You could see it coming and that’s how it happened. Rental cars this summer have gone through the roof. And we are not talking about a slight rise but an astronomical rise that has left prohibitive prices for many pockets. In most cases renting a car for just 4 or 5 days is the same money as paying the letter of a good used car that will be yours. Today in Coches Ocasión 4all we tell you why this huge increase in car rental prices.
The increases in rental cars have multiplied by 3. It’s that simple, the increase has been up to 300%. Or so that we understand each other, if previously it cost you to rent a car for a week about 200 euros, now you will have to pay 600 euros. There is nothing.

Causes of the rise in car rental

And why these huge increases in the price of rental cars? Basically the reasons are two. On the one hand, the decline in rental car fleets and, on the other, the increase in demand. I’ll explain it briefly:

• Less fleet of rental vehicles. Last summer was especially bad when it came to car rentals. The fault was the pandemic, summer trips were reduced considerably and that reduced the demand for these cars. The economy also slowed down and caused a greater brake on car rentals. That made car rental companies react by saving costs by reducing their fleets.
• Shortage of semiconductor materials. There is a great shortage of semiconductor products worldwide. These materials, although they do not sound like anything to you, are one of the main raw materials to make microchips. And the microchips are in turn, they are a fundamental element of any modern car of new manufacture.

One of the main reasons for this shortage of semiconductor materials is the increased demand for technological equipment by teleworking. This year and a half in which we have used more computer tools at our disposal, both for leisure or social relationships and for teleworking, has caused the demand for computer equipment to increase considerably.

In short, car manufacturing companies are having problems maintaining their production, which is also reversing in rental companies.

• Increased demand. On the other hand, this summer, almost post-pandemic, the demand for rental cars has reactivated. Especially if we take into account that summer tourism this year in Spain will once again be very internal, with which the need for rental vehicles multiplies.
  So a drop in the supply of vehicles coupled with the increase in current demand has caused this huge rise in rental car prices. The result is that prices are prohibitive this summer to rent a car and in some small towns it will be difficult to find a rental car available.
  

In fact, if in previous years renting a car was as easy as going directly to the rental company and requesting one of the available cars, today many of them recommend booking the vehicle beforehand to ensure that they have it available.
The result is that companies that previously rented their cars for 40-50 euros per day now approach an amount of between 150-180 euros per day. Which makes it prohibitive to rent a car for a long stay.
As you can see, everything in the global economy is linked and a pandemic can cause a whole series of effects that we didn’t even imagine could happen.
Until when that increase in car rental
The question is how long this situation will last. First of all, it must be taken into account that the greatest increase in the price of rental cars will occur during the summer months. But it will spread to the rest of the season, perhaps not with those levels of increase in price.
The recovery of the market and the lowering of prices to the pre-crisis level is still uncertain. Some analysts believe that the situation will improve in the coming years, setting 2023 as the time when prices would return to their pre-COVID levels.
But it all depends on the health situation continuing to improve, the economy recovering to also reactivate car manufacturing and car rental needs, and the semiconductor shortage crisis being resolved.

Good time for a used car

The fact is that with the current situation there are few options not to leave us a kidney by renting a car. Of course the most viable option is to buy a car. It is true that with a shortage of new vehicles due to the semiconductor crisis, the most viable and cheapest option is the purchase of second-hand vehicles and second-hand vehicles.
The prices of this type of vehicle are accessible to any pocket.
If you are one of those who do not have a car and use rental cars frequently, perhaps the time has come to throw in numbers and consider having your own car.
In many cases, the monthly bill for a second-hand car or a second-hand car will be less than what it costs you to rent a car for just one or two days. And the difference is that the car will be yours and you can use it without limitations throughout the month.
Taking into account that the situation of increasing cost of car rental can last for a few years … buying a used car and paying for it in a short time is a smart option.
At Coches Ocasión 4all we can advise you on the purchase of your second-hand car and help you get your new car at the best market price in our wide catalog of cars available of all makes and models.