Hello,
My Son and I will be traveling to Dublin Ireland and other places for 8 days starting arrival date Sept 13th. We will be renting a car at the Dublin Airport thru Auto Euro. Has anyone had experience renting a car thru them or otherwise. I am not clear as to what the deposit would be. There are some places I am seeing $2000. Could this be right? Is it more expensive then renting a car here in the United States? Any feedback on car rentals would be helpful . Thank you,
Patty
Yes, renting a car in Ireland is far more expensive than it is in the US. And there are all sorts of issues around the insurance coverage (it's a perennial topic on the Forum). Autoeurope.com (if that's what you're referring to) is a consolidator, not a rental car company, so you're not renting from them. I am not a "wrong side" driver, so I haven't had this experience, but I see a lot of comments about being upsold insurance at the counter when you pick up a reserved vehicle. There are recommendations on the forum for specific agencies. You can do a search.
Is it more expensive then renting a car here in the United States?
No idea, you haven't said what the actual rental cost is. The $2000 deposit is a deposit to cover any damage from people who don't want to pay for the insurance that the rental company offers and want to involve a third party who may or many not cover the bill. That seems actually quite low to me, $2000 won't fix much damage these days.
I rented a hybrid car for next Apr 29th (DUB) for three weeks for €232 all in (via Costco with Budget), using Costco Visa insurance coverage. No deposit and free extra driver. I also rented another car for ONE night in the US for $56 (to get home from the airport at midnight). I moved my entire trip because the rate tripled for April 30th. I can't explain the pricing anomaly.
Usually, the deposit is just a hold on your credit card for that amount and it only applies if you don't opt in for the various insurance coverages (liability, collision, tires/wheels, glass). The overall experience of car rental in Ireland can be a trial as the agents appear to be paid commissions on the insurance items. All the insurance will likely double you daily rate. If you call your card company, they'll raise your limit if you have at least a fair payment history.
If you have a credit card that will cover Ireland rentals (only some do) bring proof with you to show the agent. The card companies fill requests for proof routinely.
