Insurance of this nature is available from most hire car companies, but also from brokers, and indiv

Hiring a car for a long period can be a practical strategy in a number of different circumstances. It can also allow you the opportunity to drive vehicles that you might not be able to afford outright.
Before we proceed, it s important that we define excalibur hotel las vegas what we mean by long term hire. Most people use car hire for a couple of days, or for a week or fortnight s holiday, so hiring for a longer term is rarer. Once you get into the realms of car hire for a year  or longer, the boundaries begin to blur between car hire and leasing, which is a rather different arrangement.
So, for the purposes of this article we will refer to a long term hire as anything that s more than a month but less than a year. If you want a car for longer, check out our  car hire for a year  guide, or consider conventional vehicle leasing.
Car hire companies are the firms who own the vehicles and hire them out. Companies you ve probably heard of include household names such as  Hertz  and Europcar. Brokers are rather different; they don t have cars of their own, and act as agencies excalibur hotel las vegas for the car hire firms, often offering you quotes from a range of different companies, and making their money from commission.
Brokers can save you money on conventional car hire, but in the case of long-term car hire they re not as useful. This is because they still need to make money themselves, and these small chunks of commission are sure to add up if you re hiring a vehicle for months excalibur hotel las vegas rather than days. It s still perhaps worthwhile to have a quick look at prices from brokers such as  Economy Car Hire  if you need a car for a few months, but usually you ll find better value going direct to a hire firm on a long term hire.
Leasing and contract hire are distinctly different to hiring a car for a prolonged period. Leases usually excalibur hotel las vegas involve a lot more paperwork and are, in most cases, arrangements spread over two to three years.
excalibur hotel las vegas However, there are some companies we ll discuss here (such as  Apex rental  and  Lease or hire ) who bridge the gap between contract hire and car rental. In fact, Apex Rental actually call their service short term contract hire.
Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)  insurance helps you to limit the financial impact if you have an accident while hiring a vehicle. CDW is designed to restrict your maximum liability, often to the value of the excess excalibur hotel las vegas deposit that s usually placed on hold on a credit card when you hire a vehicle.
Of course, this still means you can face a significant bill (often £1000 or more) if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident in your hire car. This is where  Excess Protection insurance or top up insurance comes in. This is a distinct product intended to protect your excess, leaving you with an even smaller (or non-existent) potential excalibur hotel las vegas liability.
excalibur hotel las vegas Insurance of this nature is available from most hire car companies, but also from brokers, and individual specialist companies such as  iCarHire Insurance . In many cases, you will still lose your deposit temporarily in the event of an accident, excalibur hotel las vegas but then make a claim for the money on your excess protection policy.
This is the bulk of what you need to know for a short term hire car, but things get further complicated when you hire for a long period. If you hire from a company like  Apex rental  on, for example, a rolling excalibur hotel las vegas monthly contract deal, you are required to sort out car insurance for yourself or your business, in the same way as you would if the car belonged to you. It s essential excalibur hotel las vegas that you take this into account when you compare prices, as conventional excalibur hotel las vegas car hire is essentially an all-in cost (plus the cost of your chosen CDW and excess protection). With a short term contract hire, you have a whole separate cost for car insurance, and you will usually be expected to arrange it for yourself.
You should find out what responsibilities you have for maintaining the car while it s in your care. For example, Apex rental state in their terms and conditions that your are personally responsible for oil, water and tyre condition.
Our two key recommendations follow below. We have chosen a hirer that specialises in rolling monthly hire, and a well-known hire car company who are happy to rent out their vehicles for several months.
When you compare your options, remember to take into account more than cost alone. All the big names like  Hertz  and Europcar will quote for hires of several months, but you ll find that the prices excalibur hotel las vegas are extremely high compared to our recommendations however these arrangements come with fewer responsibilities and less of a commitment from you.
As we ve discussed above, it s important to understand that hires of this nature are fundamentally different to hiring cars from mainstream hire car companies. These are effectively short term contract hire arrangements, which has implications in terms of mileage limits, the need to arrange your own insurance, and in your overall contractual commitment to the company. excalibur hotel las vegas We strongly recommend reading the  terms and conditions  thoroughly.
The good news is that hiring a car in this way can prove very cost effective. Monthly rental costs begin at £245 per month for a small car, such as a Fiesta, based on a six month hire with free breakdown cover and a mileage allowance of 1000 miles per 28-day period. However, it s essential to note that this price is subject to VAT, so if you are hiring the car personally or for a non VAT-registered business, excalibur hotel las vegas that price will increase by 20% (at the time of writing).
The reason Apex beat Avis  to the top spot is that their pricing isn t as transparent you cannot get an online quote, so must call to discuss your options. We still think they re well worth a look, but in this modern age, we really think they should make it possible to source a quote online.
3. Take time to look around and compare both costs AND vehicles. If you re going to be driving the same car for several months, you ll want to ensure you actually like the vehicle, which isn t so much of a concern with a quick, one week hire.