Australia
cleaning fee assigned at the discretion of the lending Thrifty location
Tips to Avoid Car Hire Valeting Fee
- Empty the car the day before returning so you can clean any obvious marks / soil / sand etc
- Sweep out any sand from footwells / boot where possible – vacuum if possible
- Wipe any obvious dirt / bird poo marks from bodywork / windows
- Don’t park under trees if possible (bird poo)
- Remove as much sand from beach as possible before getting in car
- Take care with food / drinks in the car
- Have the car hand car washed before returning / roadside car wash
Can I put a rental car through a car wash?
Yes you can, however any damage caused would be your responsibility. If you do need to get the car washed before you return it, we’d recommend a road side hand car wash, a quick shampoo and vacuum should be more than enough, no need for a full car detail here! This will likely cost less than £10 (10EUR/$10) and be significantly cheaper than the rental agent valeting fee.
What If I Return my rental car dirty?
If the car is considered excessively dirty, either inside or out you’ll likely find yourself on the receiving end of a car rental cleaning / valeting fee. Whilst this is often subjective, we recommend you take photos of the car inside and out for future reference if you are charged a valeting fee and wish to dispute it. It’s also useful should you cause any damage to a rental car as a record of what was damaged.
How much is the car rental valeting / cleaning fee?
It varies from rental agent to agent and indeed location, a typical fee would be around 50 EUR, however it depends on the severity of the clean required and how long it takes. 100 EUR isn't unheard of for some of the worst cases and we've even heard of a case where 350 EUR was charged, however this would certainly be an extreme case and likely include damage as well as cleaning.
Car rental advanced valeting fee
Some rental agents will offer an ‘advanced’ valeting fee, usually significantly cheaper than the same service if you pay at the end of the rental. We were recently offered this advance service from Firefly when hiring a car at Bordeaux Airport for 8 EUR when collecting the car and advised that a valeting fee of 21EUR would be charged if the car was returned early. We rejected the 8 EUR fee and returned the car in reasonable condition and no further charge was made. Unless you think you’re likely to return the car excessively dirty, we’d recommend rejecting the offer, you can always have it cleaned yourself if you do get it excessively dirty, or challenge any subsequent fee.