Car Hire - Confused and Frustrated

Photosytes · Member

Car Hire - Confused and Frustrated

Roy · Guru

I feel your pain. I have rented from Kemwell in the past with good success (check Michele's link on car rentals). This year I am using the Citi AA World Mastercard, which will cover CDW insurance. There is an $85.00 annual fee which is waived the first year, and I got this card expressly to use on this trip only.

I am waiting on booking a car until the rates hopefully come down. Even without CDW, rental rates seem high at this point. I have compared other rental companies, and they are consistantly higher than Kemwell. With the challange of left side driving, right side steering, and windy, narrow roads with roundabouts every 3-4 feet I don't feel comfortable driving a manual (and shifting with my left hand). Unfortunately, automatics are extremly expensive to rent.

I think car rental is the most difficult and frustrating part of planning a trip to Ireland. It's the only "loose end" on our upcoming trip.

Good luck!

Photosytes · Member

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds it frustrating.

I would prefer not to have to get another credit card and go through the hassle (harder to get when you're self-employed and with this market).

So you think the prices will come down? Are you speaking from experience?

I'm not concerned with using a manual, so I don't have that issue.

meredith · Veteran Member

Are you taking out travel insurance? For our trip to Ireland last September we had travel insurance which also covered any excess we might have to pay in case of an accident, as well as damage to windscreen and tyres. My husband reversed into a large rock sitting in the middle of a car park, not much damage, but we had no problems making a claim to reimburse our credit card for the repair costs. Hope this helps!

Regards
Meredith

Michele Erdvig · Host

Photosytes,

Welcome to my forum! Everyone gets frustrated when trying to book a car in Ireland, even me and I know the ropes. Have a look at my Car Rental page for info you need to know.

All rentals include 3rd party liability and theft but CDW and Super CDW (or excess) is not inclusive.

Since your credit card does not cover CDW I think that www.insurance4carhire.com is a good option. Plus it covers things that even super CDW does not.

What extra fees should I be aware of? * Airport surcharge, full tank of petrol, road tax, drop-off fees (in some circumstances), maybe a fee for going into No. Ireland, CDW, Super CDW.

What company would you recommend to rent from that is reliable and priced well? * I usually rent from Kemwel (see my Car Rental page). The only car company I know that includes all fees in their quotes is Dan Dooley.

Should I pay the CDW Excess, get SDW, get insurance from Insurance4CarHire or decline all?
* No one can tell you what you should get but do look into Insurance4CarHire as the price is right and coverage is good.

Michele

Sidz · Guru

I've used various places, but found Dooley to be the simpliest and most competitive source for a vehicle. They are easy to deal with. Probably others out there good as well, but I'll stick with them until something better is shown to be the way to go. As Michele says, with Dooley you get everything up front laid out in a simple manner -- no hidden fees with them, which I thought was helpful in planning.

-- Edited by Sidz at 10:39, 2009-02-17

Photosytes · Member

Well, I've done some more research and between all of the great help here and an article I found I've some to the following conclusions and things to remember:

1.) Check and double check exactly what each car company includes in their prices.
2.) Check it again and make sure you read the fine print.
3.) If in doubt, get a hold of the car company. (see a pattern yet?)
4.) Don't pay for personal accident insurance if you're paying for inclusive travel insurance that already covers it or you'll be doubling up on premiums.
5.) Make sure the gas tank is FULL when you return it (top it up just before you drop it off).
6.) When picking up the car make sure you walk around it with an employee and have them make note of EVERYTHING!! Bend down and check under the bumpers and make sure there aren't any little scratches under there. If possible, take pictures to documents anything. (Last thing you want is to pay for something that someone else did but they didn't catch in time so maybe you'll pay for it!!)
7.) Book online, do it early and prepay to get the best rates.
8.) Get your insurance from www.insurance4carhire.com because it's like getting Super CDW for a whole lot less (they ensure the Policy Holder, not the car. Features for their EUROPE 31 package include:

Covers Excess on damage to the rental vehicle including the undercarriage, Excess on theft, and damage to windows and tyres
Valid at all European car rental locations
One low, annual premium allows unlimited use within the 12 month cover period
Covers the Policy Holder, who must be the person hiring the car, and all additional drivers named on car rental agreement ).

At this point I'm looking at booking through HolidayAutos.Co.Uk. They also claim no hidden extras and each rental price includes: unlimited mileage, 3rd party insurance, CDW, Theft Waiver, Airport Surcharges, All local taxes and emergency breakdown coverage.

Just thought I would pass this on, get any feedback and thank you for relieving some of my anxiety.

Dude · Guru

Item #5; you need to check the paperwork when you rent because some make you pay for a full tank on rental and you are to return as close to empty as possible. Just coasting into the lot on fumes if you can do that.

Photosytes · Member

LOL. You're right, I did see that it could go either way depending on the company. In that case you'd definitely want to do a few laps to burn up those extra litres that you already paid for.Thanks for pointing that out, Judy.

Dude · Guru

Most recent trip, I don't remember how much petrol was left in the car but it wasn't much. We arrived at Europcar about 6 a.m. and were bundled into a van and taken off to the terminal before we had a chance to do or say much of anything. When I got home I found a credit on my credit card for $2.85 from Europcar. I still don't know what that was for. Guess I owe each of my sisters a third of that.

samdriscoll · Newbie

only one solution of such problem that rent a car from the local agency, I mean from Ireland itself............. car hire excess

Michele Erdvig · Host

Sam,

Welcome to my forum. Thanks for the link. I looked at it briefly and am wondering if it is only for citizens of the UK and Ireland. I will have to find the time to do more research to see if it will be of benefit to a wider audience as most here are from the US & Canada.

Michele