Yes, the overall total price isn't much higher for a whole week but factoring in insurance and gas, the extra 2-3 days adds another hundred or so. I do not own a car so when I rent I buy all the insurance from full car coverage to liability. It adds up nicely...for the car rental company. I used to rely on my credit card for car coverage but my brother, who works in insurance, advised me to buy from the rental companies. He does it himself even though he has his own car insurance.
Look into buying non-owner car insurance . . . we paid $25 a year when we were overseas, so when we rented a car in the States (or borrowed from a family member) we had our own insurance.
That plus renting with a credit card that offers insurance will almost certainly be cheaper than buying insurance from the rental car company.
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I did buy liability non owner insurance last year. The cheapest was Geico at about $30 per month for 6 months. This is in the US, not sure it can get any cheaper. I didn't drive enough this year to warrant keeping that insurance. As I already explained, I'm following my brother's advice to buy insurance from the rental car company. I, for many years, relied on my credit card to provide coverage. After hearing some horror stories from people who declined coverage from the rental car companies and my brother's advice--I decided it was worth the cost. Trust me, every time when I'm at the counter, I waver on whether to buy the insurance. After all, I had rented over 15 years without any problems. But I have decided that the extra $17 a day isn't going to prevent me from retiring and it's worth the piece of mind. Especially as I'm driving and parking in southern California.
