Discover Cars Rental Review – My Honest Experience

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World Travel Tech Awards – World’s Leading Car Rental Booking Website 2022

The Broke Backpacker is supported by you. Clicking through our links may earn us a small affiliate commission, and that's what allows us to keep producing free content 🙂 Learn more.

Founded back in 2013 and now established as one of the world’s leading car rental comparison engines, Discover Cars isn’t actually a rental company itself. It does not own any cars. As I said in the intro, think of it as like Skyscanner – but for automobiles.

They partner with both global, mega car rental brands like Hertz, Avis, and Europcar budget options that budget travellers love. On top of this, they’ve found a whole host of local operators that you would probably never find otherwise.

To use Discover Cars, you simply access their website or app, type in your pickup location and dates. The site then pulls up a list of options with transparent pricing and clear rental conditions. This approach allows you to compare deals from multiple providers and shop around for a few different car models at a glance.

They operate in over 150 countries, so the chances are they will cover your destination, no matter how common or off the beaten path.

One thing I genuinely appreciate is how straightforward the booking process on Discover Cars is:

1. Enter your details – location, dates, times, and your age (important for seeing young driver surcharges upfront).
2. Apply filters – car type, transmission, supplier rating, fuel policy, mileage limits, and more.
3. Compare offers – each listing clearly shows the price, deposit, the supplier/agent name, and a customer rating out of 10.
4. Choose extras – including their optional Full Coverage insurance (more on this later…)
5. Pay either the full amount now, or a small deposit – if the latter, the rest will be paid at the counter when you pick up the car.

I really like that you can see reviews for individual suppliers without leaving the page. When I booked in Dubrovnik, this helped me avoid a company with a few complaints about slow refunds.

Note that while you are booking a car from a third-party supplier, all bookings are completed on the Discover Cars site. Your deposit will be paid to Discover Cars, and the confirmation/voucher will come from them. You will then be emailed a rental voucher from Discover Cars, which you need to present to the agent when you get to their office.

Vehicle Choice & Features

Discover Cars gives you access to a pretty huge range of vehicles — from budget hatchbacks to SUVs, vans, and even premium cars. On my most recent trip, I filtered for automatic transmission and free cancellation and still found options under €20/day in off-season Italy.

The mobile site is clean, loads quickly, and doesn’t hide fees in the fine print — a refreshing change from some other brokers I’ve tried.

The range of cars on offer does vary depending on the destination. But generally speaking, you can find a selection of small cars, standard cars, SUVs, premium cars, manual, automatic and an increasing selection of Electric cars.

Just keep in mind local customs and quirks. For example, if you’re backpacking in Europe, automatic cars are in shorter supply and as such tend to be more expensive to hire. Likewise, Electric cars are far more abundant in California than they are in India.

What I need to make clear here is this: even once you have your booking through the Discover Cars website, read the fine print. There are a few things to take into account to make sure that your booking goes smoothly and you get your car.

Firstly, most car rental companies have a minimum age policy, which typically starts at 21 or 23 years old. If you are younger (or older – under 30 years or over 65 years old), expect to be refused the car or charged a hefty premium.

Discover Cars makes it clear from the outset that some providers on their platform charge an additional premium for all drivers outside this age window. If you’re a grown up on a gap year, you should be in the clear, but it’s worth mentioning.

You will also need to bring your Driver’s Licence and possibly your Passport too (depending on your nationality and the country you are renting in). While you do not (usually) need an international driver’s permit to get your vehicle, your licence does need to be in date… And all the information needs to be clear and readable, and match what you’ve entered into the booking system.

At this stage, the rental agent will be carefully checking the information contained in your licence/passport against the details entered into the booking system. 

Before being handed the car, you’ll need to pay the balance of the rental cost (the full amount minus the deposit, which you already paid). Along with this, you’ll pay another deposit, which tends to be around $500 – $1,000. In pretty much ALL cases, the rental agent will insist that the deposit be paid via Credit Card, so make sure your travel banking is tight.

If you do not have a Credit Card with you, then the agent may refuse to give you the car. Or they will ask for a hefty, non-refundable premium payment of some kind. This could be two, three or even four times the value of the entire booking(!!).

So be sure to make sure that you have a Credit Card with you and that it has sufficient available balance to cover the deposit. Additionally, please remember that even once you return the car, it can take a few days or a week for the money to be re-credited. If you’re on a long trip, plan this into your budget.

