** Vehicle Hire queries **

The Nutty M

coylemj wrote: »

An annual excess policy for car rental in Europe from the likes of AIG costs €50 which means that 5 days of the cover you bought at the rental desk cost as much as 365 days of a policy you can buy yourself before you travel.

Everything you say is true but you leave one vital bit out. When you don't take their insurance,a block goes on your card for usually less than a week. Paying for CDW,the block does not go on. For multiple rentals per year the insurance would be more cost effective if the T's and C's were good.

Padraig Mor

CrankyHaus wrote: »

One tip I got here on Boards was to use Autoreisen in the Canaries, I found them very decent.

Autoreisen, Cabrera Medina or CiCar (the latter two are the same company, with the same offices etc). Used CM in Lanzarote last year - first time renting there and couldn't recommend them more. Price is inclusive of FULLY inclusive insurance - no bull about excesses etc; you can write it off and not pay a penny. Got an automatic Corsa for 11 days for €178 all in (high season) - no extra charges for child seats etc (they just bung em in on collection). Paid in cash at the airport - no credit card holds etc.

coylemj

The Nutty M wrote: »

Everything you say is true but you leave one vital bit out. When you don't take their insurance,a block goes on your card for usually less than a week. Paying for CDW,the block does not go on.

The block on your credit card costs you nothing and you won't even see it on your next bill. All they do is ringfence part of your credit limit - how is this an issue? Just ask your credit card issuer for a bigger credit limit if it's a problem for you. A similar block is put on your credit card every time you check into a hotel.

The Nutty M wrote: »

For multiple rentals per year the insurance would be more cost effective if the T's and C's were good.

Even for your one (14 days) rental, you could have saved almost €100 by taking out an annual excess policy.

... if the Ts & Cs were good

You paid €147 at the desk for insurance to cover the excess on a 14 day rental and it did not include cover for tyres and windscreen. An AIG excess policy which costs €50 p.a. covers the following...

Our annual Car Hire Insurance policies cover any one incident up to €4,000 and up to €5,000 in any one year. They include excess damage to the car, theft, window and tyre damage.

Under His Eye

Not everyone has the leeway to have a grand plus blocked on their cards.

I only rent maybe once a year and for sheer peace of mind I just take their insurance. Nothing to worry about. No need to lose sleep.

ted1

Under His Eye wrote: »

Not everyone has the leeway to have a grand plus blocked on their cards.

I only rent maybe once a year and for sheer peace of mind I just take their insurance. Nothing to worry about. No need to lose sleep.

It’s cheaper to get a loan from the credit union to put in your credit card then pay for their insurance

Tzardine

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Autoreisen, Cabrera Medina or CiCar (the latter two are the same company, with the same offices etc). Used CM in Lanzarote last year - first time renting there and couldn't recommend them more. Price is inclusive of FULLY inclusive insurance - no bull about excesses etc; you can write it off and not pay a penny. Got an automatic Corsa for 11 days for €178 all in (high season) - no extra charges for child seats etc (they just bung em in on collection). Paid in cash at the airport - no credit card holds etc.

+1 for cicar.

You can also book with them for mainland Spain now too. It's an enterprise car that you get (you go to the enterprise desk) , and the rates are still inclusive of fully comp insurance with no excess.

Used them a couple years back and was very happy. Got a car with 18 km on it

eurokev

Duffryman wrote:

We're off on a family holiday to Lanzarote during the mid-term break in February. We've rented a car through rentalcars.com (which somebody above recommended), but now that I check the booking, I see that the car itself will be from Goldcar.

Duffryman wrote:

So, why not use them? Anybody else feel the same way, or is this just based on person's bad experience here?

Im in Lanzarote now. Have an almost new Clio with 5000km on the clock, spotless for €125 for 12 days from Autoreisen

They give a no excess policy as standard with the option of buying extra insurance to cover tyres, wrong refuelling, key loss for €2 a day.
I also have a baby seat, which was spotless for free.
I also got a SAT nav in the car which was a welcome surprise as I did not pay for it..
Autoreisen seem great so far, but I have not dropped the car back yet

fits

We had cause to use our annual excess insurance policy in new Zealand when our windscreen was cracked from a flying stone. and it was hassle free. Amount was refunded no problem.

nice_guy80

Once had to pay the €1000 excess in NZ

I'd say the car wasn't worth that after what I did to it

NSAman

Moral of the story is make sure you have insurance you can afford,,,,;)

My business partner rented a lovely brand new Hi-End (1000miles) SUV lets say it was a VERY nice car.

Picked it up and was going to view property in a wooded mountainous region in the USA. Loved the car and phoned to say he was going to purchase one when he changed the following year.

Second day of the trip, he picked up the Real Estate agent who directed him to the land, drove down a small dirt track and while they were talking, didn’t see the chain that blocked the small road, went into it, and scraped the car from the bonnet all the way across the roof very badly.....;)

Luckily, insurance paid for it all... Btw,,, he no longer is allowed to rent on our account..;)

Duffryman

The Nutty M wrote: »

How much were you paying for the week? I do always rent with Avis while in Lanzarote,was there for 2 weeks before Christmas.

