Car rental: what to check before you book

What car rental costs in Lithuania

A daily rate on its own is not a comparison. The final price moves with the rental length, the mileage limit, the handover method, the insurance or liability terms, additional drivers, cross-border travel and other extras.

A Naudokis.lt listing shows the price the owner has set and the deposit that applies, and once you pick your dates and handover method you see the total before you send the request. So compare not “€/day” but the whole price for the same period on the same terms.

Once the platform holds a large enough sample of comparable listings, this guide should show a median and a 25–75 percentile range with the sample size and the date it was checked. Until then an average of a handful of listings would mislead, so we deliberately do not publish one.

Why the advertised rate is rarely the final price

The cheapest number in a set of search results is rarely the one you pay. Delivery, an additional driver, a young-driver surcharge, a child seat or permission to leave the country can all sit on top of the base price.

Only compare like with like: the same dates and hours, the same fuel policy, a comparable level of insurance, the same mileage. If one offer is much cheaper, check first whether the mileage, insurance, deposit, fuel, cancellation or extras differ.

Before paying, save one screen that shows the total and what it includes.

The two fuel policies. “Full-to-full”: you get a full tank, return it full and pay only for what you used — the most transparent option. “Full-to-empty”: you buy a tank from the owner up front, often above pump price, and nothing is refunded for what is left. On a short rental, full-to-empty is usually the worse deal, especially if you cannot use most of the tank.

Deposit, excess and insurance are three different things

Most people conflate them. The difference costs money.

Compulsory motor third-party liability insurance covers damage to other people. It is not repair cover for the rented car itself, so the risk of damaging the car has to be assessed separately, from the rental contract and any additional protection.

The excess is the share of a claim the contract leaves with you. It is not an overall cap on your liability. Break the terms, or fall inside an exclusion, and you pay more.

The deposit is money held or taken temporarily. It is not the excess, and the two amounts are often different.

The exclusions worth checking one by one: glass, tyres, wheels, the underside, the interior, keys, wrong fuel and damage caused by a driver who is not on the contract.

One question is always worth asking: does the protection reduce your liability immediately, or do you pay first and claim it back afterwards?

For a cargo van these numbers are usually different — a higher excess, and roof damage is often a separate exclusion. More on that in the van rental guide.

Sources: European Commission, Lietuvos Respublikos transporto priemonių draudikų biuras, Lietuvos bankas

Documents, drivers and where you may travel

Which card and documents you need

This is one of the things that can sink a pick-up if the payment terms are only checked on arrival.

Some traditional rental companies require a credit card in the main driver's name for the deposit. Others accept debit cards, but the rules differ by company, country and vehicle class. Before booking, check not only the card type but the name on it, its expiry and the free limit it needs.

The Naudokis.lt booking flow works differently: payment authorisation happens on the platform, and the rental amount and deposit are visible before you send the request. Read the individual listing's terms all the same.

Have ready: a valid driving licence, an ID document, a payment method and the booking confirmation. Documents for everyone who will drive, too.

Driver, age and territory

The licence has to be valid for the whole rental. A valid EU licence is recognised in other member states, but a temporary document or a certificate may not be recognised abroad.

The owner may set additional age or driving-experience requirements, and charge younger drivers a surcharge or offer them a narrower choice of cars. These are contract terms, so check them in the specific offer rather than assuming a valid category B licence settles the question.

Everyone who will drive has to be named on the contract. Written permission is also needed to cross a border, take the car on a ferry, or leave it somewhere other than where you collected it.

Travelling outside the Green Card system, or to a country where Lithuanian cover does not apply, may require a Green Card — the insurer issues it on the terms set out in the policy. Which means it is settled with the owner in advance, not at the border.

Winter tyres: what to check

In Lithuania winter tyres are compulsory from 10 November to 31 March; from 1 April you may switch back to summer tyres. Studded tyres have their own, narrower window. Always check the exact wording in the current consolidated version of the Road Traffic Rules, because dates and requirements get amended.

The practical conclusion for a renter: do not simply assume the car has been prepared for the season. Picking up in cold weather, check the tyre markings and their obvious condition, and if you have any doubt about tread depth or suitability, do not drive off until it is settled with the owner.

