Car rental in Germany without credit card

shietpilot

Hi,

Does anybody know of any car rental companies in Berlin that would accept a debit card or cash for a deposit as I don't have a credit card?

Thanks.

TrailerBob

I would imagine a lot of companies will accept Visa Debit with a pre-authorisation of around €500. Basically you pay for the car, then they hold 500 of your finest digital euros until you come back. Cash is a no-no as its untraceable. May not be able to book in advance online though. Trying to remember if I needed the credit card with Europcar in France last year.. think it was debit only

shietpilot

I rang a bunch of rental companies in Berlin and Europcar was the only one who said they could do it with a debit card but I still don't trust the guy on the phone because on the Europcar website it says they do not accept debit cards.

The other issue is that I'm 20 so they may not want to rent out the car with no credit card.

sillysocks

Not sure about Germany but I know in Spain most companies will take debit card if you agree to buy their highest insurance which has zero excess and covers pretty much everything. Might be worth asking some of the companies if that applies.

shietpilot

Yeah it's vague when you call them up to be honest. If I book online I don't see too many details on how it works if I pay by debit card. I guess I will have to book it by telephone but then again it's a lot harder to do.

I might book it early online and then ring them to clarify that everything is okay to go ahead. If not I can cancel it and try another company.

billy few mates

Yeah Germany is weird when it comes to this, I hired a car in DUS last year and they insisted on a €1200 holding deposit on a credit card NOT a debit card. The rental itself was only a fraction of this.

Baybay

shietpilot wrote: »

The other issue is that I'm 20 so they may not want to rent out the car with no credit card.

Your age may very well be an issue too, with or without a credit card.

shietpilot

Baybay wrote: »

Your age may very well be an issue too, with or without a credit card.

I found plenty of rental companies who rent to 18+ y/o though

Pro Hoc Vice

I find many companies will accept debit card once you accept the excess insurance charge.

166man

Just apply for a credit card? Not that difficult to get one these days. If you're in employment you'll get one handy enough.

shietpilot

166man wrote: »

Just apply for a credit card? Not that difficult to get one these days. If you're in employment you'll get one handy enough.

I've 1 year of university left so it's not an option unfortunately

wonski

Pro Hoc Vice wrote: »

I find many companies will accept debit card once you accept the excess insurance charge.

The only problem is the price of said insurance, though.

But at least you have a peace of mind, especially if you don't have secure parking space during the rental.

MarkAnthony

shietpilot wrote: »

I've 1 year of university left so it's not an option unfortunately

Why? Most banks fall over themselves to extend banking to students.

Are you sure they'll rent to someone your age, have you checked the licence requirements. It's usually 2+ years minimum with some requiring up to 8 years.

shietpilot

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Why? Most banks fall over themselves to extend banking to students.

Are you sure they'll rent to someone your age, have you checked the licence requirements. It's usually 2+ years minimum with some requiring up to 8 years.

I checked my bank and they only really seem to do student loans. Credit cards require permanent employment.

Yeah I checked the terms and conditions. Sixt for example requires 18+ years having held a full licence for at least a day.

Caliden

If you go with Europcar check what the excess is.

I've rented with them before in France and without buying the extra to reduce the excess, there was a 1200 hold on my card.

shietpilot

Caliden wrote: »

If you go with Europcar check what the excess is.

I've rented with them before in France and without buying the extra to reduce the excess, there was a 1200 hold on my card.

Do they take an excess on top of the deposit? :eek:

Luckycharms_74

shietpilot wrote: »

Hi,

Does anybody know of any car rental companies in Berlin that would accept a debit card or cash for a deposit as I don't have a credit card?

Thanks.

I was in italy and didn't have CC they wanted crazy excess charges for the debit card.
I ended up getting sorted through this company in the UK.
The cost for the weekend in Milan was €95


http://indigocarhire.co.uk/

keyboard_cat

shietpilot wrote: »

I've 1 year of university left so it's not an option unfortunately

I got a student credit card with bank of ireland recently you need a monthly turnover of like 250 euro (i think) to get one. and it has a 1000 euro limit and a 30 euro a year stamp duty
I also only got one for car in hire in spain but i didnt need it in the end as i opted to get the full zero excess insurance.

shietpilot

Luckycharms_74 wrote: »

I was in italy and didn't have CC they wanted crazy excess charges for the debit card.
I ended up getting sorted through this company in the UK.
The cost for the weekend in Milan was €95


http://indigocarhire.co.uk/

Thanks a million! Looks like they accept debit card in some locations and the deposits are low.

keyboard_cat wrote: »

I got a student credit card with bank of ireland recently you need a monthly turnover of like 250 euro (i think) to get one. and it has a 1000 euro limit and a 30 euro a year stamp duty
I also only got one for car in hire in spain but i didnt need it in the end as i opted to get the full zero excess insurance.