Total cost was €283

2 weeks standard rental was €136,excess €1200.

CDW (collision damage waiver) €147 (€10.50/day). Excess reduced to €0,not including tyres or windscreen.

Petrol is very cheap.

We're travelling over on a Friday evening and returning the following Wednesday, so just a five night trip.



Basic rental cost with Goldcar was just €52 for a Ford Fiesta (or similar). Seemed too good to be true, and you know what they say....


Cost with Autoreisen for the same time is €89 for a Seat Ibiza family model. Could have a Citroen C3 for €68 but thought we'd pay a little more for a slightly bigger car.


I've a quote for excess cover from carhireexcess.com for €16.45 for the five days.

coylemj

Under His Eye wrote: »

Not everyone has the leeway to have a grand plus blocked on their cards.

If you have a credit card and are reasonably good at settling the balance, you should have no problem getting them to give you sufficient headroom (above the odd spike in your end of month outstanding balance) to cover €2,000 for car hire and hotels where they lock part of your credit limit.

Since the financial crash, credit card companies are not allowed to increase your credit limit unless you ask them.

Prior to the crash, my credit card limit was progressively increased to over €10,000 without me asking for it, even though my biggest balance over the period would have been max. €2,000. Nowadays, you have to ask.

eezipc

Sarah1916 wrote: »

Myself and my husband plan to rent a car for the first time ever for our holiday in Italy in May.

I always seem to hear of nightmare stories in relation to car rental abroad and I was wondering if any fellow board members have any experience they could share so that we don't follow in the same footsteps.

Excess, insurance, petrol/diesel extra costs etc. come to mind.

Thanks in advance.

I've rented a car in Italy a few times and never had any issues there.
I tend to always use a well known rental company (Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, Europcar etc).
I always have excess insurance beforehand. (carhireexcess.ie, AIG, Blueinsurance). On a couple of occasions, I have also paid for the extra insurance with the car hire company as well. It depends on what they offer. The last time I rented a car in Italy, the extra insurance was quite cheap so it gave me an extra bit of peace of mind.
Always always always take pictures of the car beforehand. Interior, exterior and the fuel gauge. Same again as you hand the car back. That's very important.

- A couple of issues I have had.
1: Avis in Zurich tried to charge me an extra days rental (at a very high rate) because I dropped the car back after 9am. I took the car out at 3pm a couple of days beforehand and assumed it was a 24 hour rental. I dropped the car back at 11am. I eventually didn't have to pay it because there was no mention of that in the contract.
2: In Edinburgh, Hertz rang me a couple of days after I returned home asking me where the car was. I left the car in the car park and dropped the key in the "dropoff" box. They could not find the key and assumed I didn't drop back the car. Luckily I had taken pictures of the car after I left it in the car park. I didn't hear anything again so I assume they found the key.

redcup342

Get Excess Insurance.

Treat that car like your own car.

Try and park it off street to avoid it getting some minor damage.

Wipe any bird crap off the car as soon as possible (I've seen issues with people leaving caked in bird crap and the rental company claiming paint damage)

Drop back full (beware that some places will have return with 5/8th or whatever instead of full/full, just ask them for a full car)

Check all damage on the sheet, if it's not a diagram and only a text description of damage take a video on your phone covering all damage before driving off the car rental place, get them to note any additional damage before leaving (TAKE YOUR TIME, DO NOT RUSH)

Keep the receipt for the fuel, I've dropped back in Germany before, one time i didn't have the receipt and he said, we will check the fuel and invoice you if over 2 liters (No issues as i'd filled it next to the drop off)

Sign up for Hertz gold/ Sixt whichever, you can collect miles and more point (500 per rental)

banana_bear

:mad:

banana_bear wrote: »

...

Edit: Regarding "Full to full" fuel policy: "Full" means that the fuel gauge is at maximum level. They're not going to take a closer look than that. Usually you can drive a good bit before the fuel gauge starts to drop, so if you fill up to the brim 50km before dropping the car off, you should be good.

Many modern yokes detail kms travelled since refuel (often can be fooled by opening petrol cap etc but still) .... some rental smallprint detail to keep the refilling receipt so they can verify you did fill up nearby.

All that accepted I agree with your sentiment....

chicorytip

coylemj wrote: »

That happens when you decline their insurance, whether you have excess insurance of your own or not. If you have a decent amount of headroom (unused credit) on your credit card, you won't notice anything.

Hotels do the same thing when you check-in, they swipe your credit card and ringfence a slice of your credit limit - it's an insurance policy for them in case you go mad spending in the local shops, bars and restaurants and there isn't enough credit on your card to pay the hotel bill when you're checking out.

It's a different story if you're renting a car and using a debit card. In that case they will actually withdraw the money from your account and hold it hostage in case you need to cover some damage. Catches out some people and often leaves them with no spending money for their holiday because their current account is now drained and they have no credit card!

