** Vehicle Hire queries **

k123456

Re upgrade

For short rentals out of season, you have a better chance
Long rentals ..two weeks approx little chance esp in high season
Sometimes you might be offered an upgrade, to an automatic, are you comfortable driving an Auto

Sometimes you will be offered an upgrade at a cost, this cost is negotabile

barry181091

I am going to Italy soon and need to sort out a rental car. Only have a Visa Debit card myself and I don't think I can get a credit card sorted within a week

Does anyone know if any car rental companies in Italy will accept a debit card? The amount blocked on the card won't be an issue. I know enterprise here in Ireland take my debit and just take X euro and give it back once I return the car.

Thanks!

Turbohymac

Had a similar issue lately in Germany. But europcar rental took my Visa debit no problem..I had a car pre booked with another rental co and only when I arrived at pickup desk on a Sunday evening did I realize that they wouldn't accept debit card.. just check around before booking or flying on and ensure theres adequate credit on your card. As they usually take up to 1500 upfront which is refundable upon return of car with no damage..oh don't forget car hire excess insurance to cover any damage issues..
Good luck

barry181091

Thanks! I actually think I can apply for an AvantCard online and upload my documents, so I think I may have that in time. Unfortunately the 1500 credit limit might in and of itself be a problem too, sigh.

Turbohymac

We'll I wouldn't just go down the route of getting a credit card to rent a car in Europe..you might like myself in the past start spending on the card with money that's not yours and it's not good at the end of each month when we all realize that we've overspent ...at least I find managing finances with a debit card at least I might run out of money but it's only mine. Not an extra 3k belong to which ever bank owns the card.. not to mention the high interest rate on overdrafts..I'd simply ensure enough credit on your existing debit card and get a reputable rental company that accepts your debit card ..otherwise it will get expensive..

lollipop19

Hi there. I'm going to the US next week and I've booked a car with Hertz and would like some advice from those who are more experienced in hiring in the US as its my first time doing it.
Its says:

Included in the rates
Unlimited Miles Included
Airport Concession Recovery Fee
Loss Damage Waiver
Total Sales Tax
Liability Insurance Supplement
CUST FAC CHG+TAX AND VLCR+TAX
Tourism Surcharge
Energy Surcharge

Not included in the rates
Personal Insurance*
Premium Emergency Roadside Service*
Additional Driver Fee
Fuel

I don't see any mention of excess so do I need to take out Car Hire Excess Insurance here before I go (I see that mentioned a lot on this thread)? Maybe they call it something else?

Also is it a good idea to take out the personal insurance and roadside assistance that they have?

Advice would be gratefully appreciated

Thank you

TomOnBoard

lollipop19 wrote: »

Hi there. I'm going to the US next week and I've booked a car with Hertz and would like some advice from those who are more experienced in hiring in the US as its my first time doing it.
Its says:

Included in the rates
Unlimited Miles Included
Airport Concession Recovery Fee
Loss Damage Waiver
Total Sales Tax
Liability Insurance Supplement
CUST FAC CHG+TAX AND VLCR+TAX
Tourism Surcharge
Energy Surcharge

Not included in the rates
Personal Insurance*
Premium Emergency Roadside Service*
Additional Driver Fee
Fuel

I don't see any mention of excess so do I need to take out Car Hire Excess Insurance here before I go (I see that mentioned a lot on this thread)? Maybe they call it something else?

Also is it a good idea to take out the personal insurance and roadside assistance that they have?

Advice would be gratefully appreciated

Thank you

Have a read of this:

https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://images.hertz.com/pdfs/Chargesexplained-English-v8.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwi17v7Qm7DdAhXNrFMKHQe-C2gQFjAAegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw0f2Rwg2LcKVbNRg1rZWW8u

BailMeOut

lollipop19 wrote: »

Hi there.  I'm going to the US next week and I've booked a car with Hertz and would like some advice from those who are more experienced in hiring in the US as its my first time doing it.  
Its says:

Included in the rates
Unlimited Miles Included
Airport Concession Recovery Fee
Loss Damage Waiver
Total Sales Tax
Liability Insurance Supplement
CUST FAC CHG+TAX AND VLCR+TAX
Tourism Surcharge
Energy Surcharge

Not included in the rates
Personal Insurance*
Premium Emergency Roadside Service*
Additional Driver Fee
Fuel

I don't see any mention of excess so do I need to take out Car Hire Excess Insurance here before I go (I see that mentioned a lot on this thread)?  Maybe they call it something else?

Also is it a good idea to take out the personal insurance and roadside assistance that they have?

Advice would be gratefully appreciated

Thank you

you are covered for excess here.
Personal insurance is if you want to cover yourself.
Premium roadside is detailed here
https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/productservice/index.jsp?targetPage=USroadsideassist.jsp
Deciding on both will depend on you and how risk adverse you are!

mugsymugsy

Might have been mentioned before but just in case anyone else is signed up with carhireexcess.com that they have an auto renewal as standard on the policy. For some people that's great but for others you might not want to automatically sign up for another year. You can turn this off when you log into your online portal.

