Is Discover Cars legit? Our review after renting cars with them multiple times

Looking for information about Discover Cars and real reviews and experiences to find out if this car rental comparison site is legit and worth using? Well, you’ve come to the right place, because at RandomTrip, after trying Discover Cars on several occasions, we can say that it’s our go-to website when we need to rent a car.

Renting a car is often the best option for getting around, and with so many rental companies, negative experiences, confusing insurance policies, and contracts with fine print, it is becoming increasingly difficult to choose a car rental company. Since discovering Discover Cars, it has been our first choice when looking for a rental car, and our experience on the several occasions we have used them has been excellent.

In this article, we give you our honest review based on our experience with Discover Cars. We explain what it is and how it works, whether its Total Coverage insurance is worthwhile, its advantages and disadvantages, how its prices are usually cheaper than renting directly from rental companies, other people’s reviews, tips for making a reservation with Discover Cars, and whether or not we recommend it.

What is Discover Cars?

Discover Cars is an international website where you can compare car rental companies and make car rental reservations with those companies.

It’s like Booking.com for car rentals, making it easy to find and compare options from car rental companies in a multitude of destinations, as well as make reservations in a simple and intuitive way.

It is important to understand that Discover Cars is an intermediary that connects people with car rental companies, but does not have its own cars for rent. It is a very useful website because it greatly facilitates the search, comparison, and reservation of a rental car at a destination with just a few clicks, instead of having to search for specific car rental companies and fill out forms on each website to obtain prices and compare before choosing.

How does Discover Cars work?

As an intermediary, Discover Cars makes agreements with different car rental companies in different destinations, allowing anyone to view and compare the car rental options available for specific dates and destinations. In addition, the website has a multitude of filters to help with this process (type of car, type of payment method, with or without excess, type of mileage, etc.), and offers the option of paying extra insurance to cover the excess, which is usually much cheaper than that offered by the companies themselves.

Here is a step-by-step summary of how Discover Cars works:

1. Go to Discover Cars
2. Enter the basic information: destination, dates and times, country of residence, and age, then click Search.
3. Discover Cars checks with all the car rental companies in its database to see which ones have availability for that destination and those dates, and will show you a list of all the offers found.
4. By default, the list will be sorted by “Most Popular” offers, but you can change the order (for example, to show the cheapest offers or those from the best-rated rental companies) or use filters according to your requirements (type of car, manual/automatic, whether a credit card or debit card is required, minimum rating for the rental company, air conditioning in the car, by the amount of the deposit, fuel policy, or you can even limit the search to specific rental companies you already know or trust). For each offer, you will find a summary of the rental conditions and a link to “Rental conditions” where you can see the full conditions.
5. Once you have applied the filters with your requirements and compared the available offers, you can choose the one that suits you best and click on “View Offer.” A new page will open with a much more detailed summary of the offer, including the price, any extras you may want to add, reviews of the car rental company, etc. If you agree, proceed to the next step.
6. In the next step, you are given the option to add the extra Total Coverage insurance, which, in cases where the offer does not include comprehensive insurance (because it includes an excess and/or certain conditions), will cover that excess and/or other circumstances, for a much lower price than the car rental company itself will allow you to take out when you pick up the vehicle. Here you can add that Total Coverage or simply continue with your reservation without that insurance.
7. In the next step, simply fill in your details, and in the last step, make the payment.

Another advantage of Discover Cars is that reservations can be cancelled free of charge up to 48 hours before the start date and time of the rental. If you purchase Total Coverage, this can be canceled free of charge up to the start date and time of the rental.

Extra insurance: How does Discover Cars’ Total Coverage work?

One of the reasons we use Discover Cars is because of its Total Coverage, an optional extra insurance that is usually much cheaper than the extra insurance offered directly by car rental companies and covers what the basic insurance included in the base price does not cover (excess, punctures, etc.).

