Help me understand/accept the cost of rental cars

Silverstreak02 · Veteran Member

Help me understand/accept the cost of rental cars

Michele Erdvig · Host

The reason for the sticker shock is all the "extras" being added on. Renting an automatic can easily double or triple the price. You must also pay extra for insurance, extra driver and GPS. Do you own a GPS already? Can you update it with maps of Ireland? It could possibly cost less than renting for a couple of weeks.

Do you need PIA (personal accident insurance)? You could very well be covered under your own life and health insurance plans. Read the fine print to find out.

Every time I get new quotes for a car rental I clear the cache in my computer. Otherwise the search engine "remembers" what you did previously and you will not get new prices.

Keep checking the rates. You also might call Dooley for a quote to talk with them personally.

Last time I got my best rate with Avis using the US website not the Irish one.

tony2phones · Guru

Bit of culture shock.. Irish car hire along with most EU car hire is a bit different to what you might be used to..

Auto and 2 drivers bangs up the price, firstly because Auto is not as popular apart from Hire car fleets where supply is limited

(something to do with % of resale and tax at the end of useful hire car life, complicated but hire car companies pay more VRC Tax when disposing of an Auto than a Manual (don't ask?))

Auto cars are preferred by our Transatlantic visitors who tend to bend hire cars a little more so pay extra on insurance (which is high anyway, especially the temporary (under 28 days) policies used by hire car companies. Then add 2 drivers for an extra boost into the wallet.

Gps. if you have your own then bring that, a set of maps will be cheaper than the hire of a system (just make sure they are up to date) and a good glove box map for back up. Collins or OSi.

You personally and your belongings will be covered by your travel insurance and the essential legally required insurance on the car (included in any quote as part of the basic day rate)

My take on Car hire from another forum (Ireland Yes being far friendlier) http://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowTopic-g186591-i88-k6631091-Renting_a_Car_Information-Ireland.html#50933820 see answer 15 for an email template you can send to all providers.

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

As has been mentioned, you are receiving quotes for THE most expensive options -- SOME may be unavoidable (Theft/CDW / Excess), since your CC does not cover Ireland.

SOME, however CAN be considered -- The second driver charge is typically 10 Euro per day -- on a 14 day rental, that works out to almost $200. Is it essential to have two drivers?

I did a quick check at Dooley's web site, for 14 days in June. An Economy class (think Ford Fiesta) is 687.8 Euro in Manual trans and 940.5 Euro for the Automatic. Compact (Ford Focus) is 754.3 Euro in Manual and 1046.90 Euro, for an Automatic. These prices include CDW, Theft and Excess -- but NOT a second driver.

Is driving an Automatic 'WORTH' the additional $350-400? That's a decision that only you can make.

Medical Insurance is another issue -- as Michele said, your own insurance, or Trip Insurance, if purchased should already cover you. There are also companies that offer Excess cover at substantially cheaper rates than the Rental Companies -- but MAY increase your 'Discomfort' factor.

The bottom line is whatever combination of Budget and Peace of Mind is appropriate for YOU.

Silverstreak02 · Veteran Member

Thanks for all the advice. We decided on all the options for one reason or the other, but I think I will go back and look at it again. It sounds like I should stay with the theft, CDW and excess, but reconsider the GPS, auto, second driver and personal accident insurance.

GPS?

I just checked the Garmin website and it looks like my NUVI 40LM isn't compatible with Ireland maps. Is a GPS necessary?

Personal accident insurance?

What is trip insurance and is it cheaper than the personal accident insurance? Is trip insurance recommended? I don't have it at this point. Where would I get it?

The auto and second driver are things I will have to think about. My wife is going to do most of the driving since she has better depth perception than me. Unfortunately she has bad knees so a standard could cause her some problems. She also like to drink at pubs so depth perception or not I will need to drive home. I'm considering just getting a manual and doing all the driving myself. When the road gets too narrow I guess I could just stop and wait for the other car to get out of the way.

Jeff

Michele Erdvig · Host

Personal accident insurance covers medical costs and accidental death for the renter and passengers in the event of an accident during the rental.

If you have life insurance and medical insurance that will cover you in Ireland (call your insurance co) do you really need extra insurance that duplicates what you already have?

To compare rates for trip insurance try insuremytrip.com There are various products you can purchase such as trip cancellation insurance, medical and evacuation insurance, etc. Rates vary widely depending on many factors such as age, length of trip, etc.

tony2phones · Guru

Insurance, just get decent Travel insurance that covers your belongings and medical care (if needed) All Basic insurance for the car is covered in the basic rental.. CDW and SCDW just reduce your level of excess or how much you pay when you damage the car, if you damage the car..

GPS is a comfort blanket that no one had even heard of maybe 10 years ago.. I threw mine away (gave it to the charity shop) because it was useless around here.. maps are better now but they need to be up to date,, whilst I can manage with a 5yr old paper map the BIL took 6 hours to get the 2 1/2 hours between Dublin and here using 3 yr old sat nav.

Check the cost of second driver with a selection of rental companies and judge if it is going to be worth it ? might not consider the rentalcars.com franchise option myself but try phoning US Dooley and check out easytourireland.com/ who seem to offer US license holders a better deal through Hertz.

Carla · Veteran Member

For my husband and I, we always pay for a second driver. One reason is what if one of us gets sick and the other person has to drive. Sure, you could drive the car without being a driver on the contract, but what if there's an accident and the wrong person is behind the wheel? The other reason is we share the driving. It works best for us that way so that one person is not having to do all the driving.

