car rental (1 Viewer)

[scottie]

Hi everyone, a non motorhome question, but could do with some assistance. I am due to go to N Ireland for a week in July to see family and need to do car hire. I haven't hired a car for over 35 years, but I have pulled down as much of the legal stuff available on sites. Nearly all have collision damage waiver free as part of the package, but what extra am I going to have to pay to ensure I don't get hit with a bill for minor/major damage at the end of the rental.

Thanks
Scottie

 

[Badknee]

Hi everyone, a non motorhome question, but could do with some assistance. I am due to go to N Ireland for a week in July to see family and need to do car hire. I haven't hired a car for over 35 years, but I have pulled down as much of the legal stuff available on sites. Nearly all have collision damage waiver free as part of the package, but what extra am I going to have to pay to ensure I don't get hit with a bill for minor/major damage at the end of the rental.

Thanks
Scottie

I think that's it Scottie, fully comp insurance, drivers legal expenses are in it, perhaps check on mileage allowed, a friend got hammered with this as he thought it was unlimited mileage.

 

[Wombles]

We use these - they have a clear factual website detailing what is included at good prices & are rated as the top car hire company by Which? https://www.economycarhire.com/
We have only used them for Portugal but they do cover NI

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[Deleted member 29692]

Can't help with your specific question other than general advice to not ever touch big hire companies - Avis, Enterprise and the like, most especially Enterprise - with a huge barge pole. Look for small independent firms wherever you are.

 

[Wombles]

We got ripped off by Goldcar so would never use them again

 

[peterc10]

The free Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) comes with a large excess. Always pay extra to reduce it to zero. That way no need to worry about what scratches are already on the car when you pick it up. Mind you it is expensive, but I believe you can get it from independent insurers much cheaper, though never tried it.

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[Geo]

And make sure you comply with their re fueling rules, they do differ from Co to Co
paying £3 to £5 a Ltr for them to re fill can hurt
G
PS I always smart phone pics of any and all damage on pick up along with a pic of the hand over employee also any tyre damage fix it before return or again get charged x 3 for them to fix

 

[2657]

The free Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) comes with a large excess. Always pay extra to reduce it to zero. That way no need to worry about what scratches are already on the car when you pick it up. Mind you it is expensive, but I believe you can get it from independent insurers much cheaper, though never tried it.

Just beat me to it!

The excess on the insurance can be around a £1000, the hire companies sell excess insurance at a ridiculous rate but just google 'car hire excess insurance', there are lots offering much cheaper options.

 

[mitzimad]

ive just hired a car fo 5 days in Eire car £28 extra insurance £26 affordable car hire who are agents or resselers for lots of diferent companies you have to add super max cover to the first quote

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[Wombles]

Economy Car Hire have a "Fair Fuel Policy" & their additional insurance is competitive.

 

[Falcon 269]

Rather than pay the hire car company their extortionate daily rates for excess waiver insurance, take out a separate annual rental car policy. I have one which covers me and the wife for any car hire in Europe to the tune of £5000 on excess charges, plus many other cover benefits. It cost £35 for the year for two drivers. Check out Moneysupermarket or similar, or do a Google search. The additional insurance charges from car rental companies are a total rip-off!

 

[Abacist]

Also ensure that there is breakdown assistance and that windscreen chips and breaks are covered. If you have your own portable satnav use that rather than hire at an extortionate daily rate.

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[PeteH]

I used:- https://www.icarhireinsurance.com For cover on hire cars in the USA. I believe they also cover Europe.

FAR cheaper than CDWaiver.

Pete

 

[chaser]

We use these - they have a clear factual website detailing what is included at good prices & are rated as the top car hire company by Which? https://www.economycarhire.com/
We have only used them for Portugal but they do cover NI

Another vote for economy car hire, used them in Portugal also , read some of the comments on comparison sites and was a bit worried but they were the best car hire firm we have ever dealt with , bar none

 

[Zains Pops]

NI should be OK. When you book I suggest you speak to the renter direct and ask the full drive away costs and clarify the fuel policy. You need to be able to walk away from the car at the end of the hire knowing that any damage/ loss of earnings claim will be fully covered by the insurance. You can buy the CDW insurance from specialists before you rent at a fraction of the price offered by their rental company.
I agree with @Wombles above Goldstar absolute rip off merchants to be avoided at all cost. Most on line car hire sellers are just agents,I would advise deal with the actual renter to avoid grief.
It's an industry that the EU could actually do something useful about,as current trade practices are a disgrace. It needs cleaning up big time.!

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[DanielFord]

A handy tip, used this on Enterprise when they tried to pull the damaged car con on me! When you collect the car, take photos from all four corners making sure you get the whole car in each shot. Also make sure that the agent sees you doing this.
When I returned the car, they claimed that a scratch on the bumper was new and I'd have to pay. I asked them if they were sure they wanted to pursue this, since I had evidence to the contrary, I zoomed the photo showing the scratch was pre-existing. Strangely they opted to waive the charge!

 

[Tweedie]

Another vote for icarhireinsurance. Well worth taking out a specialist CDW insurance if you intend to hire a car for more than once a year. We took out the annual policy for Europe for when we had to hire cars for a few weeks after returning to the UK from working/living abroad for a while. Glad we did because we ( hubbie ) managed to reverse into a low stone wall in the lake district! anyway icarhireinsurance did exactly what is said on the tin, all settled and sorted very promptly and efficiently. Would also agree with above, check over any hire car thoroughly at handover and take pics/make sure any pre-existing damage is noted on handover paperwork you are given.

 

[chaser]

NI should be OK. When you book I suggest you speak to the renter direct and ask the full drive away costs and clarify the fuel policy. You need to be able to walk away from the car at the end of the hire knowing that any damage/ loss of earnings claim will be fully covered by the insurance. You can buy the CDW insurance from specialists before you rent at a fraction of the price offered by their rental company.
I agree with @Wombles above Goldstar absolute rip off merchants to be avoided at all cost. Most on line car hire sellers are just agents,I would advise deal with the actual renter to avoid grief.
It's an industry that the EU could actually do something useful about,as current trade practices are a disgrace. It needs cleaning up big time.!

We used economy car hire, and indeed they are agents but when we found out which firm they had actually got the car off , we tried to book one direct just to see, but we couldn't get anywhere near the price we had paid ech , all insurance included, nearly new car, no fiddling about with full tanks , just take it back with roughly what was in it at pickup, and the bloke at the airport couldn't do enough for us , didn't try to sell us anything and indeed persuaded us not to pay for motorway tolls or Spain surcharge , just ring him if we wanted it afterwards, which we didn't.

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[scottie]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Looks like I will take out a separate insurance to cover any damage, managed to find a few sites who do this, Also will take photos.

Scottie

 

[Odd job]

check out Martin Lewis moneysavingexpert.com for advise, used his to book last year, saved a packet. paid less for the hire car than parking at the airport.

 

[Odd job]

check out Martin Lewis moneysavingexpert.com for advise, used his to book last year, saved a packet. paid less for the hire car than parking at the airport.

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