Although this insurance is cheaper, it is necessary to understand how it works in order to know what you are signing up for and avoid misunderstandings, annoyances, and surprises:

• The insurance is sold to you by Discover Cars, not the final car rental company.
• This means that you will have insurance (whichever type) with the final car rental company, and additional insurance through Discover Cars.
• When picking up the vehicle, if the car rental company’s insurance includes an excess, you will have to pay a deposit according to the rental conditions (for example, if the excess is $500 and they ask you for a deposit of $200, you will have to pay that deposit when picking up the vehicle).
• The car rental company will probably offer you more an extra insurance when you pick up the vehicle, which you should decline (since if you have purchased Total Coverage, there is no point in paying more for redundant insurance). Many people get upset during this process because they assure the car rental company that they paid for full insurance, but the car rental company has no way of knowing this and will always offer its most expensive insurance.
• In the event that something happens to the car and the rental company’s insurance does not cover it, you will first need to follow the procedure indicated by the rental company and pay the corresponding amount. Then, with all the necessary documentation, you will have to claim that amount from Discover Cars’ insurance, which will reimburse you. You can see here what you need to request that refund.
  • For example, imagine you have a flat tire that is not covered by the rental company’s insurance. You will have to follow the appropriate procedure (contact roadside assistance, pick up the replacement vehicle, and at the end of the rental, pay the corresponding amount, let’s say €300). It is important that you keep copies of everything (rental agreement, incident report, etc.). With this documentation, you will then have to request a refund from Discover Cars, which will reimburse you once it confirms that everything is in order and covered.
• It is also important to note that neither the basic insurance provided by the car rental company, nor any additional insurance they may offer, nor Discover Cars’ Total Coverage will cover expenses arising from breach of the rental agreement. For example, if you drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol and have an accident, no insurance will cover those damages.

In summary, although Total Coverage insurance is cheaper than that offered by car rental companies, the downside is that you have to pay upfront and it requires more paperwork. For the same price, it is better to take out comprehensive insurance with the rental company, as they generally do not require a deposit and, if something happens, the company takes care of everything. However, as the complete insurance sold by rental car companies is usually very expensive, if you can afford to pay upfront, you can save a lot with Discover Cars’ Total Coverage.

Pros and cons of Discover Cars

As we just explained, we use Discover Cars a lot because of its advantages. Here is a summary of the pros and cons so you can quickly see whether it’s worth it for you or not.

Pros of Discover Cars

• Allows you to quickly compare prices, conditions, and features from a multitude of rental companies.
• Easy to filter and compare based on your requirements
• You can view the terms and conditions of the rental company as well as its rating/reviews directly on the comparison site.
• Very competitive prices
• It is often cheaper to rent through Discover Cars than directly with the rental company (even with basic insurance).
• It offers the option of purchasing Total Coverage, a comprehensive insurance policy that is much cheaper than those usually offered by car rental companies.
• Free cancellation up to 48 hours before the start of the rental.
• It has 24/7 customer service in several languages.
• It is a legit website with very positive reviews.
• It has a wide variety of companies and destinations around the world.
• It is a simple and very easy-to-use website; you can make your reservation in just a few clicks.

Cons of Discover Cars

• They do not have all the destinations in the world or all the rental companies that exist.
• Total Coverage insurance does not exempt you from paying the deposit to the rental company, so you will have to pay upfront in case something happens and then arrange for a refund.
• Immediate booking confirmation is not available for all rental companies.

Contact DiscoverCars Customer Service

Discover Cars‘ customer service is available 24/7 and in multiple languages. Once you complete your reservation, either on the website or through the app, you will have clear and accessible contact information. In general, you will have several options:

• Create a ticket through your help center (here)
• Contact us by phone using the number provided in your reservation.
• Contact us via online chat (using the link provided in your reservation)

It is important to understand that in the event of an accident or if you need roadside assistance, you will have to follow the instructions of the car rental company, as Discover Cars is only an intermediary. When you pick up your rental vehicle, you will be given the contact number for the rental company and the contact number for roadside assistance, as well as the corresponding hours of operation. If they do not provide you with this information, ask for it and be sure to save it so that you have it on hand in case of need.

Discover Cars prices: cheaper or more expensive than with the car rental company

As we mentioned in the list of advantages of Discover Cars, because they work with many car rental companies and handle a large volume of reservations, they can negotiate better rates, and in many cases, the basic car rental (without extra insurance) will be cheaper with Discover Cars than directly with the rental company.