Thanks for all the helpful info on this thread.

Zascar

One thing I'm finding difficult is that there are so many comparison sites that pull the data from multiple car rental companies. They show you e.g. Ford Fusion "Or Similar" so really you dont know what cart you'll be getting on the day. Some cars appear as Medium on some sites and Large on others.. I've found some sites show a very different price for the same car with the same company. Any advice? Booking for 2 weeks in LAX, looking for something decent budget approx €300. Rentalcars.com looks good so far..

L1011

Even with the car hire companies directly you get "or similar". They don't buy one type of car per category or else there'd be no resale value

killbillvol2

Zascar wrote: »

One thing I'm finding difficult is that there are so many comparison sites that pull the data from multiple car rental companies. They show you e.g. Ford Fusion "Or Similar" so really you dont know what cart you'll be getting on the day. Some cars appear as Medium on some sites and Large on others.. I've found some sites show a very different price for the same car with the same company. Any advice? Booking for 2 weeks in LAX, looking for something decent budget approx €300. Rentalcars.com looks good so far..

I came across this last year when trying to figure out how a VW Passat was "similar" to an Audi A4. Might be of some use to you.

I use rentalcars.com quite a bit but I always double check prices directly with the supplier before I book.

dohouch

A note of caution car rental prices and availability vary a lot because of large commercial fairs in Frankfurt. On recent visit , no Cars available and price would have been 4 times higher than the previous week if one had been available (Buchbinder) The same apples to rooms, and remember this is 130 Kms from Frankfurt. Frankfurt has lots of big fairs so worth checking car prices, and rooms before paying for flight.

abarkie

I thought there was a direct bus to Frankfurt?

dohouch

How do prices compare?
As against web-reserve in advance.

Had a web reservation but have cancelled as I want/would like a specific comfortable car for long haul driving and reserving a specific model , Renault Kadjar, is not possible with web reservation. Herz have them but can't guarantee.

Have never done a walk-up car hire, it's a Friday to Monday rental end of November.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience ( I'll meet at the counter for your opinions )

coylemj

A city centre rental office will have limited parking slots and beyond the cars that have been booked, a very small selection of cars available to rent. You will have very little chance of getting a specific model. If you want to maximize your options, I'd say go to the airport.

Bazz55

Try Atocha train station which should have a very large selection of cars.
Its easy walking distance from city center and also linked with the Metro.

If your staying north side you could try Charmartin station but it is smaller.

There are loads of car rental offices all over the city so they can check stock at other depots.

Best option would be reserve online at Atocha with a company that allows free cancellations and then shop around when you get there.

dohouch

Bazz55 wrote: »

Best option would be reserve online at Atocha with a company that allows free cancellations and then shop around when you get there.

Will have a look at Atocha

Might do that as backup, as what you will get on the day is just chance. Also I think that at least 24 hours notice is necessary for free cancellation.

vg88

Looking to rent a car on a trip. I'll have less than one year experince which usually doesn't allow me to rent, but i found a car on rentalcars website as long as I'm over 21 i should be ok.

Nowhere in the t&c does it mention minimum driving experince, so should i take it as literally or expect my driver experince to be a issue?

okidoki987

Confirm with the company before turning up to collect in case there is a problem when you arrive, will be safer in the long term.
Would have thought T&C's were over 21 with full licence with small engine car?

vg88

okidoki987 wrote: »

Confirm with the company before turning up to collect in case there is a problem when you arrive, will be safer in the long term.
Would have thought T&C's were over 21 with full licence with small engine car?

It's through budget, their t&c say 1 year but the third party says nothing about experince.

killbillvol2

moloner4 wrote: »

It's through budget, their t&c say 1 year but the third party says nothing about experince.

Budget standard conditions are over 21 with a full licence for more than one year. It doesn't matter what the broker says. You're renting the car from Budget so they won't give you a car if you've held a licence for less than one year.

Savage_Henry

Where do you want to rent?

You have to google specific companies t&cs for that specific country. For example google "sixt terms conditions germany".

redcup342

dohouch wrote: »

A note of caution car rental prices and availability vary a lot because of large commercial fairs in Frankfurt. On recent visit , no Cars available and price would have been 4 times higher than the previous week if one had been available (Buchbinder) The same apples to rooms, and remember this is 130 Kms from Frankfurt. Frankfurt has lots of big fairs so worth checking car prices, and rooms before paying for flight.

It's worth your while to check different stations around the City, they can have a price difference of 3 or 4 times.

Also with Cities in Germany have a look at Car2Go and DriveNow, they are car sharing facilities, you sign up online and just validate your account at the Train station or some other location with your driving license.

They don't have any monthly fee so it's worthwhile to have them, to get signup deals (e.g. no signup cost and free credit)
https://www.mydealz.de/gruppe/carsharing

Also another option for getting around.

Renting for less time is usually more expensive that renting for a shorter time, play around with the pickup and drop off times can change the price a lot.

