Do your travel plans include a one way drive and a return flight or are you transporting a vehicle and only need a rental one way? Perhaps it makes sense to rent an SUV one way to transport cargo and a car on the way back. One way rentals also come in handy when a flight is canceled or delayed significantly. It may not be as expensive as you think. The pricing structure for one-way rentals these days is quite different than it used to be.
Renting through a car sharing app like Turo won’t allow a one-way rental unless the owner somehow wants a car moved from her or his home city to the one you’re going to. That would be unlikely although some Turo car fleet owners move their vehicles to warmer climates in the winter and back north in the summer. It can’t hurt to put in a reservation for a return to the drop-off point and then just message to ask the owner.
Rental car agencies typically do offer this option and their pricing structure seems to have merged into a fixed daily rate with unlimited miles. It’ usually the same rate as a return to the same location you picked up from. A few years ago, Avis would charge a cheaper daily rate than Hertz and charge a per mile fee although it looks like they’ve all moved to a higher daily rate with unlimited miles. They regularly move vehicles around from location to location so they figure this into their cost of doing business. But, they factor in distance between pick-up and drop-off location as well as the busy-ness of the destination rental car drop-off location. It makes sense but you may want to play around with the drop-off location (as in at the airport or off-airport) to see if rates vary. You may also run into a situation where certain classes of vehicles are not available for one-way rentals. Also, keep in mind that some rental car companies give a better rate if you pre-pay versus reserving a car and paying at the rental car counter.
In some cases, one-way rentals can cost as much as an older used car! It may seem a bit crazy but you may want to consider buying a used car just for the one-way trip (if you’re driving from home to somewhere else.) You can dump it for a low price at your destination if you pre=arrange the sale before you get there. Don’t forget your title and you may want to go to the DMV at your destination to make sure the transaction goes smoothly. Of course, you have to consider how much you can rely on the presumably older vehicle. Buying a AAA membership before your trip might be prudent.
So depending on how far you drive and how many days it takes you, pricing for one company may be much more economical than the other.
Sixt.com Same daily rate as round-trip, unlimited mileage, One way trip fee of $500, $1,000, $1,500 in some cases (Not at most airports or cities)
Avis.com Daily rate varies by distance, specific destination market, unlimited mileage
Hertz.com Daily rate varies by distance, specific destination market, unlimited mileage
Enterprise.com Daily rate varies by distance, specific destination market, unlimited mileage
Alamo.com Daily rate varies by distance, specific destination market, unlimited mileage
National Daily rate varies by distance, specific destination market, unlimited mileage
Budget Daily rate varies by distance, specific destination market, unlimited mileage
Silvercar One way rentals not available
Thrifty Daily rate and per mile fee
Turo.com One way rentals not available