Enterprise Vs. Dollar Vs. Avis Vs. Hertz

And check Autoeurope as noted previously many times. You will be contracted with one of the majors with full (mostly) INSURANCE at a better rate.

Personally I find Hertz to be the gold standard followed by Dollar (as Dollar is owned by Hertz). But, I haven't had issues with Avis or Enterprise (have not used them in Ireland though). I do not use Thrifty or Budget due to prior issues with them. Also I would recommend the smallest possible car that will hold your party/luggage as the roads in Ireland are NARROW.

All I can say is we had a great experience with Alamo/Enterprise at Dublin airport this past May. Everyone we dealt with from the counter staff, to the shuttle driver, to the employees in the lot were friendly and helpful. We had a 28 day rental, drove all over the island both Republic and NI. When we returned the car they made one pass around it, asked if we enjoyed our stay and sent us on our way. I rented through AutoEurope, one advantage is that they capped the additional driver fee. Otherwise you pay per day-- this was a big saving for us since we had a long rental period.

We’ve always had good luck with Avis and its the company we always rent from. For the most part, the company you go with is a matter of personal preference based on your experiences.

Do keep in mind that while they have the Big Name, most of those operations are franchises and may not offer the same level of services or amenities as operations in the states. Actually, when I have rented from Enterprise/National in the UK, it was actually the Europcar office that handled the rental.

Also double check your credit card coverage, most cards specifically exclude Ireland. They may accept your credit card as coverage, but any damages would just be charged to your card with you not getting reimbursed. (They may even put a credit hold on your card during the rental for thousands of Dollars)

We rented from Dollar at the Dublin Airport for 25 days. Drove in both the ROI and Northern Island with no problems. Both pickup and return processes were easy peasy.

We’ve been price conscious, and so have used many different rental companies, with success every time. Even seemingly “mom and pop” outfits in Scotland and Greece rely on customer satisfaction, or they’ll lose business fast, especially in this electronic/Internet age.

For our Ireland trip last September, we rented directly from Enterprise, as they had the best price for our terms. You may have different insurance/vehicle type/child seat, etc. requirements, so different companies may have different prices and restrictions, which may or may not fit your needs.

In addition to the major companies you listed in your post title, there are a couple others to be aware of, for this or future travels in Europe. The company we’ve rented from the very most, through many countries, has been Europcar, but again, compare their numbers with other companies. And there’s also Sixt, a large German rental company with offices in many countries, and now including parts of the USA. Comparison shopping can pay off, but there are several professional companies that will give you good vehicles and good service, for a good price.

Research the insurance component. I had auto insurance through my credit card and even though I pre-booked none of the rental car agencies would rent to me at the airport in Dublin if I declined their insurance - unless I could produce a letter from my credit card company that they were insuring me. Next time I go to Ireland I'll book my car well in advance and then try to obtain the letter stating that I'm insured. Then they'll probably throw up another roadblock.

Last September, a year ago, we rented from Enterprise, as their rates were the best. We compared with the other major companies, and booked our rental from hone, picking up in Galway and returning it at the Dublin airport.

We rented a small car for 2 of us - easier to park, better gas mileage - but if you’re looking for a crossover or SUV, the pricing could be different, and your results may vary.

I've rented in Europe from both Avis and Hertz, several times each, with no problems.

Despite that, I take "before" and "after" pictures of the car and (especially) any damage, the mileage reading, the gas tank level and even photos of my receipt for refilling the gas tank, in case I lose the original.

I also closely check the damage noted on the rental contract as compared to my visual inspection of the car. On one occasion, some easily discernible scrapes were not noted on the rental contract so I brought the rental agent over to examine the car and adjust the contract.

Of course, none of this would be necessary with a zero deductible rental policy. And, in fact on return, neither agency has ever questioned - or even closely examined - the state of the car on return to compare to the state when I took it.

We used Alamo/Enterprise because I got a good price. Everything went smoothly, we replaced the windshield wipers and they removed the cost from our rental. They only issue we had was that they were very busy on arrival and we had to wait for the shuttle and to get our car longer than I would have liked. But, the return was very efficient.

Like stated before, we always use our credit card for our insurance, but none of my usuals work in Ireland. So, check it out and don't assume Ireland is covered even though most all other countries are.

We used Enterprise booked through Costco. Originally, we booked Alamo but a week before we left on Sept 2, Enterprise came up with a better deal. Also, any company that has a relationship with Costco allows a free second-driver. We ordered the auto insurance coverage letter and they emailed it to us. When we checked in at Dublin for the car, Enterprise asked if we wanted insurance. We declined it and said that we had a letter about coverage if they wanted to see it. They didn't care about seeing it. Getting the car went quickly and smoothly. We got a teeny car and are very glad we did for those narrow single-track roads. BTW, we first spent 2.5 days seeing Dublin and took a taxi from our B&B directly to the Enterprise location. Cost a bit more than the airport bus but it was faster and more direct.

So the auto Europe one included your insurance? Does that also include roadside assistance? I get so confused when I go into that site, I'm not sure why.

I found my answer to this!