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Be sure to ask if that's their final answer.

USA TODAY surveyed eight major rental companies and found half of them routinely quote rates that don't include taxes and mandatory charges that can add 30% to the cost of a car rental.

Some Web sites aren't even designed to provide that information if you try to get it. And if you call, some rental-car companies say they aren't set up to give you the all-inclusive price.

Consider the experience of Arthur Podolsky of Silver Spring, Md. He says when he picked up his rental car in Minneapolis, his bill was 25% more than what an Enterprise reservation agent had quoted him.

"It's ridiculous," Podolsky says. "They don't tell you about these extra things."

Many travelers share his complaint that rental rates displayed on Web sites, quoted by reservation agents and cited in advertisements are misleading because they often do not reveal what a car really costs to rent.

Enterprise's mandatory extra charges at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, for example, are a 6.2% Minnesota rental tax, 6.5% sales tax, 9% airport concession fee and 3% Minnesota registration fee. Other companies have similar add-ons. Local and state governments are raising taxes on car rentals to pay for new stadiums, arenas and convention centers. And rental-car companies are passing on airport concession and licensing fees.

A flurry of consumer complaints has prompted the National Association of Attorneys General to appoint a task force to investigate the companies' advertising tactics. Members will meet next month in Austin, Texas, with rental-car industry representatives to study fees and disclosure practices.

"Maybe we need to be a little more aggressive and consider taking some enforcement actions," says Steven Iglesias, Florida's assistant attorney general.

Taxes, surcharges and fees differ from city to city and company to company. Rental-car companies say they separate the extra charges, so travelers will know where their money is going.

But consumer advocates say those charges and the total prices should be spelled out before reservations are made.

USA TODAY checked rental-car Web sites, called national reservation offices and searched travel agency sites for rental rates. No bookings were made.

Results:

* Web sites and reservation agents of Budget, Dollar, Enterprise and Thrifty do not quote prices that include taxes, surcharges and fees.

Enterprise's Web site and phone agents provide the final price after a traveler begins making a reservation.

"We have not heard from any group that the way we provide this information to customers is confusing," says Enterprise spokeswoman Christy Conrad. "Our procedure differs slightly from our competitors."

The other three companies say they are upgrading their reservation systems to make totals available when checking for rates. Thrifty says their current system only allows totals to be summed up at rental-car counters.

Budget and Dollar expect their new systems to be installed by July and Thrifty by December. Budget says its reservation agents will be required to quote total prices beginning next month.

"We're working on it," says Charlie Coniglio, Dollar's executive director of marketing. "We realize it's an important issue."

* Enterprise is the only car-rental company studied that does not warn customers about other charges both on its Web site and over the phone when a customer is just shopping. Company procedure dictates additional charges be disclosed after a reservation has been initiated.

But even when extra charges are included on company Web sites, they aren't always easy to find. Consumers checking prices on Alamo, Dollar and Thrifty sites must scroll down below the base rate to see them. Those looking on National's site have to scroll down and hit "Review Estimated Billing" to get complete information. (Add-ons and totals are better displayed when reserving through National's "3-step Rates and Reservations" feature.) The total is easy to miss on Avis' site. The base rate is in bold type and stands out; the total price is in regular type.

* Rental-car rates quoted on Thrifty, Budget and National Web sites were in some cases higher than those reported by phone agents.

Thrifty was the most glaring example. Those reserving cars at their local airports through a Thrifty reservation agent can save about $20 compared to booking on its Web site. Thrifty says its site does not have the capability to offer local renters lower rates.

Budget's site quoted a rate that was $9.20 more than the reservation agent offered. Budget says its agents have the flexibility to offer lower rates.

National says rates are flexible and sometimes different on the Web than the phone. They were $2 more on the Web site when this newspaper checked.

* Hertz stands out in providing full, easy-to-find pricing information on its Web site and by phone.

It breaks out the percentage or dollar amount of each tax, fee and surcharge for a rental on its Web site and totals them up. Hertz reservation agents enumerate additional charges and offer totals without being prompted.

* Finding add-ons and total prices when shopping at large travel agencies online isn't always easy. American Express (www.americanexpress.com/travel) displays only base rental rates with no mention of additional charges. Travelers looking on Travelocity.com can find the additional charges (but no totals) after hitting the "Policies" button near the base rate display. The add-ons and total prices can be found on Expedia.com after clicking "Verify Rate," but travelers first must fill out their profiles.