But are there any car hire companies nowadays that accept debit cards as a form of payment for the actual rental as opposed to paying a deposit when booking online. Enterprise did up until a few years ago but no longer do. Renting a car appears to be no longer possible for those who do not carry or use a major credit card which, I imagine, would be the majority of members of the general population who are entitled to drive.

Under His Eye

Wrong. There are many companies happy to rent to debit card holders. I don't have nor want a credit card and I can rent no problem.

Teddy Daniels

tatranska wrote: »

Inspect the car on pick up.Take photos at start and when handing it back.

I video the car and walk round with the agent if at all possaible. Then I email myself the video to give a proof of time and date. I use a car rental excess insurance company and I turn up early after booking the second cheapest type of car, this often results in a free upgrade.

redcup342

Under His Eye wrote: »

Wrong. There are many companies happy to rent to debit card holders. I don't have nor want a credit card and I can rent no problem.

There is but you are extremely limited in your choice and costs you way more money as you need to take the maximum insurance and leave a deposit for fuel anyway.

Ireland I usually paid around 10-12 euros a day to rent a car, cheapest was 8 euros a day.

Without a credit card you'd be looking at 30-35 euros a day minimum

Rows Grower

chicorytip wrote: »

But are there any car hire companies nowadays that accept debit cards as a form of payment for the actual rental as opposed to paying a deposit when booking online. Enterprise did up until a few years ago but no longer do. Renting a car appears to be no longer possible for those who do not carry or use a major credit card which, I imagine, would be the majority of members of the general population who are entitled to drive.

Indigo are a great company to book with if you only have a debit card, usually match or even beat other prices.

ted1

chicorytip wrote: »

But are there any car hire companies nowadays that accept debit cards as a form of payment for the actual rental as opposed to paying a deposit when booking online. Enterprise did up until a few years ago but no longer do. Renting a car appears to be no longer possible for those who do not carry or use a major credit card which, I imagine, would be the majority of members of the general population who are entitled to drive.

I rented off europcar in Oman in December with a debit card.

Meursault

Hi All,

Can anyone advise whether there is a good time to book a car rental in Switzerland? We will be flying to Zurich in August, so it is a good 8 months away, so there is no rush in booking it.

I am just wondering whether there are specific times of the year to book, to get the best deal, and with which car rental would you book?

Thanks

chicorytip

redcup342 wrote: »

There is but you are extremely limited in your choice and costs you way more money as you need to take the maximum insurance and leave a deposit for fuel anyway.

Ireland I usually paid around 10-12 euros a day to rent a car, cheapest was 8 euros a day.

Without a credit card you'd be looking at 30-35 euros a day minimum

Can you let me know which companies do? Thanks

chicorytip

Rows Grower wrote: »

Indigo are a great company to book with if you only have a debit card, usually match or even beat other prices.

Do they operate here in Ireland? I'm not talking about holiday rentals overseas.

Under His Eye

Budget are happy enough to rent with a debit card from Dublin airport.

coylemj

Bear in mind that car rental outlets are often franchises with their own local rules so just because (major rental brand) in Slovenia accepts debit cards, it doesn't mean the same brand will do so elsewhere. That variation could also apply in different airports or cities within the same country.

The big difference with using a debit card is that it gives the people on the rental desk leverage over you whereby they can quote an abnormal excess so you really have no choice but to accept their insurance. Whereas a lot of people with a credit card will have several thousand euros of headroom to accommodate the lock so they can decline the insurance.

I think many still credit cards are some sort of evil due to the experiences of folk who are woeful at money management.

I have 3, 2 personal and 1 business. I use them for the vast majority of my purchases and the balance is cleared 100% every month. The cost to have them is recouped in savings on transaction charges alone over using cash or debit cards I reckon.

And the protection offered by credit cards is absolutely fantastic in the phishing times we live in.

Rows Grower

Augeo wrote: »

I think many still credit cards are some sort of evil due to the experiences of folk who are woeful at money management.

I have 3, 2 personal and 1 business. I use them for the vast majority of my purchases and the balance is cleared 100% every month. The cost to have them is recouped in savings on transaction charges alone over using cash or debit cards I reckon.

And the protection offered by credit cards is absolutely fantastic in the phishing times we live in.

I just never saw the point of getting one until I discovered most car rental companies require you to have one. I got one then specifically for car rental but ended up sticking with the crowd that rented me a car with a debit card as they were actually better value.

I've never used it and it costs me 30 euro a year to sit in my wallet which I don't think I'll pay again. Visa debit card offer great protection for customers.

coylemj

Rows Grower wrote: »

I just never saw the point of getting one until I discovered most car rental companies require you to have one. I got one then specifically for car rental but ended up sticking with the crowd that rented me a car with a debit card as they were actually better value.

Better value than what? Do you take the excess insurance the rental company offers? If not, do you need to have the excess as a balance in your account for them to debit in case you damage the car or how does it work?

Rows Grower

What do you not understand about my post?