Has anyone got any recommendations for renting a car in Europe? (Ireland to be precise). Some say do it in advance from home and some say the best deals are had "on site".
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Has anyone got any recommendations for renting a car in Europe? (Ireland to be precise). Some say do it in advance from home and some say the best deals are had "on site".
I have yet to encounter a case where there is a better deal on the spot. Book in advance, and do some shopping around.
I regularly rent in Europe, most often in Germany, but last time was in France. Never done it in Ireland, but I recently looked. Ireland is pricey compared with other countries.
CIBC Aerogold, the various Amex and DC all provide CDW. This said, sure you should read the fine print. Such as, the max. vehicle value they insure which I believe for Amex is CAD 65k, the max length of time, which varies from card to card, etc. Only place where you *may* be unable to avoid purchasing insurance is Italy. I believe theft is mandatory, and CDW often is hard to avoid purchasing.
BTW, I find that usually, shopping around and using a good discount number (The AP one typically gets you 10%), I can get rates that are in the same ballpark as the prepaid ones such as Autoeurope, Europebycar and the like. Which ends up providing you with more flexibility. And more time to pay.
Another detail: rates often depend upon what you specify as the "place of residence." (Which should actually read "place where you happen to be when booking.") If you can use an address in another country, you may get into interesting stuff. Most rental car companies are trying to control the game, but there is only so much they can do.
Outside the summer tourist season I have found that the car rental counters at SNN will generally do better than the advance purchase rate. Ideally if you can get a reasonable advance rate that is not nonrefundable you can play Let's Make a Deal at the counters with an ace up your sleeve. ;)
I just went through the Italian experience with a rental car and the theft insurance is absolutely mandatory........cost me 108 Euros last week. The CDW was not an issue and Hertz never tried to push it on me.
Agreed. I have had the same experience, also with Hertz. This said, most people will tell you that both theft and CDW are mandatory. Which I believe, and your experiemce confirms this, is wrong.
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BTW in case anyone is renting in Italy and in Rome in particular, do not rent at the Termini there as its hell on wheels and can take up to two hours to process a rental contract and then you have to walk for ten minutes to another garage to pick up the car. That goes for any rental car agency the Termini. Hertz has offices all over Rome as well as the airport and they all function much better than the train station.
My experience at the airport has been OK; with the added benefit that if you are driving out of town, you possibly can just go without having to deal with driving in Rome itself. Another related point, very often there is an extra charge for airport or train station pickup. Not sure whether this is the case in Italy, but it's likely.
Auto Europe (http://www.autoeurope.ca/showspecial.cfm?specid=127&aff=Rewardscanada) usually offers really good rates throughout Europe. Be aware that some car rental companies in Ireland will tell you that your credit card insurance for the car rental is not valid and this appears to be true in some cases:
From Irishcarrentals.com
"MasterCard Auto Rental Insurance and Canadian Visa Card Auto rental Insurance may allow you to waive the cost of Theft Protection and Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) for rental cars in some countries. This coverage is ONLY available with Gold or Platinum MasterCard's issued by US bank's and some Canadian Visa card programs. If you pay for the full rental with your eligible MasterCard card or Canadian Visa Card you may be covered for up to $50,000 Auto rental Insurance for your rental without excess. This insurance covers the rental vehicle.
This is an insurance program, certain restrictions and exclusions apply. In order to establish if your MasterCard or Canadian Visa includes Auto Rental Insurance in the Republic of Ireland please call your credit card issuer and/or MasterCard/Canadian Visa before making your reservation. This coverage is a service provided by MasterCard/VISA Canada to the cardholder and therefore it is the card holders responsibility to ensure that they are adequately covered for the entire duration of the rental period. We reserve the right to refuse third party insurance.
Contact Details for Mastercard and Visa Canada
Mastercard can be contacted from the U.S. by calling 1-800-MC-ASSIST
Visa Canada can be contacted from Canada by calling 416.367.8472
In order to establish if your MasterCard or Canadian Visa includes Auto Rental Insurance in the Republic of Ireland please call your credit card issuer and/or MasterCard/Canadian Visa before making your reservation. It is important to confirm to your cerdit card issuer that the Republic of Ireland as your place of rental."
Only place where you *may* be unable to avoid purchasing insurance is Italy. I believe theft is mandatory, and CDW often is hard to avoid purchasing.
I just went through the Italian experience with a rental car and the theft insurance is absolutely mandatory........cost me 108 Euros last week. The CDW was not an issue and Hertz never tried to push it on me.
BTW in case anyone is renting in Italy and in Rome in particular, do not rent at the Termini there as its hell on wheels and can take up to two hours to process a rental contract and then you have to walk for ten minutes to another garage to pick up the car. That goes for any rental car agency the Termini. Hertz has offices all over Rome as well as the airport and they all function much better than the train station.
RTR, I did rent a car when we were in Cork, Ireland in March 2004 (yes, we were in Dublin for St. Patty's Day!). Here's my experience. We found a deal through either Expedia.com or Opodo.com ( can't remember which ) about two months before we arrived. It's with a small rental company called Dan Dooley Rent-A-Car. (www.dan-dooley.ie) We had to pick up the car at Cork Airport (we took the train in from Dublin) and we only had the car for two days (to drive to Kinsale and back).
Prices quoted through the site (for a Compact car for 2 days) was 56.75 Euros prepaid, all inclusive. I still dont know if this is cheap or expensive for Ireland. We were "upgraded" to a Ford Focus (smallish but actually considered midsize in Europe) which ran pretty good, although it smelled a bit like cigarette. You're probably aware that majority of rental cars in Europe have manual transmission, so be prepared. (it didn't take me long to adjust - I drive automatic at home). Also, your Canadian driver license should hopefully suffice (my California license was), so no need for an International Driver License. And don't forget to ask for a 'No-Smoking Car' if you don't smoke.
I must warn you about CDW coverage though - even though my Amex card clearly covers all those things, the rental desk insist on charging an extra 16 Euros/day! The tip they offered me was to use a Gold or Platinum Mastercard to prepay/guarantee the reservation in the future, to avoid paying CDW altogether. Of course at that point I wasn't even allowed to switch credit card, so I hesitantly paid the CDW coverage. I'm not sure if this is the case with other rental companies, but it's something to consider.
A full tank of gas was (at the time) 52 Euros (ridiculous for a small tank!), which they charged to the credit card at time of rental, but refundable upon return, so make sure you return your car full since it's definitely cheaper to pump your own gas. Luckily Ford Focus has a darn good mileage.
I hope the above helps - so sorry if the facts kindof jump around. :)
Jamester
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OT: Car rental in Ireland