Car Rental Ireland: Shannon specifically
 

It seems that with the exception of that bad Avis incident at the Shannon airport most people on this board who have had bad car rental experiences occured with the pickups in Dublin. Does anyone have something good or bad to say about the car companies with pickup/dropoff at Shannon airport? I need to decide on the car by end of next week. The rental is for Feb. 18 - Feb 28, but I want my budget nailed down as much as possible before Christmas.<BR><BR>thanks for any help or advice

We rented from Dan Dooley in Nov of 2000, out of / Returning to Shannon and had no problems.<BR><BR>We are doing the same thing for our April trip too.

We have rented from about 10 different agencies in Ireland...both Shannon and Dublin and have never had any trouble and have been upgraded most times especially with Hertz. Id go for the least expensive and read the contract very carefully. Also I highly recommend an automatic as its so much easier than shifting on the wrong side. Have a great visit you will love it

ttt

It's worth the $30 US to get an automatic...I woulda paid $300 I think. We rented from Dan Dooley and it was really nice and easy going in and out of the airport. I would more than likely rent from them if I went back to Ireland.

Thanks for all the info ladies. I was leaning towards Dan Dooley just because they can quote me the lowest price.

I used Avis at Shannon with no problems. Got them through priceline, at nearly half was Dan Dooley was quoting.

regularly hire cars in ireland have been to all the companies go for the cheapest<BR>if this is your first time in ireland<BR>some things to be aware of <BR>the roads are not always in the best condition so have a car with good suspension<BR>driving in the cities can be frighenting as drivers do not always realise that there is anyone else on the road <BR>sign posts are not that frequentsometimes, so carry a good map<BR>but the people are super when not driving and will go out of there way to help you what ever the problem

They have sign posts??? =) LOL...get a good map. That was the subject of many a fight between my husband and I when we were there. You cannot read the signs at a probably the same size as a VHS tape going 60 when they are tucked behind bushes or way off to the side.

Just got back.Try www.autoeurope.com.All taxwes and fees are included.Get yourself a Diners Club card too.They pick up CDW insurance

I have used Budget the last 3 times I was in Ireland. I searched all the online sites and then called the toll free #s. The cheapest rate was Budget online booking. I booked the smallest manual available and when I praised the service I had on my previous trip from Budget they upgraded me free to a great car. Read the fine print to see what you are getting with the price. BTW, I saw many people on my last trip who rented from Dooley driving 2-3 yr old cars. Budget has a new fleet.

Personally I would of been scared to death about driving a brand new car over there. Especially the first day when we were driving there around Bunratty Castle. We had a year old Nissan something another that was an auto and it was super. It was small, fit perfectly around places and we had plenty of room even with all my shopping.

Hi Summer,<BR><BR>Rented through AutoEurope there in the Spring. Sometimes the best reference is when a problem occurs.<BR><BR>Our rental sprung a radiator leak about 100km from the airport. Very faaassstt service for roadside assistance with a quick fix to get us back to the airport. A replacement car was waiting for us with a no hassle switch out. And, this took place at night on St. Patricks Day eve.<BR><BR>Have a great time.<BR><BR>P.S. I have had the same type of service with Avis in Italy. Fortunately those were the only two rental car issues encountered on a dozen trips to Europe.<BR><BR>

Janis, I've rented with Dan Dooley once and had that same experience--the car we had was at least 3 years old, and it was like driving a skateboard. That was the last time I rented with them.<BR><BR>Also, I've never had any trouble with the road signs in Ireland. Street signs can sometimes be difficult to find, but navigating from town to town is fairly straightforward because the sign posts tell you where you are headed (which town), rather than the number and direction signs you get here in the US (495 south, etc.).

Dan Dooley has the best quote for midsize automatic to/from Shannon. Already checked with Budget, but I might call them back and see if they have different rates now.

Summer, Budget should match any quote you have from another Irish car rental co. Tell them what it is and see. If the toll-free # won't then email from their online boojking site.

Ann:<BR><BR>I couldn't figure out how to bid for an international rental on priceline. It just sent me to the individula websites where the quotes were unbelievably high. Any advice?<BR><BR>Bill

What kind of road side service does Budget provide? Good/Bad/Ugly?!<BR><BR>As for priceline, do they include CDW in the price?

I had great luck renting at Hertz through O'Scannlain:<BR><BR>www.oscannlain.com/Ireland/hertz/

Sorry, Bill. Should have been more clear. I use priceline.co.uk for renting in Ireland. Guess I should have checked if they accepted US-based credit cards. I have a credit card through my bank in the UK that I use on such occasions, so I never bothered to find out if I can use a US-based card.