REnt a car in Ireland - driving licence obtained < 1 year ago

bob the bob

Hi

I need to rent a car in Ireland in July, I will have had my full UK licence for 11.5 months at this point.


Anyone know if this 12 months requirement is a legal thing, or if there are (presumably more expensive) options that waive this requrement?

Much appreciated.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

I would say it's unlikely, especially if you are young. What age are you?

kirving

I know this isn't the question you're asking, but could you borrow a friend or relative's car, and give them money to rent one in the meantime?

LizT

Kevin Irving wrote: »

I know this isn't the question you're asking, but could you borrow a friend or relative's car, and give them money to rent one in the meantime?

What about insurance?

coylemj

bob the bob wrote: »

Hi

I need to rent a car in Ireland in July, I will have had my full UK licence for 11.5 months at this point.


Anyone know if this 12 months requirement is a legal thing, or if there are (presumably more expensive) options that waive this requrement?

Much appreciated.

It's not a legal thing per se, I can lend my car to a 25 year old who passed the test last week (assuming they've converted the learner permit to a full licence) and they would be fully covered on my policy.

It's obviously a condition of the insurance policy that the rental company has on their fleet that they cannot rent to someone who has less than 12 months on the full licence.

Some rental companies will rent to people under 25 for a supplementary charge, shop around and see if you can find a rental company who will do likewise for someone with less than 12 months on their licence,.

bob the bob

Thanks for replies so far, I am 32.

coylemj

bob the bob wrote: »

Thanks for replies so far, I am 32.

I didn't think you were under 25 or you would have mentioned it, I was just quoting the example of how someone who is under 25 can sometimes get around this obstacle by paying a top-up charge so it may be possible to do likewise to get around the fact that you don't yet have a licence for 12 months.

Check out the various rental companies websites and see if one of them will allow you to pay a supplementary charge.

kirving

Yeah, you should be able to get the insurance switched over, might cost you though.

willokans2011

bob the bob wrote: »

Hi

I need to rent a car in Ireland in July, I will have had my full UK licence for 11.5 months at this point.


Anyone know if this 12 months requirement is a legal thing, or if there are (presumably more expensive) options that waive this requrement?

Much appreciated.

Any luck with finding one in Ireland

bob the bob

Yep, I used Enterprise.ie. They only care that you have a licence, not when you obtained it.

Also, if you're booking them from outside Ireland, book them through enterprise.ie not enterprise.com or other. If you book from .com or other, you will not get the crash insurance thrown in, and it will cost you an extra $20 a day, or risk a bill of thousands if you don't get it and you have a crash.

I wanted to use their office in Cork but they rather uselessly close at 18:00, so I went through Dublin, who are open until midnight. This was a while back though so the times may have changed.

Marcusm

I recall when in a similar position that the rule was applied oky to the first and not any additional drivers.

firefly08

I rented a car a month ago in the airport from Budget with a US license issued in April 2011

I'm sure they have an official policy against that too. I remember Enterprise telling me it was 2 years minimum. But when I saw 3 or 4 rental booths, each one with a couple of reps drumming their fingers on the desk and staring at the walls...I knew I wasn't going to have any trouble getting them to take my money. You'd be amazed at what you can get away with in the recession.

check_six

I had an problem hiring a car in France a few years back. I had my full licence for ~18 months and it turned out that the hire company we had booked with required 2 years minimum. We were dealing with a lady who was particularly picky, but even still we had just about got her convinced that we were ok to hire the car.

Then she got a brainwave and decided to ask another Irish dude who was hiring a car at the same time to help decipher the driving licence. He *helpfully* pointed out that the licence was not 2 years+ old and went on his way. Cheers, buddy!

They turned us away and kept our booking deposit! Luckily this particular hire company was not the only show in town and we were able to walk about 30m to the next hire company office who were more than happy to take our money (and give us a car!).

Moral of the story, brush up on your jedi mind trick if you want to hire a car. Pick out the person in the office who looks to have the weakest mind and you'll be grand.

R.O.R

Even if the staff at the rental desk do not check the time you've held your licence, see if you can see anything specific in the terms and conditions regarding it.

It *may* invalidate any insurance issued with the rental if the full terms and conditions are not met.

sean.casaidhe

I have rented several vehicles and haven't had a problem - got my licence in Oct/Nov 2010 IIRC.

avis and budget via argus car hire.

coylemj

R.O.R wrote: »

Even if the staff at the rental desk do not check the time you've held your licence, see if you can see anything specific in the terms and conditions regarding it.

It *may* invalidate any insurance issued with the rental if the full terms and conditions are not met.

Even if that happens, by the time the insurance company discovers the discrepancy and refuse cover you'll be safely back home and the car hire company will have to sort it out.

As owners of the vehicle they are ultimately liable for third party claims, they can't come back and sue you because their own counter staff failed to implement the company policy on the validity of the driving licence presented by the hirer.

It's their problem, tough.

R.O.R

coylemj wrote: »

It's their problem, tough.

And they have your Credit Card, and signed authorisation to bill charges to it, and a shed load of really, really small print on the back of the rental agreement.