car rental in Ireland

I always use Irish Car Rentals. They have always had the best rate when I have been looking (though things change all the time). They have a US 800 number if you have questions in advance. Their website is: www.irishcarrentals.com

I used AutoEurope. They are a consolidator and offer cars from different companies.

We rented out of Shannon in August. We had a reservation made originally through Priceline.com and it was with National Car Rentals. When we got to Shannon Airport, they were in a booth paired up with another car rental company, with a big "Auto Europe" sign over the top. When we got our car, it said "Irish Car Rentals on a sticker in the back window. Bottom line, we were charged $375.00 more that we were quoted and signed a contract for at checkout counter. Of course we didn't find this out untill we got our credit card statement, long after we were back in the USA. We have been in a big conflict with all of the above entities ever since, and have finally asked our credit card company to dispute the charges. They have given us a "conditional refund" for the disputed amount, so we do not know how this will all turn out. I would stay FAR AWAY from all of the above listed companies until such time as I report back to this blog that SOMEBODY has fixed this problem. Dan

As I stated, I have rented with Irish Car Rentals on several occasions without a single problem. Of course, I rented directly with them, not through a consolidator. While consolidators can sometimes find you better deals (or at least find options that you might not have considered), it seems to me that it adds a layer of complexity to the whole transaction. And as Dan found out, if there is a problem you can't be sure where the problem lies or who is responsible for fixing it.

We rented a car through e-car rentals Ireland this summer, which was a consolidator, our car was from Thrifty. A lot of the expense in rentals in Ireland comes from the insurance. Usually the basic quotes cover the basic CDW, which still leaves you with around an 1100 euro deductible. To cover that, you have to either go with the super CDW or get a daily excess plan through a 3rd party.

We paid around 150 euro for our car this summer, plus a daily excess plan that cost around $60.

Maureen - was the daily excess plan $60 total or per day

I've had great dealings with Andy at gemut.com in renting cars. We used him last year when we rented in Frankfurt and again in Ireland this year. Rates are good and you get exactly what you were promised and sometimes even a free upgrade on the ground as we were given in Ireland to make sure the boot accommodated my father's wheelchair.

The daily excess plan was $60 for 8 days. The plan for the size car we got was 4.50 GBP/day. The quote from the rental company for super CDW would have cost about $150.

I rented through Dan Dooley, via their website. No hassles or surprise charges for an 8-day rental, starting in Dublin and dropping off in Galway. The car (four door Ford Focus automatic) was clean, in good condition, and made it to the end of not-so-careful driving. They are more expensive than other car rental websites, but I had good recommendations for Dan Dooley and so far, so good! Buy the full insurance for peace of mind (I said goodbye to the passenger-side mirror, which landed in some shrubberies somewhere along The Burren). I also rented a GPS, which made my trip sooo much better (I travelled solo). In total, I paid about $700 US for the car, the Excess CDW, and the GPS.

Steve

I stand corrected, I looked back thru my notes and it WAS EuropeCar, not Auto Europe. I tend to get the two mixed up, and my apologies. However, the contract I signed had the same dollar amount as the price quote I received thru Priceline.com, hence the problem. Four items not on the original contract, that showed up on the invoice that was given to me after I disputed the amount, included: a PAI fee of 90 Euros, a credit card collection fee of 45 Euros (on top of the 4.50 Euro cc collection fee on the original contract), a "Peace of Mind Fee" of 30 Euros, and a 30 Euro "Cross Border Fee" that we did not need since we never intended to cross over into Northern Ireland and indeed did not! So once again, at this time I would not recommend National Car Rentals, EuropCar, or Irish Car Rentals.

I had a couple of fees show up on my invoice that weren't in the original quote, and with a quick email to Thrifty, got those removed.

Read your quote CAREFULLY can keep a copy of it. Mine stated it included everything except for a 20 euro airport fee.