Posted on April 09, 2008 by Fiona Hilliard

When deciding on what extras you need for your hire car, it’s worth considering what essentials you may be able to transfer to your rental car from your own vehicle at home.  For example, travelling with your own GPS can save you extra cash to spend on your holiday, as travel writer Wendy Perrin found on a recent trip to Madrid.

On arrival at the airport rental desk she learned that the cost of renting a GPS in the Spanish capital was $18 a day, totalling $162 for a nine-day rental.  She saved some extra cash by downloading a map of Europe to her own GPS for just $162, not only saving $2, but also acquiring something useful that she will be able to use for future trips to Europe.

On another occasion, she hired snow chains from Avis for $98, only to discover they could be bought at a service station for $31.