Is Discover Cars Legit, Safe and Reliable? An Honest Opinion

Discover Cars has become one of the most popular platforms for renting vehicles abroad thanks to its cost-effective rates and ease of use.

However, as a 3rd-party booking site, Discover Cars relies solely on vehicles offered by other rental companies, which begs the question, is Discover Cars Legit and is the Discover Cars website safe to use?

Is Discover Cars Legit?

Discover Cars is a legitimate and reliable website offering car rental services for thousands of destinations around the world. It has become one of the biggest websites for renting vehicles abroad and is the go-to platform for myself and thousands of other travelers.

Discover Cars works with hundreds of car-renting companies in many popular tourist locations. Unfortunately, some of these local rental companies aren’t quite as legit as Discover Cars themselves.

Luckily, Discover Cars work closely with its various partners around the world and is constantly vetting its network in response to user reviews and complaints to ensure a safe and reliable car renting process as promised.

When renting a car for my own trips, I always use and recommend Discover Cars.

What Is Discover Cars?

Founded in 2013, Discover Cars is a 3rd-party car rental company. This means that they don’t rent you the vehicle directly. Instead, they serve as the middleman, connecting you with hundreds of associated rental companies around the world.

Associated partners include both recognizable international brands and small local rental companies. This allows Discover Cars to collect vast amounts of data, which it supplies to its users in an easy-to-navigate interface to compare and book the best car rental deals for any given destination within its network.

As of 2024, Discover Cars is partnered with over 500 car rental companies in over 10,000 locations in 145+ countries.

Is Discover Cars Safe to Use?

The biggest concern that comes with booking through a 3rd-party rental company is the service’s ability to guarantee a booking. After all, what is stopping the local rental company from altering or even canceling your reservation altogether when you arrive to pick up your vehicle?

Small local rental companies are particularly infamous for their various scams, which can range from adding on additional ‘hidden fees’ at pickup to charging for pre-existing damages upon drop off.

While Discover Cars are limited in what they can control regarding their local partners, they do offer a variety of safeguards limiting the amount of direct communication required between you and the rental companies while ensuring a safe booking process and rental experience.

Two Secure Payment Options

Discover Cars offers two payment options. The first and most secure option is to pay for your entire rental through the Discover Cars website. While this requires a larger upfront payment, it is also the easiest way to avoid any scams by local rental companies.

The second payment option you have is to make a smaller deposit at the time of booking while paying the remaining balance directly to the rental company. While the rental company is required to honor the online price, some rental companies may try to upcharge you.

In this scenario, you can contact Discover Cars’ customer support, and they will help correct the situation. Still, these problems are generally avoided by paying for the entire rental online at the time of booking.

User Reviews

While Discover Cars does its best to regulate its rental partners, some are less reputable than others. Luckily, the online platform provides its users plenty of opportunities to be vigilant, starting with providing user reviews for each of its vehicles.

When comparing car rentals through Discover Cars, it is important to look at more than just the listed price. If you take your time and read through some of the reviews, you can easily avoid those rental companies that employ shady practices.

24/7 Support

In the worst-case scenario of something happening during your car rental process, Discover Cars’ 24/7 support services are always available to help correct any issues or scams you may fall prey to.

Offering 24-hour support via phone, email, and live chat, customer support agents are ready to handle any problems you may face, be it a local partner attempting to upcharge you for your rental or for finding a new and reputable car rental company to book with instead.

What Are The Benefits of Booking With Discover Cars?

Whether Discover Cars is a safe and reliable booking platform doesn’t matter if there isn’t a reason to book with them anyway. Why shouldn’t you just book directly with the local rental companies instead?

Well, there are actually several benefits of booking with Discover Cars, and these are just some of the top reasons why it has become one of the biggest car rental platforms on the planet.

Easy to Navigate Comparison Tools

The most prominent advantage of booking through Discover Cars is the platform’s easy-to-navigate comparison tool. Unlike if you are booking directly with a rental company, Discover Cars allows you to explore a variety of vehicles across several brands for your destination.

It saves you the time of visiting dozens of different websites to find the cheapest rentals and instead collects all the best deals in a single easy-to-compare list with all of their features and prior user reviews.

Features Affordable Prices

Thanks to its wide network of associated partners, Discover Cars features an extensive catalog of vehicles for over 10,000 locations around the world. What’s more, their partners range from iconic international brands to small local companies.

