Please help! Car rental in Ireland, (when purchasing CDW/Super CDW)

Angela,

If you're not locked in at National, check out Autoeurope. If there are only two of you traveling, I would suggest getting an economy size. You don't want a big car in Ireland. Also, if you're comfortable with it, a stick shift and diesel engine will save you a few Euros. We had this size of car (Ford Fiesta) on our last trip there and it had enough room for our RS Backdoor bags under the rear covered compartment behind the back seat.

As for fuel prices, I'm out of touch with current prices. We have always taken the CDW just for the peace of mind.

The rental company's website should give you examples of what type of car fits their "intermediate" designation, as well as how many people/bags it will hold. My guess would be something like a Ford Focus wagon or something similar. And there's no need for AC in May in Ireland, so you might consider giving that up if you wanted to save some money. In Ireland, the smaller the car the better. How many people are traveling with you? If you can go smaller you will be happier -- some of the roads are unbelieveably narrow. I have traveled with luggage visible in the car with absolutely no problem all over Ireland, but I can understand your concern.

As for gas, the last time I was there I had a compact car which used less gas during the week than the initial fuel charge that they tack on when you get the car. The company I used (Irish Car Rentals) refunded the fuel charge if you brought the car back full instead of empty. The exact number escapes me, and wouldn't mean much anyway with the way prices have changed, but if your company offers that option you might want to consider doing that.

We had a compact car (Peugot 307). Large case fitted in the boot fine. Very very economical. Average price of fuel in Ireland at the moment is 109.09 for petrol, 99.09 for diesel.
Very wise move not to decline CDW. I can't remember what was held on the card. Usually it's the cost of CDW for the term of the rental.
You have chosen some great destinations. Out of curiosity, where are you staying in Ballintoy? Make sure you take the time to do Black Taxi tour in Belfast.

Thanks for the replies, thus far....

We aren't getting AC specifically, there just aren't automatic cars that don't have it with National. As for size, I'm not super concerned about that - the price difference between car classes is negligible.

What I am concerned about is the amount of money the company is going to want to "hold" on our credit card during the rental. If it is just the quoted amount, then that is fine. I am just trying to make sure they aren't going to want to hold 1000 or 2000 Euros in addition to the cost of the rental. I have heard they do this when you decline CDW. We are purchasing CDW, so I don't know how that all works.

Judy, we are staying at White Park House in (near) Ballintoy for 2 nights. It looks beautiful, and will be the one splurge on our trip. Have you stayed there?

~

Angela, you say you aren't super concerned with the car size -- but you should be. You really shouldn't take a bigger car than you actually NEED. I really can't stress enough how impossibly narrow some of the roads are, particularly when you are winding your way through a tiny village with both sides of the road lined with cars parked every which way. Even if there isn't much cost difference, it's still better to go smaller if you can.

I have almost always taken the CDW and have never had any kind of "hold" on funds whether I did or not. That might be up to the rental company, and I have always rented from Irish companies.

Angela,
We have traveled in many places, including Ireland, using rental cars and have never had a 'hold' put on our credit card although they will check the card to get some idea of the amount of credit available.

National, in Ireland, may actually be Europcar. If that is so, no worries, Europcar is a very good company.

I think GPS is a very good idea. CDW is also a good idea because you will be traveling on some roads that are not the best and you will be driving on the 'wrong' side. An automatic makes this easier. As you have said, an automatic will come with A/C and often also have remote locks and a theft alarm -all good ideas. You may find that driving in Ireland is not as difficult as you expect because in most places there is less traffic than you are acustomed to. During our trip, we saw more sheep in the road than cars.

Regarding the size of the car; do not be overly concerned. You will see Mercedes and BMWs and many huge tour buses using the same roads. A small to mid size car is fine. We had a car the size of a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic which worked well for us. If you get a diesel car you will save money. All of the locals drive them. Fuel will not cost as much as you expect because the distances are short and the small diesel cars are stingy on fuel.

Be sure to enjoy some Irish music during your trip. Your host will often know what is on in his locality.

Angela hopefully you will be visiting the Cliffs of Moher. I have just spoken to my daughter who is on a self drive tour of Ireland. She has just spent two days in Doolin. Yesterday she took a boat trip to see the Cliffs from the sea. Said it's one of the most amazing things she has seen. Have any forumers done this trip?

Angela -

If you are purchasing SuperCDW, they will not put the large hold on your card. The large hold is to cover the possible damage deductible when you don't have SuperCDW. I've done both - purchased SuperCDW and waived with my World MasterCard.

Now - for car size . . .

Generally, cars in Ireland are considerably smaller that in the States. I have found that the on-line descriptions are highly misleading, and grossly overstate the capacity of the car (people and luggage).

When in doubt, get a bigger car. Realize - that "bigger" car does NOT mean wider car. As an example: on my last trip, we took our three kids (11, 9, and 6) and rented an Opel Zaphira, a 7-person "people mover." That description would send shivers up the spines of people who think more capacity=more difficult to drive in Ireland - but that is completely false. My 7-passenger Zaphira was the SAME WIDTH as the compact cars. We actually compared them on the lot.

Sure, when you get into full-size minivans and 4-wheel drives, they get a bit wider - but not for other types of vehicles.

For what it's worth - I'm shocked at how expensive your rental is. I was there in March, and, for a 12-day rental, I paid €229 through Irish Car Rentals (whom I've used on more than one occasion). They are the "National" and "Alamo" agents in Ireland. It was a 7-passenger automatic with a free extra driver.

In any event - have a fantastic time. Have a pint in Dingle for me - it's only been 4 weeks and I miss it already.

I have had terrible experiences with National. Just FYI. I would look into AutoEurope.

AutoEurope is currently significantly more expensive for the same level of service and insurance coverage.

What sort of terrible experiences with National???
I am an Emerald Club member and rent from them several times a year here in the States. I'd like to know what sort of problems you've had with them in Ireland...?

Thanks!

~

Angela -

You will hear horror stories about every rental agency, including National, Irish Car Rentals, Dooley, and Hertz. It's a hit-and-miss experience.

Angela, we're currently in Ireland and I just returned our rental car. Ours happened to be through Europcar with CDW and Super CDW, and they blocked 150 euros on our credit card. If we'd declined the Super CDW, they would've blocked 1200 euros. We drove 1500 Km on a route similar to yours, with a 4 door petrol (not diesel) car similar to yours, and paid 1.03 - 1.08 euros per litre. At an exchange rate of 1.32, this works out to approximately $5.25 per gallon. Hope this helps.

P.S. it's colder and rainier than average - bring lots of layers!