** Vehicle Hire queries **

IanVW

Hi guys travelling to Lanzarote the end of August and have reserved a car with Autoreisen. I dont have a credit card and have a visa debit card. Has anyone paid with one of these before and do they take a deposit by using a visa debit card?
Thanks in advance:o

naughtysmurf

Their website under the section 'Our prices include' says pay with debit or credit card

https://autoreisen.com/car-hire/car-hire.php#

garv123

Travelling to Croatia next week and we've rented a car, can anyone recommend a car insurance company to cover the rental? the rental company usually charges a small fortune for this.

I heard on the radio you can get yearly insurance for rentals on holiday but I cant remember any of the sites.

Any recommendations and experiences would be appreciated.

finbarrk

Surely the rental company offer insurance? Isn't that what every rental company does. They are hardly going to give you the car without it.

coylemj

finbarrk wrote: »

Surely the rental company offer insurance? Isn't that what every rental company does. They are hardly going to give you the car without it.

The rental charge covers basic third party only. The normal procedure at a rental desk is that that they give you the hard sell to uplift to fully comp to cover accidental damage to the car and they make a bucketload of commission on this charge because the fact that you are a captive audience means they royally rip you off.

What the OP is looking for is an insurance policy to cover this risk. If he Googles 'car hire excess insurance' he will get lots of options.

ted1

finbarrk wrote: »

Surely the rental company offer insurance? Isn't that what every rental company does. They are hardly going to give you the car without it.

They’ll give you a car but charge a fortune fir the insurance

https://www.carhireexcess.ie

Have used them and claimed in the last year.
Just be sure to keep a copy of the original rental agreement

ollaetta

ted1 wrote: »

They’ll give you a car but charge a fortune fir the insurance

https://www.carhireexcess.ie

Have used them and claimed in the last year.
Just be sure to keep a copy of the original rental agreement

I have also used carhireexcess.ie for a few years now. You can get an annual policy for €50 or trip based ones for less. Had a claim two years ago and it was sorted without any fuss. I'd recommend them.

okidoki987

https://www.carhireexcess.ie

+1.
Covers all the excess that the car rental company will charge you a fortune for.

With all the stories going around about car rental rip offs, would recommend walking around the car videoing it before you take delivery and do the same when returning even though the insurance will cover it if there's any damage.

garv123

Thanks for the replies! Excess was the missing word in my searches!

Got ripped off twice in the past when renting cars, never realised you could use a different company.

coylemj

garv123 wrote: »

Got ripped off twice in the past when renting cars, never realised you could use a different company.

I know you've already booked the car but I usually rent from the larger companies which comes with these benefits...

1. They don't rip you off with charges for phantom damages.

2. Transparent fuel system - almost always full/full so drop the car back full and there are no fuel charges.

3. They don't do the hard sell on the insurance - I just say 'no' (I don't have an excess policy) and they give me the keys.

If you don't take their insurance or provide your own excess cover and you're paying by credit card, they reserve a slice of your credit limit in case you give the car back damaged but when you return the car undamaged, they release the reserve and you never see it on your bill. So I never pay a cent more than what I was quoted when I made the booking.

TomOnBoard

coylemj wrote: »

I know you've already booked the car but I usually rent from the larger companies which comes with these benefits...

1. They don't rip you off with charges for phantom damages.

2. Transparent fuel system - almost always full/full so drop the car back full and there are no fuel charges.

3. They don't do the hard sell on the insurance - I just say 'no' (I don't have an excess policy) and they give me the keys.

If you don't take their insurance or provide your own excess cover and you're paying by credit card, they reserve a slice of your credit limit in case you give the car back damaged but when you return the car undamaged, they release the reserve and you never see it on your bill. So I never pay a cent more than what I was quoted when I made the booking.

I disagree with you on the above and after having been stung by one of the majors in France, I wouldn't be without my car hire excess policy.

It all boils down to being a very savvy renter and making sure youre covered in respect of pre-rental damage being checked and closely examining the contract before signing. Common sense stuff really, but im always stunned by the number of ppl who get their car, pop in their cases and simply drive off without any form of bodywork check.

That said, I'd agree that youre much more likely to get screwed by the non-majors than by the big firms. Some of those cheaper ones that come up on the Ryanair and Aer Lingus sites are simply waiting to pluck you.

garv123

coylemj wrote: »

I know you've already booked the car but I usually rent from the larger companies which comes with these benefits...

