• Free car hire upgrade in California & Florida – Available for selected cars at selected locations for bookings until 30 June 2010. Pickup from April-June 2010. (prices are live but, not yet merchandised on site)
• Up to 30% off Jamaica car hire - Available for selected cars at selected locations for bookings until 30 June 2010. Pickup from April-June 2010 – lead price is £29 per day.
• Up to 25% off Venice car hire - Available for selected cars for bookings until 31 May 2010. Pickups between 9 April and 30 June 2010 – lead price is £23 per day.
• Up to 25% off UK car Hire - Available for selected cars at selected locations for bookings and collections until 26 May 2010. Excludes collections between 29 April & 3 May – lead price is £18 per day.
• Up to 10% off France car hire ? Available for selected cars at selected locations for bookings until 30 April 2010. Pickup from April-June 2010 – lead price is £27 per day.
• Up to 15% off Latvia car hire ? Available for selected cars at selected locations. Bookings until 30 April for pickups in April -June 2010 ? lead price is £20 per day.
• Up to 15% off Germany car hire - Available for selected cars at selected locations for bookings until 30 April 2010. Pickups between 1 May and 30 June 2010 – lead price is £31 per day.
• Up to 15% off Austria car hire - Available for selected cars. Bookings until 30 April 2010. Pickup from April-June 2010 ? lead price is £23 per day.

There is no better time to book car hire in Florida than right now! Prices from £99 per week. Customers should use the promotional code us99dw in the booking form to ensure they receive the best quote.

Remember these other fantastic deals:

• New Deposit Scheme from £12 – customers can spread the cost of car hire in France, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. From as little as £12 customers can book a car with all of the guarantees that they would have if they prepaid the full amount. They pay an upfront booking fee to easyCar and settle the difference with the car hire company on arrival to collect the car.
• Book early for great deals – book early for great prices and to guarantee the car of your choice.

If you want to compare Florida car hire prices, then use our price comparison engine to search, choose & book your summer car hire

Current offers (Expire 28th Feb 2010)

►      NEW: Up to 15% off Cyprus car hire (BOOK EARLY SUMMER OFFER)

►      NEW: Up to 15% off Cyprus car hire (BOOK EARLY WINTER OFFER)

►      NEW: Up to 10% off Greece car hire (BOOK EARLY SUMMER OFFER)

►      Up to 10% off durations ITALY destinations at key pick-up locations

►      Up to 30% off all Bahrain car hire

►      EXTENDED: Up to 15% off Bulgaria car hire

►     Finland 5% off winter car hire bookings

If you want to compare car hire prices, then use our price comparison engine to search, choose & book your summer car hire

Hire firms have not replaced fleets due to forecasts of fewer tourists, as well as difficulty accessing finance, industry figures say & a last-minute holiday bookings surge is adding to the pressure.

Industry sources say that Spain is the worst affected, with those who can get a car having to pay twice normal rates.

It’s therefore even more important to book car hire in advance, so that you can be sure there is a car available for you when you arrive at your destination! Using the My Travel Extras car hire search allows you to compare a large selection of competitive car rental rates with real-time access to pricing, availability and booking from over 450 suppliers, at 17,000 locations in 134 countries – including every major and regional airport and city location worldwide.

There are reports of bookings for holiday apartments and villas being cancelled because travellers have been unable to get a car, or have found the prices prohibitive.

Car hire firm Hertz said that shortages were most prevalent in holiday locations in Spain, France and Italy – while there have also been reports of demand outstripping supplies in Scotland and the Lake District.

“There’s a seasonal shortage of rental cars every summer, but it seems to be more acute this year because carmakers have cut production due to the uncertain economy,” said president of Hertz Europe, Michel Taride. “There has been a big increase in domestic and US inbound travel, and holidaymakers are deciding to go away at the last minute.” He added “Booking car hire early was the best guarantee of getting a vehicle at a competitive price”.

Finance problems

John Lewis, chairman of Lease Europe – the industry’s umbrella body – said that firms were unable to get the finance needed to expand their fleets. “Various national government rules mean that companies cannot move vehicles across borders to meet demand”, he said.

“Prices on the Balearic islands are more than 100% what they usually are” said Bob Atkinson, business development manager at Travelsupermarket.com. While in mainland Spain, prices are up to 70% higher at popular destinations such as Alicante, Malaga and Murcia. “Small cars in particular are in very short supply so its often cheaper to take a larger car, rather than the small ones people go for because they presume they’ll be cheaper,” he said.

Anecdotal evidence from car hire firms suggests that older vehicles are being hired out to try and cope with demand. A weakness in demand for second hand cars means that companies are seeing little sense in selling older vehicles at a low in the market, and held onto such cars. This meant many customers who did get cars, did not get the quality of vehicle that might be usually expected, with dents to bodywork and scratches more common with some companies.

Holiday firm woes

It is not just individual holiday makers who have had problems getting vehicles.

Direct Villa Holidays offers all customers a free hire car with their bookings – but have struggled to obtain the cars they have promised. “It has been a very expensive and stressful affair,” said co-owner Sara Jones. “Booking hire cars never has never been a problem before, though prices flickered a bit. But this year has just been a nightmare, we couldn’t get cars, or, when we could, they were five or 10 times more expensive.”

This article originally appeared on the BBC website

DISCOUNT CODE FOR THIS PROMO: 47694044

More Current Offers!

UK 15% discount Promo code: 47973765

UK Heathrow Airport: FREE UPGRADE Promo code: 47498571

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Plus! Rent 7 days, Pay only 5!

Latest Offers

UK 15% discount – Promo code: 47973765

ITALY 10% discount – Promo code: 45030420

UK Heathrow Airport: FREE UPGRADE
Promo code: 47498571

Permanent Deals

Pay online & save up to 25% on car hire

Rent for 7 days & pay for only 5

The 13 destinations are: UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Turkey, Madeira.

May’s EXCLUSIVE car hire deals:

• Up to 15% off car hire in Greece – bookings before 31 May, pick-ups between 01 Apr – 15 Jun 09
• Up to 15% off car hire in Guernsey – bookings before 30 June, pick-ups between 01 May – 30 June.
• Up to 10% off car hire in Bulgaria – bookings before 31 May, pick-ups before 31 May
• Up to 10% off car hire in Latvia – bookings before 31 May, pick-ups before 31 May

DISCOUNT CODE FOR THIS PROMO – 50017401

Save up to 15% off car rental in Europe. Offer ends May 3rd, Book now!