Finally, also bring the booking voucher that Discover Cars sent to you when you made the booking. While you might think your name and deets should be enough to complete the booking, the voucher is, in fact, very important.

Insurance is one of the areas that can be confusing when booking a car rental. Realistically, everyone needs insurance, so here’s how it works with Discover Cars.

When you book, you’ll see the option to add Full Coverage from Discover Cars. This isn’t the same as the rental company’s own zero-excess cover — instead, it’s a reimbursement policy.

That means that if something happens (damage, theft, a flat tyre, or losing the keys), you have to pay the rental company first. Do this when you return the car, and then later submit your receipts and claim to Discover Cars for reimbursement. They will usually reimburse you within 28 days, unless, of course, they decide that you have breached the terms of the cover.

Full Coverage can be really good value (not to mention worthwhile). I’ve paid as little as €5/day — and it often covers things the supplier’s policy doesn’t, like towing or admin fees.

Note: you still need a credit card with enough limit for the supplier’s deposit, not necessarily in the driver’s name… But it’s still a requirement.

If you’d rather avoid paying out-of-pocket for claims, you can skip Discover Cars’ policy. This means you’ll buy the supplier’s own coverage once you reach their office at the pickup point — but it’s usually much more expensive.

I will also point out that even if you do take Discover Cars’ cover, the agent will usually try and upsell you their coverage. Be prepared for underhanded tactics or even insinuations that you need it to get the car. The only occasion when you might need the agent’s insurance is if (1) you are an underage driver or (2) you don’t have a Credit Card.

Another option here is to take out car rental cover from a third-party insurance company. I don’t advise it as the car rental agency is not obliged to accept this.

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One of the things I find confusing when using third-party/middleman sites is the question of who is responsible for what. At the end of the day, Discover Cars is merely a broker that connects you with the car supplier.

You pay your booking fee to Discover Cars, but pay the balance of the rental fee to the supplier at the point of collection. The contract you sign before driving away will also be between you and the supplier. This means that in the event of something going wrong, there really isn’t much that Discover Cars can or will do.

Likewise, if you need to change the booking after the rental period has commenced, there is nothing Discover Cars can do. You will need to communicate with the supplier directly. However, I do not recommend changing a booking after it has started as you will be rinsed. More on this later.

Recently, I had an issue with a supplier I found via AutoEurope. Upon arriving at the airport in Corfu, they attempted to jack up the price. We contacted AutoEurope, and all they could do was refund our deposit, leaving us stranded at the airport without a car.

You will also find that even if you buy insurance cover from Discover Cars, the agent will try and sell you their cover… But we already talked about that, didn’t we?

One of the features I like is that Discover Cars offers free cancellation up to 48 hours before your pickup time on most bookings. If you cancel before that, you’ll get a full refund of any prepayment you made.

If you cancel within 48 hours, you may still get part of your money back, but it depends on the supplier’s policy. Some may keep the first day’s rental fee as a penalty.

Changing your booking (dates, times, or car category) before the rental period has started is usually straightforward. You can do it through your online account or by contacting customer service. Just remember that any changes are subject to current prices and availability, so the cost could go up if you change during peak season.

If you wish to make changes after the rental has commenced, though, then it’s a totally different game. If, for example, you want to have the car longer, change it for another model, or want to drop it off at another location… Then you will need to communicate with the rental company and NOT with Discover Cars.

In my experience, the rental agent will normally be willing to accommodate you, BUT will charge you a pretty penny for it. 

For example, we once asked about dropping a car at Heraklion rather than in Chania as per the agreement. The agent informed us it would cost us an extra €200. €200 was pretty much the full price of our rental – that’s a 100% penalty!

Pricing & Transparency

Pricing is, without any doubt, one of Discover Cars strongest points. You’ll often see the total cost for your rental right away, including mandatory taxes and fees. 

Just keep in mind;

• The Full Coverage is their insurance, not the rental company’s. It works on a reimbursement basis — you pay the rental company for any damage first, then claim it back from Discover Cars.
• The security deposit is still blocked on your credit card at pickup unless you choose the supplier’s own zero-excess coverage.

Incidentally, Discover Cars can often deliver prices that are lower than you would get by booking directly through the agent. I found that I was able to book a Toyota Aygo for 7 days in Crete for just £88 via Discover – that’s cheap travel. Try it yourself if you don’t believe me.

