Saudi car rental firms hike prices by up to 80pc

Jeddah / TNS

Car rental offices witnessed a surge in rentals during the Eid by up to 80 percent, compared to other vacation days, which contributed to the rise in rental prices of up to 60 percent.
Workers in the sector in Jeddah and Makkah said some offices began to provide more vehicles, either by repairing those vehicles with problems, or bringing vehicles from other branches located in outlying cities to cover the increase in demand by greater numbers of tourists and visitors, especially from the Gulf States.
Saad Al-Sharif, the sales manager of a car rental office, said the high demand on cars and the rising costs of maintenance, compared to previous years, contributed to rising car rental prices of 45 to 60 percent. “The average cost to rent a small car amounts to SR190 a day against SR115 before,” said Al-Sharif to a local publication.
He said a medium-sized vehicle costs SR250 a day against only SR170 in the past, while a family-size car costs SR800 a day against SR500 before.
He estimated revenues of the car rental office during the first four days of Eid Al-Fitr reached more than SR210,000. Turki Al-Sulami, another sales manager, said some offices began to take measures to cover the increasing demand on cars, such as increasing the working hours to serve more customers, and providing more cars, bringing them from the other cities where demand is low, in addition to making quick repairs to ailing vehicles.
Mohammad Al-Qahtani, a citizen who rented a car, said such increases in the prices of rentals are irrational.
“It is aimed at making a quick buck and exploiting customers in view of the non-existent regulation of the competent authorities,” he added, demanding intervention of the authorities to define the prices or put a cap on them, and to exert strict control on the cars, and their quality and performance, along with the imposition of fines and punishments on violators.