6 Lurking Foreign Car-Rental Fees You Might Not Know About

1.) Premium Station Fee- often applies to places you would naturally pick up a rental car: major airports/ train stations.

Cost: Varies- percentage of the rental fee (example: 20% of the cost in Germany) or a flat rate (example: about $57 in Spain).

2.) Crossing a Country Border- (example: picking a car up in Rome and dropping it in Paris)

Cost: Varies- can be as low as $70 and as high as $4,000 depending on how far you travel between pick-up and drop-off locations.

3.) Road Tax/ Vehicle Licensing Fee (VLF)- a permit/ license for driving in Europe

Cost: Unavoidable, but not bank-breaking, about $5/ day.

4.) Late Return- bringing the car back more than 29 minutes past your scheduled return time

Cost: Returning 30 minutes late will result in a charge for an additional full day!

5.) Winter Tires- essential for icy European roads- make sure to request them in advance even though you'll have to pay extra for them (better to spend a few extra bucks than spiral out of control on the Autobahn)

Cost: Varies- about $4-$20 dollars a day (maxes out at $170 for the trip).

6.) Non-Full Gas Tank- not making sure the gas tank is full before dropping off your vehicle

Cost: Usually a fee ($12 for Avis in France) in addition to the outrageous (and then further inflated by the car-rental company) per-liter of gas cost in Europe.

This list is from Budget Travel. Here is the original link: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/05/travel/foreign-car-rental-fees/index.html?hpt=tr_c2