If I owned an Irish car rental company...

yesiree · Guru

If I owned an Irish car rental company...

youngka · Guru

Hello Cory!!! When my Mom and Dad went to Germany for many years, they just bought a car and stored it is a person's garage they had made friends with and paid them rent. Worked out well, since my parents went to Germany every year since 1972.

I just discussed campers with friends who travel a lot. Their last trip was 3 months all around Europe. They found a web site where you buy the vehicle/camper for the duration of the trip and sell it back to the dealer who sold it to you -- their next trip is to New Zealand & they are using the same internet site. Have you heard of this????

Hope you and Liam are doing really well.......I'll be checking out the site you mentioned......youngka

Sidz · Guru

Have to admit I've never had all the car rental issues. I've always gone with Dooley, everything is up front, and their pricing has been fair. The rest of these guys sound like they need to be taken to the woodshed! biggrin

Michele Erdvig · Host

Currently it is a free-for-all with Irish car rentals. I wouldn't want to own a car rental company because I would be in competetion with a bunch of companies that are out to get more money from tourists by sneaky means. Since my policy is to be honest and treat everyone fairly I would probably go out of business quickly.

If it were an even playing field and all car companies abided by the same rules in Ireland it would be a great boon for customers.

Michele

youngka · Guru

Hi Michele, do you know anything about my posting? Does any one else??? thanks youngka

yesiree · Guru

Youngka,

Not sure which site your friends are referring to. I know that type of exchange is very popular in Australia. Must say, I imagine some headaches trying to maneuver the Irish roads with a camper... but then again the lorries do it every day.

Liam used to own a car in Ireland, but with all the moisture, leaving it sit for months at a time, proved to take it's toll on the vehicle more quickly than expected. Insurance is also higher for those who do not have a European driver's license.

youngka · Guru

Corey, thanks a lot for the answer. I think our friends only used in Europe -- Germany, Austria, etc. Even a small one in Ireland would be a bit of a hastle --- glad I asked, we were going to check into it! youngka

Michele Erdvig · Host

youngka,

I have heard of people on the Continent purchasing or leasing a car for a long trip and then turning it back in or selling. However, I don't know of any such scheme in Ireland. Since I visit so often I looked into buying one and keeping it at a friend's house. But as Corey has said the insurance it very high. I guess we are just stuck with renting.

Michele

youngka · Guru

Thanks Michele, I am pretty sure, by now, that it is not offerred in Ireland.......worth a try, a different type of trip :) youngka

Green Dragon · Guru

I read a trip report about someone renting a camper in Ireland... maybe it was over on Fodor's? It must have been - see if you can find it there. I'd check the Europe board, filter by Ireland, and check the trip reports... I'm sure you can find it!

murphy · Guru

To potential car rental customers in Ireland:

I am still in the process of trying to work out bogus charges on a car rental this past Aug 6-Aug 21. The amount billed on my credit card was $375.00 more than the amount on the internet price quote, and on the signed rental agreement. Unfortunately, I made the foolish mistake of not retaining a copy of either document, and may get stuck with paying for part of it. They have refunded a 45 euro credit card fee, and a 72 euro fuel fee. They said the credit card fee was an error, and the car WAS returned full with an accompanying fuel receipt. However, there remains a 90 euro "Peace of Mind Fee" some kind of extra insurance that I never saw on the quote or invoice, and also a 30 euro "cross border fee" for Northern Ireland. We never intended to nor did not go to Northern Ireland, and the latest information from them is that this in a nonrefundable fee. So....buyer beware!

My only hope is that my credit card company or the international representative from "National Car Rentals" can pressure the "renting country", (as Ireland is always called)to come up with a copy of the quote and/or the rental contract document. I don't have much hope of that happening, the longer this drags on. So far, I have had only email communications with "National Car Rental". My next step is to start phoning them. I have threatened to take it up with the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. That threat resulted in the case being turned over to upper management, and so far nothing has happened in the last four weeks.

It appears that Dooley might be one of the few companies that actually stands by their price, but we found it to be about 40% higher than what we were able to get our quote for. I agree that if someone could start a rental car company in Ireland that had fair prices, and was honest about it's pricing, they would be in the driver's seat so to speak. Any brave entrepreneurs out there ? Dan

-- Edited by murphy on Thursday 15th of October 2009 09:17:22 PM

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dan,

Sorry to hear you are still fighting with the car rental company. I always retain all paperwork even the sheet where they mark down scratches and dents on the car. They always try to take that from me. No way! They already have a copy so I keep mine.

Hope all turns out well.

Michele

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Dan -

For years, I chose not to use Dooley because their quotes always came in substantially higher than everyone else's, but I discovered that since I NEVER ended up paying the 'low-ball' quoted price, that I always ended up paying as much, or more than the Dooley price, after all the dust had settled.

So, after ten years or so of trying everybody else, I have become a fan -- of sorts ...

Dooley tends to keep their cars much longer than others, so they tend to be a bit, 'beat-up'and high-mileage. Their selection tends to be rather uninspiring, Ford Focus/ Renault Clio centric, as well. Being a bit of an exotic car fan, that's a bit of a let-down. If price was no object, I would LOVE to drive the Fiat Doblo/Citroen Ulysses, etcetera ....

I'm all for these business thriving - making a good profit -- and continuing along.

Just not sure how happy I am that they seem to try to do all that on JUST my rental, alone!

Bob

murphy · Guru

Bob,

You have great insight and advice, as always. And, a bit of humor always helps, I suppose.

My foreign travels have included Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Israel, Turkey and France, and granted that was in 1972 when I was a senior in high school. It has taken me a long time to get back to the European continent. It was 2 times in the last 3 years: one to England/Ireland, and another just to Ireland. I would like to return to Ireland at least 3 more times minimum before I even consider another foreign country.

My point is, why does it have to be such a difficult thing to rent a car, in such a great country as Ireland. The only thing I can think of, it is such a desirable destination, the average consumer is willing to put up with what ever it is the rental car companies dish out....just to make it happen.

So, you gather as much information as you can from someone like you or on this web sight, bite the bullet, and go.

Dan