Here are some real examples:

Car rental for Ponta Delgada (Azores) with Sixt through Discover Cars costs €51.36, while directly with Sixt it costs €69.17 (25% cheaper with Discover Cars):

This difference becomes even more noticeable if we add comprehensive insurance. At Discover Cars, it would cost €107.40, while at Sixt it would cost €281.71 (61% cheaper with Discover Cars):

Car rental for Rome Fiumicino with Recordgo through Discover Cars costs €35.87, while directly with RecordGo it costs €38 (5% cheaper with Discover Cars):

When adding comprehensive insurance, the difference is much more noticeable, as it would be €86.58 with Discover Cars, while with RecordGo it would rise to €123 (€30 cheaper with Discover Cars):

Prices will vary depending on how far in advance you book, availability, dates, and destination, and it will not always be cheaper at Discover Cars. We recommend that you carefully check the prices, rental conditions, and reviews of the car rental company before making your reservation.

Is Discover Cars legit?

In our opinion, Discover Cars is a completely legit and reputable website, and it is our first choice when renting cars due to all the advantages explained in this article, the main ones being its prices and ease of use.

It should be noted, as explained in the article, that Discover Cars is only an intermediary, so your experience may vary depending on the rental company you ultimately choose, which is not dependent on Discover Cars itself. That is why we strongly recommend that you carefully review the terms and conditions of each rental company and not just the price, as well as taking out extra insurance (either Discover Cars’ Total Coverage or that offered by the car rental company) to avoid high costs and/or surprises.

Tips for renting a car with Discover Cars

Whenever we rent cars in general, and the same applies to reting with Discover Cars, we follow a series of steps to avoid surprises and minimize misunderstandings or extra costs with car rental companies.

• Before picking up the vehicle
  • Be sure to read and understand the terms and conditions of what you are booking: what is included in the price, what is covered by the basic insurance included (in some countries, the default rate does not include much and you will have to take out extra insurance, which can far exceed the rental price), whether mileage is unlimited or not, what the fuel policy is, where the vehicle is picked up (whether it is directly at the airport or there is a shuttle and you will have to spend more time), whether there are age restrictions, whether a credit card is required, etc.
  • Set an alert to check if you want to cancel your reservation free of charge up to 48 hours before the start date.
  • Save the reservation information once you have made it, so that you can easily consult it, as well as the associated data.
  • Contact the rental company in advance to confirm your reservation, pick-up instructions, location, and any other information you consider relevant.
• When picking up the vehicle
  • If you purchase Discover Cars Total Coverage, decline any additional insurance offered by the rental company when you pick up the vehicle. Some rental companies will be insistent and try to scare you into taking it; if you have purchased Total Coverage from Discover Cars and understand how it works, there is no problem and you can calmly decline these extra insurance policies (rental companies usually make money from these insurance policies, which is why they are so insistent on selling them).
  • Remember that with Full Coverage, you will still have to leave a deposit when picking up the vehicle if stipulated by the rental company.
  • Take a video of the vehicle calmly when you pick it up: in our case, we use wide-angle mode (0.5x) when space is limited for filming. We walk all the way around the vehicle, stopping and getting closer to clearly show any previous damage. We also film the top of the vehicle, and then the interior, door by door. Stop at all points (lower areas of the car, wheels/tires, mirrors, windows, etc.) and use a flashlight if it is nighttime or dark. Also include a photo or video of the odometer and the fuel tank level. You can also take photos. This will serve as proof if the car rental company claims that you damaged the vehicle upon returning it, and we have had to use it more than once. Also, make sure that any previous damage is listed in the rental agreement.
  • Save the assistance/emergency contacts provided by the rental company on your phone. These phone numbers are often also printed on the vehicle’s key fob and in the rental agreement, but you should save them so that they are easy to find if necessary.
  • Confirm the procedure in case of an emergency: if you have an accident, get a flat tire, or your vehicle is stolen, you will need to follow the steps indicated by the rental company. Make sure you understand everything clearly so that if something happens, you can follow the steps to the letter and avoid any problems with insurance.
  • Locate gas stations near the drop-off point and their opening hours, save them in your Google Maps so you can refuel according to the rental company’s policy before returning the vehicle. Keep the receipt and take a photo of the fuel gauge.
• During the rental period
  • Drive calmly and obey traffic rules. If something happens and you are breaking the rules, your insurance may not cover you.
  • Find out where you can park (rules, hours, etc.)
  • In the event of an accident or theft, follow the instructions provided by the rental company and keep receipts and screenshots of everything (calls, emails, etc.), so that if they refuse to cover you on the grounds that you did not take step X or Y, you have proof that you did. This will also help you claim money from Discover Cars’ Total Coverage insurance.
• When returning the vehicle
  • Go early, because if you are accused of damaging the vehicle, it is good to have time to prove that it wasn’t you and avoid having to fight with the rental company afterwards.
  • If they don’t inspect the vehicle when you return it (for example, if you return it outside of business hours or if there are a lot of people and they tell you they’ll do it later), take another video/photos of the vehicle as proof.

