Jaw-Dropping Rental Car Prices Shock NYC Thanksgiving Travelers

NEW YORK CITY — Car-less New Yorkers got a rude surprise when booking a rental car to drive home for Thanksgiving.

New York City's rental car prices for Thanksgiving are the most expensive in the United States, according to a new study by FinanceBuzz.

A single-day rental will cost $261.17 and a four-day trip is $1,044.67, the study found.

And prices aren't much cheaper across the Hudson in Newark — the city is the second-most expensive at $257.02 a day, according to the study.

"Those are the only two cities where costs are more than double the 100-city average and the only cities where four days of car rentals cost over $1,000," the study states.

SUV rental prices don't look much better.

Newark grabbed the top slot for SUV prices over Thanksgiving, with its $397.45 daily cost barely inching out New York City's $392.30.

The study pinned the higher costs in the New York City area on a factor many other places in the country don't have: extensive public transit.

"A factor for rental car pricing is the amount of readily available public transit options a city has in place to and from the airport," the study quotes Julie Anne Bausch, of NPR's "Car Talk." "If a city has trams and trains that go to and from the airport multiple times a day, rental car agencies will have a harder time keeping their prices down. Ride-sharing services, and public transit, mean more options for travelers."

Things look brighter for Christmas, however.

New York City isn't in the top 15 most expensive cities for Christmas car rentals, the study states. That list is topped by Kona, Hawaii, at $194.82 a day.

Read the full study and see the lists here.