car rental

afatbollix

so car rental... first time doing it.. i need to pick it up in belgium and drop it off in spain. im doing searchs on the ussally sites and they are a bit expensive.... ive seen this site www.CARHIRE3000.ie where they will give us a BMW 3 seris for E444 for 9 days... it seems cheep unlike the other sites... is it a scam or real and true

crosstownk

Most rental companies will charge a 'one way fee'. The Belgian car must be returned to Belgium - it cannot have it's next rental start in Spain. As you won't be returning it, the rental company will have to arrange transport back to Belgium - they usually have a fee for this. €444 for 9 days (€49/day) sounds about right but I doubt it includes insurance, one way fee and other charges.

I'd make sure you have all the details of whats included before you commit.

RobAMerc

try
www.travelfusion.com
www.arguscarhire.com
www.travelsupermarket.com

these are sites like the one you stated which check a number of suppliers and generally get cheaper rates than direct.

Also I am not sure your in the right forum..... travel/holidays maybe ?

Alun

The problem though with most of these go-between firms, is that once the bookings made and paid for they don't want to know you. They've earned their commission at that stage, and in the case of any problems (such as the almost inevitable 'hidden extra charges') you'll have to deal directly with the car-hire firm themselves.

Rule no 1 with car hire ... you never, ever end up paying what they tell you up front, despite all the promises to that effect

crosstownk

Alun wrote:

Rule no 1 with car hire ... you never, ever end up paying what they tell you up front, despite all the promises to that effect

I use Avis any time I rent, and I am always charged exactly as quoted. If I choose optional Super CDI, extra driver, child seats, etc, at the rental desk then it will be additional, but it's my choice.

leex

Would recommend carjet.com - used them 3 times in Spain but don't know if they cater for 1 way rental between different countries.

unkel

crosstownk wrote:

I use Avis any time I rent, and I am always charged exactly as quoted. If I choose optional Super CDI, extra driver, child seats, etc, at the rental desk then it will be additional, but it's my choice.

That's the problem. Super CDI should be an option when booking online. It never is. It can add substantially (say up to 50% - €20 a day on top of a €40 a day car) to the bill when specified at the rental desk

R.O.R

Just checked on www.hertz.ie and they are coming in around €1200 for a Mondeo for 9 days. Based it on pick up Brussels in July and drop to Malaga 9 days later. CDW, Theft Potection, tax, airport surcharges and drop fee included.

€444 wouldn't cover the cost of returning the vehicle from Spain to France, yet alone the rental and insurance IMO.

afatbollix

cheers guys think i might fly now.. 42 euro for an hour flight or 1200 for 2000 kms... just trying to convince the rest now...

crosstownk

unkel wrote:

That's the problem. Super CDI should be an option when booking online. It never is. It can add substantially (say up to 50% - €20 a day on top of a €40 a day car) to the bill when specified at the rental desk

Agreed.

But, I've been told that Super CDI can only be purchased locally - I've no idea why as it is still charged to your credit card at the end of the rental. I must ask this question again and post the reason.

R.O.R

crosstownk wrote:

Agreed.

But, I've been told that Super CDI can only be purchased locally - I've no idea why as it is still charged to your credit card at the end of the rental. I must ask this question again and post the reason.

I'd say it's because the branch staff earn commision for the extra's at the counter as opposed to everything included in the standard rental rate. I've never taken any of the extra's offered at the branch and never had any charges I wasn't expecting.

unkel

crosstownk wrote:

I've been told that Super CDI can only be purchased locally

Looks like it. Interestingly on the avis.ie site one can book a car for anywhere in the world, but the Super CDI charges published are only valid for cars rented in Ireland

dade

I've used that carhire3000 crowd twice before in the US and had no problems. on one occasion i booked less than 48 hours before travel with them and still no problems. I had no confirmation in my email (so no ref) the night before i traveled so i phoned them and she confirmed the booking for me and sent me an email with the voucher and also a ref number if there where problems.

