Not Another Irish Car Rental Thread

I use this outfit. So do my friends. Repeatedly.

http://www.353carrental.ie/

We have one booked for most of May for 315 euros, hair, feathers, and cdw (but not super cdw).

I have always rented from Irish Car Rentals when I have gone, and I have always gotten the super CDW. As far as I can recall I knew the whole amount that was going to be due before I left on my trip (so I'm guessing it was available online). There were no surprises. Maybe different companies have different information available during the booking process? You could try going through the booking process up to the pont that you really commit to see what the charges will be.

On our very first trip we bought the super CDW at the counter (we were renting from Dan Dooley that time because our rental came as part of a voucher package). Even then, we knew ahead of time how much it would be. Dan Dooley, though, is usually one of the more expensive companies to rent from.

353CarRental was pretty clear about the excess waiver but I couldn't find this on Irish Car Rentals. The ICR was about euro 20 cheaper than 353CR without the excess waiver. They were the same class but mentioned different cars.

Thanks for the input. Dan Dooley is about euro 150 above 353CR for the same class.

Irish Car Rentals does have an American tollfree number that you can call to ask about the insurance rates.

The excess coverage can add at least 100 euro to your rental. We rented a car through e-car rentals Ireland last year, they're a consolidator, the car was actually with Thrifty. Paid 150 euro for the car for a week with CDW. For the excess, we went through dailyexcess.com, cost around $60 for the excess coverage. You do have to file your own claim, though, and pay the deductible up front if anything happens. We did have to file a claim, took about 6 weeks to get the money. Something to consider, though, are whatever charges your credit card charges for foreign transactions. I forgot about this, and the 1100 euro charge put almost $50 in fees on the card, really cutting into the discount we got for going with a 3rd party.

Whatever quotes you get, unless it says "super CDW included", assume it only includes CDW with a 1100-1500 euro deductible.

Irish Car Rentals (also affiliated with National and Europecar) charged us extra fees besides those on the internet quote last August. The fine print said: "additional charges may apply" When we got home and opened our credit card bill, there was 135 Euros extra charges on our bill. Since we didn't save an email or paper copy of the quote, our credit card company wouldn't let us dispute the charges. I would stay away from these companies. At the present time, you need to be very carefull, dealing with rental car agencies in Ireland. The only one that always gives a solid quote up front is Dooley. Good luck!

Perhaps if you had disputed it directly, instead of through the credit card, Irish Car Rentals might have refunded the extra charges. Their customer service has always been excellent, in my experience, both before and after my trips.

Is there an age restriction on purchasing super CDW? We did an online quote through Hertz, and using our AAA discount the price was fairly reasonable. The website you can purchase super CDW when you pick up the car, but the main driver needs to be 30 years old. My husband, the main driver, will be 30 the week after. I tried calling, but the woman did not know what I was talking about. Do you know how strict this is? Has anyone else experienced this with other companies?

Nancy

I did dispute it directly, only I had to work through National Car Rentals, since that was who I had gotten my original booking with. In hind-sight, I wish that I would have contacted Irish Car Rentals, although it is difficult to know who really has the final say, considering there is three entities combined into one desk at Shannon. I maintain that the rental car aspect of an Ireland trip is the sleeziest part of the whole process. It is too bad than one of the best and friendliest foreign countries, has this kind of taint on a necessary service, but if it did not, maybe the country would be grossly over-run with tourists! Dan

I don't believe that there is anything sleazy or tainted about renting cars in Ireland, any more than anywhere else. Anyone can have a bad experience at any time anywhere. I have never had one in Ireland, ever. So to suggest that the whole industry (or the industry in a particular country) is tainted because of one bad experience is a bit extreme, in my opinion.

We rent from Hertz, using our Costco mbrship & AmEx card. We are hertz Gold members. We have the Amex insurance addon which is $24.95 per rental. We have shopped around and never been able to beat that combo.

We're now researching a 1 week rental (Dublin airport, return) for late June. From Hertz I have a quote of 122.07eur (class B) and 124.77eur (class C). The rate includes taxes and "location service charge." Add the $24.95USD to that for the insurance through AmEx.

We just returned from Ireland a couple weeks ago, we rented through Dan Dooley, primarily because we knew up front the costs and didn't have to guess how much the superCDW would be from the others that don't allow you to select it at rental time. Though the actual rental price wasn't that much different from others we had checked out online.

I personally would go with the super CDW from the rental place, even if it does cost you more than from a 3rd party place. I think it worth the extra to avoid having to pay for damage and then file a claim to get your money back.
Also, after hearing of many people who get hit with claims for hub caps and such, we took video when we picked up and dropped off the car, as well as having noted every scratch and ding we could identify and having it noted on the paper work before we left.
The woman at the counter was very pleasant about it, and said she would probably have done the same.

Also, if you fill the tank before returning the car to get your fuel charge back, keep a copy of your receipt and give them a copy when you turn it in.

I routinely keep a daily eye on 5 internet sights specifically about Ireland. On one all Ireland web-sight, (not RS) from July 09-now there have been 70 posts dealing with this very issue of car rental rip-offs in Ireland. If you have not had a problem, you are extremely lucky. I don't know what the percentage of people who have problems is, but the concensus is that it is a industry that is not regulated or even monitored very closely by the Irish Govt. or Tourism Industry. I wish I would have heeded the warnings I had read, more closely before we left, but since my 1st experience there with AutoEurope went perfectly, I was complacent. The 2nd was a night-mare. So I guess I am batting 500. I know for a fact that my third trip will involve a very vigilant consumer....me. I refuse to be taken to the cleaners again. Bus and train travel are starting to look better all the time, considering that the inventory of rental cars in Ireland has gone down from 30,000 in 2006, to 17,500 in 2009, and predicted to be around 12,500 for 2010. I'm sure you have all seen what fewer flights have done to airfares, and car rental price increases are a given, sleezy or otherwise.

That's the problem with making assumptions based on postings on internet forums. Only those who have problems bother to post. In my experience, and that of my family and friends (around two dozen car rentals in Ireland within the past 8 years), we have never had a problem with overcharging, charging more than was quoted, not having an automatic when one was requested, or anything else. My only problem during a rental there was the fault of my credit card company, not the rental agency - ultimately, my own fault for trusting the credit card insurance. Seventy posts over how ever many companies, over however many rentals, is a tiny fraction of the total, statistically insignificant even if everyone posted their experiences, good and bad. Your bad experience could have been avoided if you had saved your quote until you saw the charges on your credit card. You do have to look out for yourself, yes. I've been overcharged by a rental car agency here in the States, but because I saved my quote, they refunded the overcharge - no problem. As I said, bad experiences of one kind or another can happen with any company, anywhere, any time.

It is very confusing. I looked up Dan Dooley (since many people here recommend it) and they are much more expensive (due to a 200 euro "extra" flat fee on everything). I have no idea what this could be.

I found a post from last year that mentions renting from Costco. I am getting some great rates from their website (through Budget). I am getting a rate for a premium Mercedes that is nearly 65 euros less than an intermediate Ford Mondeo at Irish Car Rentals.

Budget.ie has the best pricing right now and will via email give you a TOTAL price that includes CDW and zero excess. NO extras.