Hertz Car Res w/ PossProblem - Rental Via AutoEurope Whose 24/7 Phone VM Says "We're Closed"

I can't comment on the specific issues you are facing, but: Last month we reserved a Hertz car in Ireland thru AutoEurope. I don't recall the pre-registration offer you received; could be I wasn't reading the document carefully. However, we had no difficulties with the pickup at Hertz DUB. A quick stop at the Hertz desk in the terminal merely confirmed our reservation, and we were given directions to proceed to a Hertz garage a few minutes away. There we boarded a Hertz shuttle bus for a quick ride to the Hertz lot on the edge of the airport property where we completed the paperwork, credentials and car pickup. I'd be surprised if you have any difficulties if you have the voucher, credit card and drivers license. (We did struggle a bit finding the Hertz lot when returning the car a few weeks later. The sign for Rental Cars appears very soon upon entrance to the airport property, and -- at least as far as we could tell - doesn't reappear. We looped back to the airport entrance and spotted the (left-hand) exit on our second try. (The icon on the rental car signage is a key above the front end of a car. That was new to us. See example at: https://www.google.com/search?q=European+sign+icon+for+rental+car+return+at+airport&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjss4vKvMXbAhUMRqwKHVx6CIkQsAQIqAE&biw=1258&bih=751)

It sounds like rca has the answer for which you are searching. I'm curious why you went through Auto Europe instead of booking directly with Hertz. Please don't take that as criticism or as me saying you should have booked with Hertz... I'm genuinely interested in why. Did you get a better deal? Easier to do? I'm in the habit of booking with Hertz (my usual company) but am open to changing my habits...

I used Autoeurope the last time we were in France. They are easy to use in situations where language barriers exist and I have been able to talk to representatives in the U.S with little to no hold time. I also was able to get a GPS from AutoEurope that was already set up for France for less money than I would have paid in France. My car also came from Hertz tho we never had any direct communication with them until we went to pick up the car. Everything about the rental was perfect. The price was right, too. I have also rented from Europcar and that worked well, too. I have less problems renting in Europe at a lower cost, than I do in the U.S. We are going to Spain in November, and I had planned to use AutoEurope to rent a car for three days. I agree your experience so far is concerning. Can you keep us updated?

Dave, I have never rented in Europe, but the conventional wisdom (including guidebook recommendations going back many decades) is that it is often cheaper to rent through AutoEurope and that its service is good. Some people have reported that AE went to bat for them when the rental company tried to add on illegitimate charges.

I got that per-registration email but forgot to do it. It made no difference. Nothing would have changed the contract. We had rented Hertz via AutoEurope.
For this fall, we again are renting Hertz via AutoEurope because it’s less expensive due to the negotiated bulk prices. And yyes, AutoEurope has gone to bat for us several times.

When I rented from AutoEurope I got an additional charge because I returned the GPS late. I called them and told them I had been in Europe beyond our car rental and had a couple trying days at home when we returned. They removed the charge and were very understanding.

Dave, If I'm recalling correctly, we did some comparison shopping (AutoEurope vs. Hertz direct) on some previous trips and found better deals through AU. Although we are loyal Hertz customers in the US, going through AU has become our default abroad.

Another general note: We booked AU for Ireland by phone; their website wasn't showing an option (automatic trans, I think). That went well, but AU was unable to add the "wheel/windshield" insurance recommended by so many on the Ireland Forum. The AU lady assured me, however, that we could add it at the Hertz desk during pickup; we did so -- no problems. It's just something else to remember to attend to when one gets there. (The wheel/windshield insurance turned out to be a good investment; our many encounters with the stone curbs on the country roads resulted in damage for which we would otherwise have been charged.)

Thanks to everyone for answering my question!

HorseDoc, my apologies for hijacking your thread.

Thanks to you all.

rca - thank you for taking the time to fill me in on your recent experience. I feel much better!
Dave - no worries on "hijacking" the thread -- all input is valuable. I went with AutoEurope because Rick Steves uses them and I figured he had much more experience than me! You can comparison shop on the AutoEurope site, or you can shop each rental car company individually. I used to have a business account with National when I was in academia, and loved them. Yet, as a retiree, I am trying to make my pennies last, and found that AutoEurope had great rates. Sometimes that was with one of "our/USA" companies and sometimes with Europcar. They give you the whole enchilada to look at and you choose. I got a better deal with Hertz by going through AutoEurope -- being a chicken, and having driven in England a few years ago, I knew I wanted CDW with zero deductible. I find I'm drawn like a magnet to all those weird curbs over there and, I believe I got better rates than if I'd gone directly through Hertz.

Thanks very much for all your help! Will let you know how things went when I get back. I went with a manual tranny for both Scotland and Ireland - I used to drive one during college so am very comfortable with them. I am hoping it will help me to focus on staying on the Left (wrong) side of the road over there! Wish me luck!

Good luck!! I rented an automatic on the advice of others even though I was comfortable driving a manual VW every day at home -- and SO glad I did! Sitting on the right, shifting with my left hand would have been too much on top of remembering to drive left (and park left and turn into parking lots left ...)

HorseDoc,

Thanks for your response. I'll check out Auto Europe for my next rental -- Frankfurt airport in September.

HorseDoc,

A final thought/recollection. Late in our 2 weeks on the road in Ireland, we discovered that the side-view mirror control knob had a setting that enabled the driver to fold the mirror flat against the side of the car. Before this discovery, on a couple of close encounters, I'd opened the window and manually pulled the mirror in...as did the driver on the approaching car. Sounds like you are comfortable with left-side driving, but I mention this for others who might welcome knowledge of this gadgetry.

Bon Voyage, sounds like a great itinerary!

PS - BTW, my wife had a memorable horse ride on the beach on the Kerry Peninsula. Send a PM for more info if that's of any interest to a HorseDoc.