No hidden charges no extras not mentioned. When i pick up the car the rental company always try offer me additional insurance alright but my travel insurance covers it as does my CC coz i booked the card with it

now maybe I've just been lucky, the only problem i have with the middle men is that they take all the funds up front.


I always find going direct a hell of a lot more expensive. this year I'm heading to Florida and booked with eBookers and it's coming out €100 cheaper than any of the major rental agents with the same cover and extras.

Stephen

What the feck is super CDI? Sounds like a diesel engine or something!

oleras

Stephen wrote:

What the feck is super CDI? Sounds like a diesel engine or something!

Collision damage insurance. its like fully comp on a rental with a low excess, usually €100 as opposed to €1000-€1500 ( small print )

unkel

What oleras said. Standard these days is CDW (collision damage waiver) which is included in the rental rates. These would leave you liable for a maximum of typically €1000-€1200 on a small car. Call me skeptical, but I've no doubt they'll look in every nook and cranny upon return of the car and they will charge you this for a minor wee scratch, possibly caused by a previous driver

If that would happen to me, it would rightly ruin my holiday, so I usually go for Super CDI. Typically this means that you are not liable for anything, whatever happens

oleras

unkel wrote:

What oleras said. Standard these days is CDW (collision damage waiver) which is included in the rental rates. These would leave you liable for a maximum of typically €1000-€1200 on a small car. Call me skeptical, but I've no doubt they'll look in every nook and cranny upon return of the car and they will charge you this for a minor wee scratch, possibly caused by a previous driver

If that would happen to me, it would rightly ruin my holiday, so I usually go for Super CDI. Typically this means that you are not liable for anything, whatever happens

It makes driving very stressful without it, last xmas i hired a toyota 7 seater type thingie in australia for a week that had a AUD3000 excess (regardless of blame), changed it for the last 2 weeks to a corolla that had a AUD250, again regardless of blame, they have weird car insurance down there !

crosstownk

unkel wrote:

If that would happen to me, it would rightly ruin my holiday, so I usually go for Super CDI. Typically this means that you are not liable for anything, whatever happens

Same here. If some muppet swipes your car and cleanly removes the electric and heated mirror with the painted cover, it could cost a few hundred Euros - with Super CDI you have no worries.

I'd an incident in New York City two years ago - I misjudged the distance to a truck in the traffic :rolleyes: - I tore off the right hand mirror and made a lovely deep scratch on the right front wing. Naturally the truck driver never felt a thing so I kept on driving. All this happened 100 meters from the rental station - I was on my way to return the car. I just handed the keys over, told them of the damage and that was the end of it.:D

It appears that Super CDI is charged locally as the excesses on the rental companies insurance policies vary from country to country and can change frequently depending on renewal dates of insurance policies. While Avis (for example) is a worldwide brand, it is operated by licensees in each country, so insurance policies tend to differ to some extent. Avis Van and Truck Rental don't offer Super CDI in Ireland while Avis Rent A Car do. Additionally, different car rental companies in the same country use different insurance companies and, as a result can have different excesses on their policies which result in different Super CDI charges, so by not putting the Super CDI charges on the internet, the rental and basic insurance is what is quoted to appear to give a competitive quote. I'm sure there may be an element of commision for the rental sales agent at the pick up desk too. Usually you will be offered Super CDI along with personal accident cover, contents cover and other such items - check your travel insurance before you sign up to these extras as you may already be covered.

Lex Luthor

I just dropped a car off in France this morning....no one came to check it when I dropped it off, so if anything happens to that car in the car park until it is inspected, then who is to blame.

Someone could come along, park next to it, ding the door and walk away.

crosstownk

It'll be tough work for them to charge you without your signature agreeing to the damages but I'm sure they'd give it a go! If you had Super CDI or equivalent then they may not have bothered as you won't be charged anyway.

jimogr

Instead of getting Super CDI from the rental company I use http://insurance4carhire.com/ It works out much cheaper and covers stuff Super CDI sometimes does not cover such as tyres, undercarriage and glass.

The insurance is provided by an Irish company (White Horse Ins Ireland

unkel

That looks very interesting, jimogr. Thanks for sharing