Zero Excess Austria Car Hire

Find the best "No Excess" deals in Austria

With a massive choice from the biggest brands, Enjoy the best way to find the best prices for no excess car hire in Austria.

• Huge choice of cars to suit every budget
• Save up to 70% compared to buying on the day
• 10 years experience in car hire

No Excess Car Hire in Austria - Your protection package

For many people, car hire is a convenient and reliable way of getting around their chosen destination, as it can give you the freedom to explore your location without worrying about public transport. When hiring your car online, you may see additional options or filters that say ‘zero excess.’ If you’re new to car renting, you may not be fully aware of what this is and how it applies to you. To put it simply, zero excess means that should your rental vehicle sustain any damages or be lost or stolen, you will not be liable to cover the cost for repairs or replacements.

Zero excess sort of acts as a safety net when driving, particularly in off-road areas or more rugged terrain that could potentially damage parts of your vehicle. You may also see something called a ‘Collision Damage Waiver’, which is what protects you from forking out the funds to pay for repairs to your car. In most cases, especially when hiring your car online, a Collision Damage Waiver is included in your booking, but this doesn’t necessarily protect you from every eventuality.

As a lot of Austria’s landscape is mountainous and hilly, with winding narrow roads outside of its large cities, it can make it difficult to drive through if you’re planning a road trip or not driving around cities. Zero excess gives you the assurance that you can explore every corner of Austria without worrying about covering any extra costs.

Who Are the Most Common Car Hire Suppliers in Austria?

Currently, only GreenMotion offers complete zero excess for bookings, with other suppliers like Alamo, Europcar, Sixt, Enterprise, and Avis offering reduced excess. With suppliers that offer reduced excess, there is still the option of adding additional coverage or insurance, alongside the Collision Damage and Theft Waiver that is automatically included in your booking.

Save Money on Zero Excess Car Hire When Travelling in Austria

When booking your car hire from large Austrian cities like Vienna and Salzburg, hiring your car from an airport can actually save you a lot more money than if you booked it from a city. Most airports have car rental desks where you can hire a car in person; however, if you do this, it’s important to enquire about zero excess and make sure it is included—booking in person means you can’t ensure that zero excess is included like when you can online, as you can see it being added to your booking. This is also useful to know if you’re a first-time car hirer and aren’t aware of zero excess—it is not always included in bookings.

When driving through Austria, make sure you’re taking as many preventative measures as you can to avoid causing damage to your car. Although many hire cars come with a Collision Damage Waiver or you may have booked zero excess, some areas of the car may not be covered by the insurance. Areas of the car like the wheels or undercarriage are often excluded from CDWs, so do everything you can to avoid sustaining damage to these areas of your car, which can occur when driving across rough roads or in more mountainous conditions.

Things to Consider When Hiring a Car in Austria

If you’re new to car hire and are unsure of what to consider, there are several things to ensure and look out for. One of the most important things to consider and research is your car hire supplier—make sure what they offer aligns with your expectations and requirements, and ensure that you're aware of everything they offer before booking with them. You can have the assurance that most European car hire suppliers are safe, reliable, and reputable.

Another thing to look at is the reviews of the company you’re hiring with. These can really give you some valuable insight and information about the supplier and whether they’re right for you. Ensure that the supplier you’re looking to book offers zero excess too, or additional insurance on top of a CDW, and always read the fine print!

Of course, things like price per day, the type of vehicle, and its pick-up and drop-off location are important too—if you’re taking a road trip across Austria, why not consider hiring a car from a supplier that offers one-way rentals? This means you can drop off your car at an alternative location to where you picked it up from, saving you from having to circle back on yourself at the end of your journey.

Ensure the Best Journey around Austria with Zero Excess

It’s no secret that zero excess car hire is one of the best ways to ensure you have the best journey possible around Austria. With zero excess in place, you can simply enjoy your journey and not have to worry about anything. If your car gets damaged, you can avoid the stress and paperwork associated with being liable to pay for damage repairs. Whether you’re road-tripping around Austria, simply driving around beautiful Vienna, or want to view Austria’s gorgeous landscape and scenery, zero excess can have you covered in all circumstances.

Although zero excess comes with some potential downsides, the risks are far greater when choosing car hire without zero excess than with. Your car hire may cost a lot, especially if you intend to hire for longer than a week, but that is normally a fixed price and you don’t usually have to pay anything else, whereas damage repairs can cost double or even triple the price of what you initially paid for your car.

Getting Around Safely and Efficiently in Austria

Driving around Austria is relatively easy, with regularly maintained roads and clear signage. Full UK driving licences are accepted, but be aware that driving occurs on the right side of the road and overtaking is on the left. On motorways or large roads, the maximum speed limit is around 130 km/h or 80mph. Be aware that most large roads in and around Austria’s cities are toll roads—purchasing a vignette toll sticker can allow you to use the toll roads freely for a certain amount of time.

While you can drive around with the assurance of zero excess, it’s important to still exercise caution when driving as you normally would in your own car, so as to avoid getting into accidents or causing unnecessary damage to your vehicle. Be aware of one-way streets and inner-city roads which may have their own speed limits or rules for vehicles.

What to Do in An Emergency on the Road in Austria

When renting your car, you should automatically have breakdown cover included in the booking, which will cover you if your car breaks down. If you break down on the motorway or on a busy road, find the hard shoulder or equivalent and call your breakdown number. In the event of an accident or hazard, move your car to a safe area and turn on your hazard lights to alert other drivers to any potential dangers or that you need help. Once you know it’s safe, you can get back onto the road again.

If it’s an emergency, in mainland Europe you can usually call 112, and you’ll be transferred to the appropriate services who can help. Learning the local language isn’t normally necessary if you’re driving in large cities, but in smaller towns where English may not be as widely spoken, you may benefit from learning some basic phrases like asking for help, saying please and thank you, or asking where the nearest petrol station is.

How to Avoid Extra Charges on Your Vehicle When Driving in Austria

Although your CDW or zero excess covers the bulk of any damage or repair fees, there are still certain areas of the car that may not be covered by insurance, which usually include the undercarriage, although areas of the car not covered can differ depending on the type of Waiver or insurance you have. Ensure you know which areas of the car are covered by the insurance before driving. Your insurance may not always cover thefts or stolen vehicles, so bear this in mind too.

Another way to ensure no extra charges occur is to comply with the agreed upon clauses or rules in your paperwork. If you have agreed on a certain date and location to drop off your vehicle, ensure you stick to this as closely as you can to avoid being charged for returning your car late. If you are going to return your car late or want to extend your booking, always let your supplier know so they don’t rule it as a no-show. Also, read the terms and conditions carefully before booking so you’re aware of any hidden fees or costs that may occur—although these are uncommon.