Automatic Rental South Circular

Posted by Natalie on 02/27/20 01:02 AM

We are staying in Dublin for a few days after arrival in Ireland and plan on renting a car after our Dublin stay. We need an automatic and have decided to reserve through Conn's. I left a voice message with Conn's regarding how accurate our pick-up and drop-off times needed to be. I missed their call back but the message sounds like we don't have to be there exactly at rental start time and there would be no fee for picking up late. I did read on their website though the there is a 'grace period allowed from 29 minutes from time of pick-up'. What does this exactly mean? Would we lose rental if later than 29 minutes? We are typically early or on time people and we don't plan on being late but I just want to understand how things work.

I was also told in the message that we could save time on the front end of the rental and pick-up from south circular in Dublin. That would be super but does anyone know if we would be guaranteed an automatic, if reserving one? An automatic is a must have.

Sure wish I didn't miss the call back...

Thank you-

Posted by Trotter

02/27/20 05:32 AM

1585 posts

Natalie: to get the assurances you want you should probably call Conns back. As difficult as it may be to play telephone tag that is the only place you will get definitive answers. I can only tell you my personal experience with Conns which has always been positive; the car I wanted at the price that was quoted. I was late by several hours when picking up and the car was there.

I believe that the 29 minute grace period from time of rental refers to when you return the car. So, for example, if you rented the car at 10:00 am, you have until 10:29 am on the day of the return to get the car back to Conns or they will charge you an extra day. You should confirm my belief with Conns.

Posted by Robert

Colorado Springs

02/27/20 03:43 PM

2980 posts

Collecting your vehicle from the South Circular Road location and then making your way thru city traffic to get out of town would be something of a " baptism by fire" for you if this will be your first adventure driving on the left. Would suggest studying the street map feature on Google maps to preview your route - it always helps me to get my bearings and shorten my learning curve by doing that.

I personally prefer to pick up our rental at the airport. The concessions there open very early (around 5:30 AM) so I can be on my way a lot sooner than I would if I waited for one of the city locations to open around 8:30. There's a larger supply of vehicles there too, which means I'll usually have no concerns about getting the automatic I've booked. I also find it a little easier to start my driving on the motorway rather than in city traffic - helps me re-learn the sight picture for driving on the opposite side and generally helps to lower my pulse rate right out of the chute.

I agree with kclyons that your best resource for getting definitive answers to your questions is to hang in there and talk to someone at the rental agency, and his understanding of the grace period is mine as well. Do confirm with a Conn's agent however.

Posted by John

Pantego, NC, USA

02/27/20 05:44 PM

1014 posts

I drove thru Dublin from the ferry port going south, and it was challenging, to say the least. I would highly recommend the airport rental location, unless you are familiar with Dublin roads. I was using a GPS to get through town, and without it, it would have been a larger nightmare. I too, require an automatic, so when speaking to the car company reinforce this with them. You might want to email them and save the email and their answer. Might give you a bit of leverage if they argue later.