Our experience renting a car with Discover Cars

At RandomTrip, we have used Discover Cars on several occasions in recent years, on various islands in the Azores, in Lisbon, Malaga… On every occasion, the experience was perfect, both in terms of the booking process itself and picking up the vehicle from the rental company.

By clearly understanding how Discover Cars works, its Total Coverage insurance, and the rental company’s insurance, we never had any issues or misunderstandings and traveled with peace of mind knowing that if anything happened, we would be covered by one or the other.

The only time we had to use Discover Cars’ Total Coverage was on a trip to Italy with friends; we had a flat tire, so we had to contact the car rental company’s roadside assistance, which towed the vehicle. They gave us another vehicle, and at the end of the rental we had to pay the car rental company for the repair. We kept all the receipts, opened a claim with DiscoverCars, and within a few days, they reimbursed us for the repair costs.

Discover Cars reviews

If we still haven’t convinced you, you can check out other people’s reviews about Discover Cars. At the time of writing this article, most opinions about Discover Cars are positive, and most people who use this platform have a good experience. You can check out opinions on some platforms created for this purpose, such as:

• Discover Cars reviews on TrustPilot (4.6 out of 5, with 240,000 reviews)
• Discover Cars reviews on Google Maps (4.5 out of 5, with 45.000 reviews)

Negative reviews of Discover Cars

As with any company, not everyone has a perfect experience, and Discover Cars is no different, so you will also find negative reviews of this car rental comparison site.

Although you may see several reviews accusing Discover Cars of fraud or stealing money, it is important to read them carefully and understand whether the person’s bad experience was due to Discover Cars not delivering on its promises or, as is the case in most instances, whether the bad experience was caused by the car rental company itself and/or a lack of understanding of how Discover Cars and its Total Coverage work.

You will see negative reviews like these, where the issue was with the car rental company or with not fully understanding how Total Coverage insurance works:

Discount Coupons for Discover Cars

In the case of Discover Cars, it is not common to find discount coupons. Keep in mind that Discover Cars’ prices are usually better than the prices offered directly by car rental companies.

In the event that there are special promotions or that for some reason you are entitled to a voucher or discount, this will be applied automatically (either because it is a general promotion and will appear when you use Discover Cars, or it will be added to your account and applied automatically at the time of payment).

Therefore, if you find websites offering supposed coupons with incredible discounts on Discover Cars, either the coupon is not necessary or they are trying to scam you.

Discover Cars: the best car rental comparison site?

Based on everything explained in this article, we consider Discover Cars to be the best car rental website and comparison tool on the market. It is a reliable and reputable company, it is super easy to search, filter, and compare available rental car offers, the booking process is simple and intuitive, and you will almost always get cheaper prices than booking directly with rental companies, especially if you take out Total Coverage insurance. Although there are some drawbacks (Total Coverage does not exempt you from blocking a deposit to pick up the vehicle, and you have to pay upfront in case of damage to the vehicle), these are offset in most cases by the savings.

Therefore, we recommend that, as with Randomtrip, whenever you rent a car, you start your search at Discover Cars

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We hope this article has been helpful in giving you a better understanding of how Discover Cars works and how you can save money on your next car rentals.