Have a look here:
https://www.mydealz.de/gruppe/mietwagen

Mydealz is the Hotukdeals equivalent, worth having a look before you book

Careful when booking with Sixt directly (if you book via a broker you don't need to worry about it) .... you need to choose the basic insurance with CDW, just tick the box, if you don't you'll turn up and they'll tell you that you have no insurance booked at all and you are liable for the full cost of the car unless you take their rip off insurance at the desk.

The rest of them have the basic CDW included.

Check
https://www.billiger-mietwagen.de/

Same as Kayak but sometimes the prices are slightly lower.

If you work for a big company, (e.g. in this example Microsoft, you just need an email address with that company)


Go to:
https://microsoft.mitarbeiterangebote.de/login

or

https://YOURCOMPANYNAME.mitarbeiterangebote.de/login

Register using your work email address, there's discounts with Alamo and SIXT

For Hertz use CDP 504224 for 10% off.

Been using that for years

Viel Spass

Edit: One more thing, make sure you check the included kilometers, some can be as low as 150km / day but most are 250 km / day, buying kilometers in advance on the website can be much cheaper or just booking and extra day can be even cheaper than that, e.g. Book Friday to Monday Morning instead of Friday to Sunday as you'll get an extra 250 km and just drop it back early, you only need to go 25 hours over the pickup time.

blackvalley

blackvalley wrote: »

Hi.
I am visiting Portugal ( Porto area ) later in the year and am planning to hire a car for a few days.
Online research on tripadvisor etc warn of numerous companies that are to be avoided at all costs. Stories about rip offs , extra charges , hard selling of extra insurance and various ways of leeching extra money from tourists are rife.:eek:
SO . My question is . Has anyone recently had dealings with a car hire company in Portugal which they could recommend.
Thanks.
Blackvalley

To answer my own post I rented a car from " Drive on holidays " at Porto airport.
No problems excellent service and an almost new car. I took out my own excess insurance cover before travelling and although insurance was mentioned at the rental desk there was no hard sell . A sum of Euro 1400 which was blocked on my credit card was returned after a quick inspection of the car.
All in all a stress free experience.

masterboy123

I am looking to rent a car from Manchester Airport for 2 days. I heard many negative feedbacks from certain rentals.

Any recommendation please to where to get the best deals? and also I prefer premium insurance.

tony glenn

I'm planning to hire a car for a week in Portugal. I haven't hired for a long time, and I'm reading all these scare stories about how having a block on the credit card for a huge amount in case of a scratch or dent etc.
Can someone please explain the various options regarding insurance cover on the car hire websites?
I just want to hire a car for a week and not worry about paying a huge amount later for a mysterious scratch. What's the name of the add-on cover that will prevent end of hire problems?
Thanks!

CitizenFloor

Just go to car hire excess Ireland.....get your own excess cover for cheap.

And refuse the local cover......they may try tell you that you need it. Confirm with car hire excess that you don't....and print out your contact.

CitizenFloor

I recently rented for a week in Sicily....They asked about cover again at the desk after I refused it online. But you just need to be firm with them, they may try and scare you into it.

Good idea to take a few videos of the car with a phone before you get in.

Take a picture of the petrol tank gauge & time when leaving it back too.

At the risk of propagating another scare story :P I left a car back in Germany recently (Full to Full) with a full tank, and I didn't take a pic of the petrol gauge/time. Dropped off the keys in a box at the airport, no desk interaction. They tried to charge me 90 Euro of petrol, when I couldn't produce a receipt from a local petrol station. I asked them for their documentation including the level of fill when I left the car back, and they gave me back my money.

thebiglad

Hire cars will typically come with legally required third party insurance cover - if you damage third party property, you are insured. Typically they do not come with protection for the vehicle from either theft/accidental damage or if they do then just as you home policy does, they will contain an excess - in differentiation of your home policy this excess can easily exceed €1k. You have the options to reduce it to €0 by purchasing additional cover (excess waiver) - this can be from the car hire company directly (often quite expensive) or from an online company - at €3 per day or an annual policy.

If you buy an online policy to cover the excess then the car hire company will not recognise it - the beneficiary of that policy is you, not them so it provides them with no cover nor guarantee of payment in the event of damage

2 questions really

1) Blocking off credit card - unless you take the full excess waiver insurance the car hire company will block off an amount equivalent to the excess they charge on the policy plus possibly a refuelling fee. Taking out a policy with any company other than them and you will not get around this - they want to be sure if there is any damage to the vehicle they can recover it.

2) Excess waiver insurance - as sold by carhireexcess.ie etc - definitely good value compared to the counter products but you are required to settle any valid claim with the car hire company and then claim back from the insurer for your outlay.

Finally when collecting the car check it carefully (in good light) - check it against the vehicle condition report you will be given and record and bring to the attention of the hire company any additional damages - check the alloy wheels carefully for scratches too. Take photos of all damage.

Do not accept any Personal Accident or Personal effects cover - this is expensive and covered by your travel insurance.

If you are involved in an accident be sure you know the local procedures - i.e. must you call the police, what is the claim notification process for the hire company - again, if in an accident make sure you get lots of photos.