1. They don't rip you off with charges for phantom damages.

2. Transparent fuel system - almost always full/full so drop the car back full and there are no fuel charges.

3. They don't do the hard sell on the insurance - I just say 'no' (I don't have an excess policy) and they give me the keys.

If you don't take their insurance or provide your own excess cover and you're paying by credit card, they reserve a slice of your credit limit in case you give the car back damaged but when you return the car undamaged, they release the reserve and you never see it on your bill. So I never pay a cent more than what I was quoted when I made the booking.

Id rather have the excess policy, If there was any form of accident, I couldn't afford the charges on the credit card.

average_runner

coylemj wrote: »

I know you've already booked the car but I usually rent from the larger companies which comes with these benefits...

1. They don't rip you off with charges for phantom damages.

2. Transparent fuel system - almost always full/full so drop the car back full and there are no fuel charges.

3. They don't do the hard sell on the insurance - I just say 'no' (I don't have an excess policy) and they give me the keys.

If you don't take their insurance or provide your own excess cover and you're paying by credit card, they reserve a slice of your credit limit in case you give the car back damaged but when you return the car undamaged, they release the reserve and you never see it on your bill. So I never pay a cent more than what I was quoted when I made the booking.

I got stung by a major car company in France last year , thank god i have the carhireexcess for 50 euro.

Greg81

https://www.carhireexcess.ie

10% off code: AF21931

Dinarius

I’ve just realised that our destination in Spain is far from our airport - Malaga.

So, I’ve looked at Ryanair’s website for car hire instead of using public transport.

It’s years since I hired a car - they weren’t cheap.

On the Ryanair site I can have a VW Polo for about €3.00 per day. That’s €52 for the two weeks.

It seems too good to be true. Am I missing something, or has car hire come down that much in price?

Thanks.

D.

downthemiddle

Dinarius wrote: »

I’ve just realised that our destination in Spain is far from our airport - Malaga.

So, I’ve looked at Ryanair’s website for car hire instead of using public transport.

It’s years since I hired a car - they weren’t cheap.

On the Ryanair site I can have a VW Polo for about €3.00 per day. That’s €52 for the two weeks.

It seems too good to be true. Am I missing something, or has car hire come down that much in price?

Thanks.

D.

Check out the car hire company on Tripadvisor. Some companies,such as Goldcar, have a dreadful reputation.

coylemj

OP, two things....

1. There have been endless complaints about the car hire company recommended by Ryanair, I'd steer clear of them. Quoting three euros a day means they are snaring mugs with ridiculous rates and then fleecing them when they get to the counter.

2. There is an excellent electric railway in Malaga, it serves the airport and one of the lines runs south-west parallel to the coast as far as Fuerngirola. English language description and a map of the two lines here. It's an excellent service and there's an app for your smartphone showing next trains due.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cercan%C3%ADas_M%C3%A1laga

Official website: http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/cercanias/malaga/index.html

Hitman3000

I've used auto-europe to get the best deal anytime I hire in Europe. Take out excess insurance for yourself. Search car hire excess on Google. Should work out at around 20 euro for the rental. Great piece of mind. Let's you refuse the extra ( very expensive) insurance at the hire desk.

k123456

Dinarius wrote: »

I’ve just realised that our destination in Spain is far from our airport - Malaga.

So, I’ve looked at Ryanair’s website for car hire instead of using public transport.

It’s years since I hired a car - they weren’t cheap.

On the Ryanair site I can have a VW Polo for about €3.00 per day. That’s €52 for the two weeks.

It seems too good to be true. Am I missing something, or has car hire come down that much in price?

Thanks.

D.

too good to be true;

you might be asked to pay
extra charges for ;
airport pickup
fuel refilling
(non existent )damage to car
cleaning fee
etc

If using Ryanair, select a car from the mainstram car hire cos. Avis, Hertz , Sixth etc
Avoid, Firefly, Goldcar etc

and
read the small print
consider your own policy, which covers the car hire excess damage

peckerhead

All the above, and do a price check against Doyouspain.com.

Driving along the Costa del Sol in high season is nervewracking (they don't call it the carretera de la muerte for nothing!) and unless you're used to driving in Spain and you really, really need a car, I'd recommend the bus/rail option mentioned above.

