My husband and I are wanting to rent a car in Dublin and drive through Ireland. I see there are 2 car rental agencies at the airport.
1.Is one better or more advantageous than another?
2. There is a significant price difference between the 2. Why is that?
Also there seems to be some problem with buying insurance for the rental car. What is required by the authorities in Ireland and is the car rental agency the best place to buy it?
Thank you for your advice on this!
Not sure where you got your information, but are more than 2 rental car companies at the airport; Sixt, Hertz, Budget, Europcar, Thrifty, Avis, and Enterprise to name some. We got insurance through the rental company when we rented from there.
I'm a bit confused as looking at the Dublin Airport website, they list 12 different agencies... What two agencies are you looking at?
There are several possible reasons for the price difference. It could be a different model of car. Check what is included (or perhaps more important, what is not included). Also check the excess policy and whether the car is picked up with a full tank of petrol and has to be returned with a full tank.
I don't know about Ireland but in UK there are a couple of companies that give very low quotes but then clobber you will, all sorts of excesses - particularly damage to the car when it is returned. (Green Motion and Drivalia which used to trade as Easirent get very poor reviews on Trip Advisor with many disgruntled customers because of this.) You can end up paying substantially more in the end.
Also be wary of renting from a third party as you have no control over the company you will end up with - it could be one of the 'dodgy' ones....
Many here (ourselves included) rely on AutoEurope for rental cars in Ireland. Their pricing is quite competitive - I usually opt for Hertz and typically find that the quotes on AutoEurope are cheaper than booking with Hertz directly. I particularly appreciate their explanation of the insurance options and pricing, which can be confusing and generally hard to sort out on individual rental car company websites.
I always choose the zero deductible option for the peace of mind involved.
Most credit cards specifically exclude coverage in Ireland, though some premium cards (like the Venture X card) do. You'll want to research that option thoroughly before committing to it however.
I've had similar experiences with many of the rental companies. Most will quote a rate that leaves out the CDW insurance (this is the one that premium cards cover, but you need proof) which is usually 50% or so of the base rate. They even add $7/day to allow you to use your card insurance. They also charge more for automatic transmissions. On return, any scratches on a side mirror or scuffs on the wheel or tire will be charged at an inflated replacement cost. I use Momondo to search for the rate, then go to the quoted company to rent directly. One trick I've found is that enterprise.com will yield vastly higher rates than enterprise.ie (for example). In the UK, I always use Arnold Clark and I understand they're expanding into Ireland, so that will be my future choice.
I always use Auto Europe and will continue to do so. In 2022 when I rented in Ireland I chose the full insurance. I ended up hitting a curb and had to replace a tire. It turns out the full insurance didn’t cover tires and glass. There’s a separate policy for that. Not a big deal though and I didn’t let it ruin my trip. The tire wasn’t expensive.