This variety allows Discover Cars to feature some of the most cost-effective car rentals for any given destination where they have active associates. And if you do find a better rate somewhere else, Discover Cars offers a price match guarantee for any deal within 24 hours of your booking.

No Hidden Fees

One of the biggest problems that comes with booking with 3rd-party companies is that they list one price at the beginning of the process, only to add extensive hidden fees just as you are about to check out.

Discover Cars doesn’t have that problem. Priding itself on having no hidden fees, Discover Cars features the same price at the beginning of your search as it does at its checkout, making it one of the best platforms for comparing the actual costs of your potential vehicle rentals.

Full Coverage Insurance

Another benefit Discover Cars holds over booking directly with a rental company or even through another 3rd-party website is its optional Full Coverage Insurance policy.

Depending on your destination, rental insurance may or may not be a legal requirement. However, even if it isn’t mandatory, it is still smart to opt into the Discover Cars protection plan.

For less than $10 per day, the Full Coverage Insurance protects up to $3000 for unforeseen expenses and damages, including the following;

• Refundable theft deductible
• Bodywork and roof
• Windshield and windows
• Mirrors
• Wheels and tires
• Undercarriage
• Lost keys or lockout fees
• Taxi expenses
• Towing expenses
• Administrative charges
• Fees for supplier’s loss of use during repair

Great Cancellation Policy

Discover Cars offers free cancellation for any vehicle up to 48 hours before your scheduled pickup. This is a huge advantage if you have second guesses for your booking.

Upon cancellation, the entire cost of your prepayment will be refunded directly to your credit card or as Booking Credit redeemable towards future rentals. However, if you cancel within the 48-hour time frame before pickup, then only the Full Coverage Insurance will be refunded if purchased.

Why Is Discover Cars So Cheap?

The biggest factor that has people questioning the legitimacy of Discover Cars is the prices they offer for renting a vehicle. Why is it so much cheaper to rent with Discover Cars than anywhere else?

Well, as I have mentioned already, Discover Cars is able to offer users the best rates thanks to its extensive list of associated rental companies.

By partnering with international brands and small local companies, Discover Cars is able to collect and offer the best deals for any destination in which it has a presence. So, while they don’t directly rent out any vehicles, they are able to offer the best car rental deals to you.

Requirements for Renting with Discover Cars?

Anyone can book a car with Discover Cars. However, there are a few things you will need to pick up your vehicle;

• Valid driver’s license (and an International Drivers’ Permit if required in your destination)
• Your Rentalcars.com booking voucher
• Credit card
• Passport

How to Book with Discover Cars?

Head over to the Discover Cars website and plug in your destination, pick-up and drop-off dates, country of residence, and age.

From there, Discover Cars does all the hard work of collecting the various vehicles and deals of all of its partners operating out of your destination, which they list for you in order of price, vehicle rating, or supplier rating.

It’s best to filter by supplier rating to get the most reliable car rental deals (as the cheapest option is rarely the best).

Or use the filter options in the left sidebar:

I personally opt for an 8 out of 10 rating, but will also use 7/10 if options are limited.

Take your time to scroll through each of the offerings, comparing each vehicle’s features and past user reviews. Once you have found the car that fits your needs, simply click the ‘View” button.

On this vehicle page, you can explore various additions that you can opt-in for, including the Full Coverage Insurance policy. When everything looks good, you simply plug in your information and confirm your booking.

Once your booking is confirmed, you can then plug in your payment details, opting to pay the full price upfront or a small down payment to complete the process. From there, you will receive an email with your booking voucher, which you will present to the rental company upon pickup.

▶ Check Rates & Availability With Discover Cars

Final Thoughts on Discover Cars

Discover Cars is a legit 3rd-party car rental website offering exactly what it promises. However, this doesn’t mean every vehicle or rental company featured within its network is as authentic as Discover Cars itself.

While Discover Cars does its best to vet its local rental company partners, it is also up to the user to use the tools the platform provides to avoid the scams that have made it through the cracks of the Discover Cars network.

Luckily, with user reviews, 24/7 customer support, and the ability to pay the entire cost of your rental through the website, Discover Cars gives you all the tools you need to determine reliable rentals from scams.