Make sure you save money on van hire buy checking how much extras such as an additional driver, or sat nav hire, will cost, before you make your booking. The cheapest basic hire rate isn’t always the cheapest total cost.

Extra costs can be a minefield when hiring a vehicle, transforming a cheap daily rental rate into an expensive experience.

One common requirement is for an additional driver; not all drivers are used to driving long journeys, and even if you are, doing a long journey in a large, unfamiliar van can be much more tiring than making the same trip in your car.

(If it’s your first time driving a van, check out our ‘Driving A Van’ guide).

For this reason, having an additional driver is always a popular option for van hire customers — but it isn’t always obvious is how much this may cost.

On vanrental.co.uk we list a number of different hire companies, including seven well-known international hire companies and two major brokers which offer national coverage.

I’ve had a look at how much each charges for an additional driver, and the differences are surprising!

How much for an additional driver?

Remember, each company charges different daily van hire rates, too, so the cheapest additional driver fee isn’t necessarily the cheapest overall.

However, let’s take a look at the fees charged for an additional driver by some of the UK’s biggest van hire operators*:

• Europcar: FREE
• Thrifty: £5.50 per day (maximum 10 days charged)
• Sixt: £8.99 per day
• Hertz: £12 per day (maximum 10 days charged)
• Argus Car Hire (broker): £varies depending on which hire company the van is booked with

Which company offers the cheapest total rental costs? It’s impossible to say, I’m afraid, but these figures may give you some indication of what to expect when comparing rental rates with our price comparison engine.

Other extras will vary

You may not need to have an additional driver, but there’s a good chance you will want another optional extra.

Perhaps you’ll be travelling on your own and would rather hire a sat nav to help with the navigation — or maybe your passenger will be a young child, who needs a child seat?

I’m afraid that in every case, charges vary between companies vary, and the only way to get a precise, all-inclusive quotation is to click through to each rental company’s website and complete a full quotation.

Sorry, but that’s the way it is — and anyone who tells you otherwise may not be being completely honest with you.

I’ll take a closer look at the cost of sat nav and child seat hire in future posts — stay tuned for more information.

*All figures were checked at the time of writing in July 2013, but these may be subject to change vanrental.co.uk and the author take no responsibility for any errors, omissions or future changes. Please check yourself before booking.