Yeah I'm with Permanent TSB and I looked into BoI/AIB but they require you to have a bank account with them for at least 6 months

MarkAnthony

Incidentally these are really lax requirements, don't count on this in other countries OP but yeah bang on Germany seems pretty easy!

FFS don't drive on the Autobahns like an Irishman! :pac:

It's probably worth noting for anyone renting regularly that credit card+your own excess insurance is the cheapest way but this does seem a nice workaround. Well done OP et al!

shietpilot

I'll be testing the top speed in the fasht lane hai

CiniO

On the Continent, generally requirements in relation to age or time holding licence are not as strict as here or UK. Especially with smaller rental companies not working under franchise of any of big rental networks.

I've rented many times in Poland from a place where only requirement was a valid licence - they didn't care if it was issue 10 years ago, or 10 days ago. Also no minimum age. And no credit card required - they were happy with cash deposit.

shietpilot

Well I booked my rental with Indigohire. VW Polo, €168 for 4 days + €250 deposit from the debit card. Rental cost is the same as any other company but the deposit is a lot lower! Happy days.

grogi

shietpilot wrote: »

Hi,

Does anybody know of any car rental companies in Berlin that would accept a debit card or cash for a deposit as I don't have a credit card?

Thanks.

If the card is embossed, they will take it.

Shint0

shietpilot wrote: »

I'll be testing the top speed in the fasht lane hai

shietpilot wrote: »

VW Polo

Good luck with that!

Glad you got sorted OP and that age wasn't a barrier. Hope you are an experienced driver.

MarkAnthony

FFS Stay right lol the 'mainlanders' dont take kindly to 'Paddy middle lane'. It's also ALWAYS an Irish reg too when you see someone doing it.

Have fun and stay away from Artemis!

shietpilot

Shint0 wrote: »

Good luck with that!

Glad you got sorted OP and that age wasn't a barrier. Hope you are an experienced driver.

It will be good fun. Picking up the car in Berlin and some friends and heading to Poland

MarkAnthony wrote: »

FFS Stay right lol the 'mainlanders' dont take kindly to 'Paddy middle lane'. It's also ALWAYS an Irish reg too when you see someone doing it.

Have fun and stay away from Artemis!

Ah I was only taking the p*ss and I know how to use lanes on a motorway (I would hope everyone in the motors forum would too)

CiniO

shietpilot wrote: »

It will be good fun. Picking up the car in Berlin and some friends and heading to Poland

Might be interesting

MarkAnthony

shietpilot wrote: »

It will be good fun. Picking up the car in Berlin and some friends and heading to Poland

Ah I was only taking the p*ss and I know how to use lanes on a motorway (I would hope everyone in the motors forum would too)

Obviously you've made sure you're okay to take it out of Germany etc.

Man, it's impossible to make that assumption seeing what I see everytime I'm on a motorway :pac:

shietpilot

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Obviously you've made sure you're okay to take it out of Germany etc.

Man, it's impossible to make that assumption seeing what I see everytime I'm on a motorway :pac:

Yeah I contacted Indigocarhire by email and then called them up after they quoted me and they said with the small car class it's allowed to take it across the border to Poland :P

MarkAnthony

Enjoy man! Road trips are class.

unkel

MarkAnthony wrote: »

It's also ALWAYS an Irish reg too when you see someone doing it.

You can't blame the Irish drivers as they were never trained to drive on motorways!

But seriously folks, be careful driving out there and make sure you assess not just distance but also speed of someone in the overtaking lane behind you, before you enter it

"he came out of nowhere" does not exist...

pcardin

In Germany I have rented cars on my Permanent TSB Visa Debit from SIXT and Europcar no problem. In Belgium from Europcar no problem.

Both did hold around 300e-400e as deposit, which took a week after lease end to be released back on my account.

shietpilot

pcardin wrote: »

In Germany I have rented cars on my Permanent TSB Visa Debit from SIXT and Europcar no problem. In Belgium from Europcar no problem.

Both did hold around 300e-400e as deposit, which took a week after lease end to be released back on my account.

Funny because I rang up Sixt and they said it's not possible :pac:

pcardin

shietpilot wrote: »

Funny because I rang up Sixt and they said it's not possible :pac:

Strange. From SIXT I rented in Munich Airport. I had no issues at all (apart from them handing me keys and when I walked to the spot where car was supposed to be in it was empty, but got another car). From Europcar I rented in Koeln (Cologne) and Charleroi Airport in Belgium. Same card on all occasions, no issues.

shietpilot

pcardin wrote: »

Strange. From SIXT I rented in Munich Airport. I had no issues at all (apart from them handing me keys and when I walked to the spot where car was supposed to be in it was empty, but got another car). From Europcar I rented in Koeln (Cologne) and Charleroi Airport in Belgium. Same card on all occasions, no issues.

I called Sixt directly in Berlin so maybe they have a different policy! Indigocarhire provided me with a booking for Avis and they said the same thing as you: debit card works as long as the card numbers are raised/embodied.