JimboJones99

Dinarius wrote: »

I’ve just realised that our destination in Spain is far from our airport - Malaga.

So, I’ve looked at Ryanair’s website for car hire instead of using public transport.

It’s years since I hired a car - they weren’t cheap.

On the Ryanair site I can have a VW Polo for about €3.00 per day. That’s €52 for the two weeks.

It seems too good to be true. Am I missing something, or has car hire come down that much in price?

Thanks.

D.

I booked a car with Ryanair recently and found the service to be very good. My price was similar, it was actually more expensive to hire a toddlers car seat for the week than the car. The price included excess insurance with Axa, although the hire company did put a large hold on my credit card when I wouldnt buy their excess insurance, and all terms and conditions were clearly specified.



Initially they had booked me with a less reputable company, Goldcar I think. When I realised that I rang them back and asked to book with a more reputable company and they had no problem and I got a similar deal with OK Rent A Car who were very good. The reference they used with me was how many stars each company had with trustpilot.


Overall I found Ryanair very good to deal with and the price certainly wasn't too good to be true. It did pay to ring them a couple of times closer to the date as I was able to get a better deal such as a free additional driver which was not included in the first price.

Dinarius

Thanks for all the replies.

It's probably 20 years since I hired a car. There is a lot of info being shared here.

Could someone please summarize what is involved.

For example, I go on the Ryanair website and do a search for Malaga Airport (returning to Malaga Airport) for two weeks;

All of the search hits are from companies I've never heard of. Nothing from the likes of Avis or Hertz.

The cheapest is a Volkswagen Up Mini from Firefly (??) for €100.49 for the two weeks.

I then go onto the official Hertz site and to the same search as a visitor (not as a member).

The cost for the same two weeks for an Opel Corsa is €573.39 pre-paying online, or €659.39 paying on collection in Malaga.

So, almost six times more for the cheaper Hertz offer.

I know about reading small print etc. but what am I missing here?

At that difference in price, I can afford any kind of insurance and still be quids-in, surely?

Thanks.

D.

martyoo

I've a car rental question. Is there an issue if you wish to book a car with a company credit card?

Hitman3000

Dinarius wrote:

All of the search hits are from companies I've never heard of. Nothing from the likes of Avis or Hertz.

I have rented off Gold star on a few occasions. They have a bad rep, sure. Funny though I never had any problem. The only one I had problems with was Hertz.
Just pick a company and price you are happy with. Take before and after photos of the car. Make sure you walk around with the agent before and at the end of the rental. Return car full of fuel if this is the policy. Take out excess insurance in Ireland circa 20 euro.
Enjoy your holiday.

downthemiddle

No issues once the card is in the name of the main driver

loki7777

I'm looking to rent a car at Bologna - from 6.9 till 14.9 - going through holidaycars.com and i see nice small cars for €150 - it shows insurance included:CDC,TP,TPL and when i click next i can see that i have to pay extra €5-10/a day to have that included or go uncovered. Can anyone help me a bit with that. And do I always need credit card or can i use Visa debit to hire a car?

Hitman3000

loki7777 wrote:

I'm looking to rent a car at Bologna - from 6.9 till 14.9 - going through holidaycars.com and i see nice small cars for €150 - it shows insurance included:CDC,TP,TPL and when i click next i can see that i have to pay extra €5-10/a day to have that included or go uncovered. Can anyone help me a bit with that. And do I always need credit card or can i use Visa debit to hire a car?

Just take out excess insurance cover here, about 20 euro Any time I've hired a car it has always been a credit card they require.

Quazzie

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Just take out excess insurance cover here, about 20 euro Any time I've hired a car it has always been a credit card they require.

Not always a credit card needed. It varies between country and company. The best way to check is to go onto the facebook page of the company you're looking at, and ask the via messenger, stating the specific office that you're looking to rent from. For example, Alamo in France (and many others) will accept a debit card for the payment.

loki7777

Just to make one thing clear. To be on the safe side you have to take the Worldwide Daily Cover not the European Daily Cover one for €3 as CDW is most important?

TomOnBoard

loki7777 wrote: »

Just to make one thing clear. To be on the safe side you have to take the Worldwide Daily Cover not the European Daily Cover one for €3 as CDW is most important?

Why is Worldwide Cover needed if only European Hire is involved?