In the past, Avis has usually had the best rate for us in the end because they cap their second driver charge. http://www.avis.ie/ProductsServicesIE/Additional-Driver

Silverstreak02 · Veteran Member

Carla wrote:
For my husband and I, we always pay for a second driver. One reason is what if one of us gets sick and the other person has to drive. Sure, you could drive the car without being a driver on the contract, but what if there's an accident and the wrong person is behind the wheel? The other reason is we share the driving. It works best for us that way so that one person is not having to do all the driving.

In the past, Avis has usually had the best rate for us in the end because they cap their second driver charge. http://www.avis.ie/ProductsServicesIE/Additional-Driver

I went to this website last night and found if I rent the Nissan Micro it comes with CDW and theft, unlimited miles etc. If I choose the pay now option the price is very reasonable (around $700 for 14 days) but has a much higher rate (double) if I pay at the counter. I would still have to get the extra driver and excess at the counter, but this seems like the way to go. My question is if anyone have done this before? The buy now feature goes though AVIS financial and they issue a voucher for the car instead of going direct to the local operator. Does anyone see a problem with going this way? Thanks again for all the replies.

Jeff

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

I've gone the 'Prepay' route a couple of times, through Dan Dooley and I did so, through Hertz, this past Summer. Can't speak as to Avis, but I would expect them to be the same. The trick is to know 'EXACTLY' what will be due, upon arrival -- so that there are NO 'Surprises' . . .

You mention Excess and Extra driver -- but, what about Initial fuel and road tax? I know of NO company that doesn't charge for the first tank of fuel at pick up. What is their Return Policy? Do you get a credit for returning it Full, or you expected to use it all up and return it Empty? That can be REALLY difficult and stressful . . .

Road Tax is USUALLY included in quotes, but a few years back, some of the smaller companies were treating it as an 'Add-On' (at 2-3 Euro, per day). It's not a significant amount on a 14 day rental, but it's enough to be worth verifying, so that you can compare 'Apples to Apples' . . .

Another question to ask is what their Deposit Policy is -- Do they place a 'Hold' or a 'Charge' against your Credit Card? How Large is the Deposit? This is important to know, as it can affect your available credit.

Carla · Veteran Member

We have always prepaid for our car rental through Avis and have never had any problems. We could prepay for everything except, like you said, the excess insurance and extra driver. I can't recall for certain about the charge for the first tank of gas. I tend to think we had no charge for the gas at pick up, and if we returned it full, we incurred no additional charge for the gas. If we didn't return it full, they would fill it up at their rate and add the charge to my credit card. (I may not be remembering correctly...I would have to look at the paperwork to know for certain.)

Silverstreak02 · Veteran Member

It sounds like the pre-pay option is a good idea, so I just need to decide on the type of car. The cheapest is the Nissan Micro and the next step is the Toyota Corolla. I know the Corolla, but am unfamiliar with the Micro. Will this be big enough for the two of us and is this a decent car? There is a $190 dollar increase for the Corolla.

-- Edited by Silverstreak02 on Saturday 22nd of February 2014 03:01:28 PM

tony2phones · Guru

Nissan MicrA is a good option for just 2 people.

Silverstreak02 · Veteran Member

I'm still on the fence about getting either a Nissan Micra or the Toyota Corolla. Does anyone have experience driving either of these cars in Ireland? Will the Micra be easier to drive than the Corolla on narrow roads or is either car OK. I know its not this difficult, but I'm hung up on this decision.

Jeff

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Neither car is particularly large, or difficult to drive. The Micra, as Tony said, is well-suited to two people. It looks a bit like a VW Beetle -- or,, at least, the earlier model did. It isn't much smaller than the Corolla, which is generally in the same class as a VW Golf, or a Ford Focus.

I usually rent a Focus class, if there are only two or three of us traveling, but I have occasionally gone bigger -- VW Passat, Nissan Quashqui or Ford Mondeo -- if I'm expecting to do a LOT of driving, for added luggage space and comfort. Now, I'm VERY comfortable driving in Ireland, personally. I've also herded a few Passenger vans (VW Bus, Mercedes Vito, Renault Grand Scenic and Ford Galaxy) about -- when hauling as many as six persons.

The Micra would be fine. The Corolla would be ever so slightly larger and marginally more comfortable -- but I doubt it would be almost $200 more comfortable!

tony2phones · Guru

I really do not get the obsession with "Narrow" roads.. Lanes are Narrow Borheen might have grass in the middle but Irish roads that most tourist drivers use point to pint are a standard 16' and cars are 5' 6" How wide would roads have to be?

The Micra and Corolla are fairly much the same in the ****pit.. 6' 2" 200+lb give me the Micra over the Corolla any time.

Silverstreak02 · Veteran Member

I want to thank everyone for answering my questions and of course for your patients. I rented the automatic Nissan Micro with CDW, theft and one extra driver. The total for 14 days pre-paid was 527.51 EUR. I'll need to add charges for the excess when we get to the counter. The total with excess will be approximately $1100. I can live with that. I decided against the personal injury protection since we have emergency coverage with our regular health insurance. I may change my mind about the GPS later, but for now I plan to buy a good map. Thanks again for the help.

Jeff

Michele Erdvig · Host

Jeff,

The gang here is always happy to help. Glad all the advice worked to your advantage. Let us know if you have any other questions.

Michele