Melissa

Speaking from my own experiences, once with an automatic and twice with a manual....I wouldn't hesitate to get the manual....better gas milage, and better rental price....sometimes saving up to about 1/2 on the rental price. It seemed that the mid-size car was a little easier to shift, but the compact was easy to get use to after a couple of hours on the road.

If you get an automatic, make sure you check what it will cost to add the extra driver.

If I remember right, the phone number for Mastercard is: 1-800-MC-ASSIST. This should give you all the benefits you have on your mastercard. Also on the computer: www.mastercard.us/card-benefits.

Hope this helps!

Dan

-- Edited by murphy on Sunday 31st of July 2011 10:57:59 AM

Melissa,

Usually when you get a new credit card it comes with a little brochure with the terms spelled out. Look in that brochure under cars for info on MasterRental insurance. Then call the # Dan provided. Ask to speak with the MasterRental department. Have them send you a letter of coverage for Ireland.

Most car companies in Ireland will accept a World MC if it is the right one. Now the process starts getting murky. Most companies have a charge for declining CDW. Recently even Dooley has a charge for that. If you look at the "sticky" on the top of the forum about car rentals you will find a lot of info about being "charged" the deductible when declining CDW. Most car companies now put an actual charge on your credit card. Anywhere from 2,000 euro up to 15,000. When you return your car with no damage you are credited that amount. But how many cards go up to 15,000? They are trying to make it impossible to use a World MC. Very clever!!

This is what I did last time. I went to Dooley's site every day and got a quote. I had the quote emailed to me as it is good for 7 days. I figured if it started going up, I would have the lower quote from a previous day and would go with it. Instead what happened was for about 2 days the price went down. Waaaay down. When it went back up again, I used the saved email quote and booked the car. I called the company directly (NJ office) and since I was a repeat customer they waived the CDW fee and gave me a free upgrade. They also charged me in dollars to avoid the international surcharge. Since I booked it through the NJ office that was fine to do. But once in Ireland I had them charge for the tank of petrol in euros. Dooley put a "hold" on my MC of 2,000 euro. Not a CHARGE. When the car was returned the hold was released. I bought a policy through insurance4carhire.com to cover tires, glass, mirrors, keys, etc.

A manual car will be much cheaper. Each added driver costs more.

Michele

tony2phones: Thanks very much for explaining why a manual car is better in Ireland. I will need a car with comfortable padded seats due to my recurring bursitis of the hip. I'm a LOT better now, but it tends to come and go a bit. Do you have any particular recommendations on manual cars which have a high road clearance, so we don't bottom out...and a comfortable ride, that handle well on Irish roads? Any particular cars to avoid?

Michele: Do you prefer any particular cars in Ireland?

I use a Fiat Punto JTD for everyday use and have no problems even with 5" ground clearance which causes no end of problems on the speed humps over in the UK. I have just got rid of the 4x4 as it was only needed about 4 days a year on the mountain. I find that some of the German motors can be like riding park benches but they have got better over the years, most modern cars are designed for long runs and are as such comfort focused.

What looks cheaper may end up being more with some magical add-ons at the end.  The thing about Dooley is that everything -- at least when I have used them -- has been apparent from the first moment you check the prices and that is still the price when you pick the car up.

I have no experience in Ireland with Budget, so can't be of assistance there.

 

Monty

I am currently planning a trip to Ireland and have used this website for so much information - thanks Michele for making all of this available. I am also nervous about renting a car, but after reading and researching (and using most all of Michele's advice) I feel informed and just booked our car. I decided to rent from Dan Dooley. I used the 10% discount (dochara) and was given a price of $410 for the week. This included CDW. I called the New Jersey office today, spoke with Doreen who was very helpful. She charged my card today in dollars (so no foreign transaction fee) and immediately emailed me a confirmation. Based on my discussion with her, the only additonal fees that I will be faced with are 1.) cost of a tank of gas, which if I return the car full, will be credited back and 2.) 1500 euro hold on my credit card for not buying Excess insurance through them. She assured me this is a hold or authorization, NOT a charge. I then bought a policy through insurance4carhire.com for the Excess coverage (a week was about $51.00) and as mentioned in previous posts, this will cover windows, tires, undercarriage, and roof...and will reimburse me the 1500 euro deductible IF something happens to the car. It also covers lost keys which the Excess policy at Dooley did not cover. So all in all, I spent weeks determining what to do, and this is what I decided on. I am praying that I understood everything that I read correctly. I will update this after our trip in late September.