a very nice deal for a "Premium" vehicle from National. That vehicle was a Ford Taurus. After learning my way around the vehicle a bit I found out how to display the fuel efficiency and was able to monitor the "miles before Empty" status for the fuel in the tank. Thanks to that computerized assistance, I was able to return the vehicle with barely enough fuel to get back to the rental drop-off. (The computer reported that the vehicle could go about 18 miles until empty as I was dropping it off). I could do the math manually and determine the MPG and then factor everything in, but the computer did it all so much easier that it made the experience much better for me. In the past I've gotten burned at times in returning a vehicle that I knew I'd left about $15 - $25 worth of fuel in. If I was travelling for business I didn't care all that much, but if it's my money I want my money's worth.

On the thought of worrying about perhaps missing a flight and using that as an excuse for pre-paying, I'd also add that I've pre-paid for fuel because I didn't want to get any sort of extra charge for returning a vehicle that was considered to be less than full. If I don't know the area around the airport and can't be sure where I'll be getting fueled up at, I am much more tempted to pre-pay for fuel since it saves the hassle of finding a close by gas station to buy from. Again, if I've pre-paid then I try my best to be sure I've gotten to use all of that original tank of fuel and will be returning the vehicle with the tank darned near dry :)

[roughnready]

Just to agree with one opinion -- skip the prepaid gas. Skip the EZPass, GPS, and insurance too. These are huge profit drivers for rental car companies so they will sometimes push these agressively.

The Avis location where I recently rented from had an AUTOMATIC fuel surcharge of $16.95 added to any rental where the car was driven less than 75 miles. In exchange, the renter didn't have to fill the tank. That's a ripoff. Most cars only need 2 to 3 gallons ($9 max) to drive 75 miles.

[Romelle]

Another Nay vote. Just fill on the way back to the airport.

Romelle

[blkjck1]

Does anybody really think that they can consistently deliver a rental car back to the depot with just fumes in the tank? Any gas you leave in the tank is just pure profit to the rental company. And if you are doing a ton of driving in your car that would require you to fill up the tank at least once or twice, are you going to continually put a quarter of the gas tank in the car to drive with so you don't leave the rental company a lot to work with when it's time to go home?

[flyjetguy]

Just to agree with one opinion -- skip the prepaid gas. Skip the EZPass, GPS, and insurance too. These are huge profit drivers for rental car companies so they will sometimes push these agressively.

The Avis location where I recently rented from had an AUTOMATIC fuel surcharge of $16.95 added to any rental where the car was driven less than 75 miles. In exchange, the renter didn't have to fill the tank. That's a ripoff. Most cars only need 2 to 3 gallons ($9 max) to drive 75 miles.

Regarding aggressive marketing/add-ons/high-margin-low-return options and rental cars IME...

I recently rented a car in Philly to drive back and forth to the NYC area over a 24 hour period. My EZPass transponder rental was $10. I paid no tolls and bypassed LONG lines at toll booths to use the EZPass lanes. My total tolls I WOULD HAVE PAID amounted to over $45. Bridge tolls are now $12 each timr across BTW.-

Why do you say that EZPass is a "skip for sure" option?

As for GPS, most smart phones have the capability to do what you need and also have the AMAZINGLY USEFUL "Gasbuddy" app. If you're unfamiliar with the area, about to miss a plane, or maybe a female traveling alone and returning in the dark, a GPS may be worth the money if you're not comfortable using your cell phone. I'm a guy but it SUCKS to be lost and looking for a gas station/particular exit.

P.S. never bet against a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line.

[Doppelganger]

Why do you say that EZPass is a "skip for sure" option?

If the $10 included unlimited tolls for the period you used it, then you got a good deal. However, you need to read the fine print carefully. I think in many cases, the rental company still makes you pay the actual toll charges. Once they get the bill from the state for the tolls used by that particular transponder during the rental period, they charge your credit card for that amount. At least, that's how it would have been if I had used the EZPass in my Budget rental recently in Florida.

[hohogap]

Agreed. You are just paying for the rental of the EZPass unit, and although you might save a bit on the actual toll charges when using the EZPass versus the cash charge, I can't see it saving you any real money unless you are driving a lot of toll roads and through a lot of toll booths at rush hour. Then you can add in the worth of the time for stopping and paying individual tolls.

[thesporq]

This might seem snarky, but how full is full?

What I mean is, how far can you drive from the pump and still consider the tank to be full? Most airports have gas stations near them, but those are almost always more expensive.

Does the needle have to be above the tick mark, or as long as it's touching some part of it?

[Queerasmoi]

A reasonable question. I think if you fill it up to maybe 3-5 miles from the return location and then drive directly there, you're fine.

When I returned a car to LAX, I exited the highway a few exits early, parked for a moment, and opened the WHERE app on my Android to get nearby gas prices (Nowadays I think GasBuddy is better). I found a small-chain station in the neighbourhood that was significantly cheaper than big names beside the airport.

[Inocense]

Make sure that the "prepaid gas" doesn't come with a "CONVENIENCE FEE".. Last time I rented in Arizona it all sounded good, gas prices they offered were good too (which is why I had them do the prepaid, to save money)!.. What I didn't know until I returned the car was that there was a $16 convenience fee tacked on!.. >.<

I won't ever go for that option again..

[soleglo]

Skip prepaid gas!