Customer Service

Good customer service can make or break a car rental experience, and this is an area where Discover Cars generally does very well. However, like most brokers, they’re not the ones handing you the keys, so their power has pretty hard limits.

Discover Cars offers 24/7 support via live chat, email, and phone.

I’ve used the live chat twice: once to clarify a deposit policy before booking, and once to help change a pickup time after booking. In both cases, I got a response within a couple of minutes and a clear answer without being bounced around for too long. I have never been on the phone longer than 15 minutes, even at night.

They also have a Help Centre on their website that covers common questions. Everything from insurance terms to what to do if your flight is delayed. It’s worth checking there first, as you can often find the answer faster than waiting for an agent.

That said, it’s important to understand the difference between what Discover Cars can help with and what’s up to the local supplier. For example, if you show up and the rental desk has no cars left in your category, Discover Cars can step in to mediate. But they can’t overrule a supplier’s own policies on things like late returns or local surcharges.

Tip: If you run into any problems at pickup, call Discover Cars while you’re still at the rental counter. Having them looped in immediately can make it much easier to resolve disputes on the spot.

Refund Process

Refunds with Discover Cars are generally straightforward, but the timing can vary depending on what exactly it is you want refunded.

• Booking cancellations – If you cancel in line with the free cancellation policy, refunds (ie, the amount of your booking deposit) are usually processed within a few business days. Your bank may take longer to post the money back to your account.
• Full Coverage insurance claims – This is where it can take longer. Discover Cars states up to 28 days to review and process a claim, and in my experience, two to three weeks is fairly typical. You’ll need to submit documentation such as the rental company’s invoice, your proof of payment, and photos of the damage.
• Supplier-related refunds – If the local rental company owes you a refund (e.g., unused extras), the timing depends entirely on them, not on Discover Cars.

Tip: Keep all receipts and paperwork from your rental. The more complete your claim, the faster the refund process tends to be.

• Competitive prices – often cheaper than booking direct.
• Clear filters and supplier ratings.
• Free cancellation up to 48 hours before pickup.
• Wide coverage – big brands and local gems in 150+ countries.
• Full Coverage insurance that’s reasonably priced and covers things like key loss and towing.
• 24/7 support via live chat and email.

• Refunds on Full Coverage claims can take up to 28 days (mine took 21 days last time).
• Experience still depends heavily on the local supplier — the broker can’t control everything.
• Customer Service can be helpful and is accessible, but it is ultimately powerless.
• The reimbursement model for insurance means you need enough credit limit to cover potential charges upfront.

Let’s say you fancy taking an international road trip and want to rent a vehicle from Discover Cars to do this. Is this permitted?

Well, this depends entirely on where you want to go (pick and drop off) and the terms of the individual supplier. For example, if you want to pick up a car in Berlin and then drop it off in Prague, then that will be OK. You’d think that this is because both are in the EU, yet I note that EU countries like Lithuania are not listed.

When you get to the booking page, there is a “Planning To Travel To Another Country?” section, which sets out where you can take the car. You really need to be careful and mindful of reading the terms here.

For example, when researching this piece, I created a hypothetical trip to pick up a car in New York and drop it in Toronto. While Discover Cars would let me make the booking and would take my deposit… The terms stated that the car was only for use in New York City (not even the state).

What would actually happen if you tried to cross a border with a car without permission? For one, you would be liable for civil action from the supplier for breaching the terms.

Furthermore, you would in all likelihood be turned back at the border – hell, you might even be arrested for trying to steal the vehicle!

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These days, Discover Cars is now my, and many of my colleagues, go-to platform for car rentals abroad. It’s quick to use, transparent with its pricing, and gives me the confidence to compare suppliers without spending hours checking different websites. I don’t use any other aggregator these days.

It’s not perfect, as no aggregator is, and they are ultimately only a broker. But come on, if you read the terms carefully, choose reputable suppliers, and keep documentation, it can save you a significant amount of money and hassle.

For budget-conscious travellers, road trip lovers, and anyone who wants more control over their rental choice, I’d definitely recommend giving Discover Cars a try.

A couple of you lovely readers suggested we set up a tip jar for direct support as an alternative to booking through our links, since we’ve decided to keep the site ad-free. So here it is!

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