We’re often asked what is the maximum length of time a car can be rented for. Traditionally, most rentals had a cut off time of 28 days, however in more recent years we have been able to offer rentals of up to 3 months. There are lots of things to consider when renting a car for a long term period as many of the benefits of car rental over other options such as leasing and pcp (personal contract purchase) or even purchasing can start to erode the longer the rental is and the clear lines between all options can start to blur.
What is the average car rental duration?
We’ve looked back at data from 10,000 rentals using a variety of metrics to see who and where rent cars for the longest and what type of car is rented for longest periods. Did you know that on average Americans rent cars for the longest duration per rental with an average of 10.1 days per rental, whilst it's the French who rent for the shortest average period of just 6.5 days. The Brits are middle of the road with an average rental duration of 7.3 days, just 0.2 days lower than the global average. In terms of where we see the longest rentals, South Africa tops the list with an average rental period of 10.2 days, whereas you'll find the shortest average rental in Ireland at just 5.3 days. And type of car? Interestingly it's the larger family cars such as SUV rentals and people carriers with the longest average at 8.7 and 8.4 days respectively. The shortest rentals by car type is held by the convertible rental cars, many customers rent a Mustang in the US for just a day or 2 just for the experience!
By Destination
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Longest Rental (days)
By Residency
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By Car Type
Average Rental (days)
Longest Rental (days)
What is the longest car rental?
The longest rental arranged at Rhino in 2018 was some 85 days car hire in Italy, a US car rental customer embarked on what we can only assume was a very long road trip of Italy! Whilst far from alone, of the 10,000 rental study just 1.2% were for rentals of 28 days or more with the average rental period being just 7.5 days. So whilst long term car rental is possible and certainly has it’s place, it is relatively rare.
What is the shortest car rental?
Technically, you could rent a car for as little as 15 minutes as that is the smallest time increment our booking engine allows, however you’d be charged for a full days rental as all rentals are charged on 24 hour periods. You’d certainly be unlikely to call upon your car hire excess mileage charge, or indeed pick up a speeding fine in that time!
Can you rent a car for a year?
It’s certainly possible, however it’s unlikely to offer the best value given the other options available. Whilst we wouldn’t be able to arrange a single rental for a full 12 months, we can arrange concurrent rentals for month long periods (in certain cases, we can arrange single rentals of up to 3 months). The benefits here being you simply return the car at the end of each fixed term (month) and collect a fresh one, paying only for the fuel you used. If at any point during that period you wanted to return your rental car early, you would only stand to forfeit the balance of that months rental (or longer period), the concurrent rentals could be cancelled at no charge.
Limited mileage for long term car rental?
Unlimited mileage is common for most car rentals, however certain rentals will have a mileage limit with an excess mileage charge, much like a lease or pcp. Depending on your intended useage / mileage you should consider how many miles you are likely to cover and if there is a limit, estimate your excess and calculate the charge. For example, should your rental include 1,000 miles for the duration of the rental (28 days) and you cover 1,200 miles. With an excess mileage charge of 10p per mile, you would have an additional £20 to pay (200 x £0.1).