Unsuitable tyres are not only a fine. They can become an argument in a dispute over damage after an accident.

Sources: Your Europe, e-TAR, Lietuvos Respublikos transporto priemonių draudikų biuras

Pick-up and use

The five-minute inspection at pick-up

Do not rush into signing that there is no damage. Inspect the car in daylight, or with extra light.

Walk around the car in one direction and photograph in sequence. Record every scratch twice: close up, and wide enough to show where it is. The close shot proves the damage, the wide one proves its location.

If the car is too dirty to see damage on it, put that in writing before you drive off. Proving it later is far harder.

During the trip, and after an accident

Stay inside the mileage, do not hand the wheel to anyone who is not on the contract, and use the right fuel.

A warning light or a new noise is not a cue to improvise. Call the assistance number in the contract. Repairs made on your own initiative are often not reimbursed.

After an accident: people's safety first, and call 112 if needed. Then record the location and the other parties' details, fill in the accident statement and notify the owner immediately. The insurer issues the statement form, and in Lithuania it can also be completed digitally. Do not promise to pay for damage at the scene and do not accept fault.

If you are carrying a lot, read the load-securing rules separately — an unsecured load changes how the car behaves under braking.

Sources: Lietuvos Respublikos transporto priemonių draudikų biuras

The return, and the charges that follow it

Fines that can arrive after the return

A speeding, parking or congestion charge does not reach the owner straight away. In practice it arrives a week or a month later, when the car is back and the deposit has been released.

So before paying, settle three things: whether an administration fee applies when a fine is transferred to you, how you are notified, and how long you have to pay it yourself.

On your side, do something simple: keep parking tickets and payment confirmations for at least three months after the return. An exact date, time, place and proof of payment are usually worth far more than a recollection.

The return only ends with proof

Arrive early. Fuel, charging and an inspection all take time, and rushing costs money.

Photograph on the same principle as at pick-up: every side, the odometer, the fuel level, the place and the time. Ideally get a signed or digital confirmation that the car was accepted with no new damage.

An out-of-hours return carries more risk — until a member of staff inspects it, weather or other people can affect the car. Establish in advance when your responsibility ends and where the key goes.

Keep the fuel receipt with the final invoice until the deposit is released.

Renting an EV: what changes

Three differences worth agreeing in advance.

Charging. Agree whether you get a charging card or app, who pays for public charging, and what state of charge it comes back at. “Return it at the same level” means time for an EV, not five minutes at a pump.

Real range. In winter, at higher speeds or under load, real range can fall well below the laboratory figure. Plan the route with a margin, not from the brochure.

The cable. The charging cable and adapter are part of the kit and a common source of disputes. Photograph them at handover along with the car.

Who you are contracting with: a company, a broker or a private owner

A rental company, a broker and a private owner listing an item on a platform are not the same thing. A broker may only arrange the booking, while the actual owner performs the contract.

That has practical consequences. Where a consumer rents an item for personal use from an owner acting as a business, the Civil Code applies its separate consumer-rental rules to the contract (Articles 6.504–6.511), and the general rental provisions apply only so far as they do not conflict. Between two private individuals, consumer-protection rules do not apply. Read who is named as the counterparty and who decides on damage.

Another common mistake: a car rental booked for specific dates does not automatically carry the 14-day right of withdrawal — it is one of the statutory exceptions for transport services on a specific date. Save the cancellation terms before you pay.

If a dispute with a business cannot be settled: put the complaint to the trader first and wait for a reply (they have 14 days). If no reply comes, or it does not satisfy you, you have one year to apply to the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority; a decision follows within 90 days at the latest, extendable by a further 30.

Sources: Your Europe, Infolex, Valstybinė vartotojų teisių apsaugos tarnyba

How this works on Naudokis.lt

• Deposit and payment without a credit-card requirement. You confirm the payment authorisation on the platform, so the classic “credit card in the driver's name” barrier does not apply. The owner sets the specific terms, and you see them before confirming.
• Handover and return in one place. Messages, the handover and the return are all managed on the platform. Photograph the condition at both moments so that any later question has a clear timeline behind it.
• You can see who your counterparty is. The listing states whether the car comes from a private owner or a business. That determines which rules apply to your transaction.

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