Elderhood

It' been a few years since I have traveled to Europe and have never been to Ireland. Hubby and I are in our late 60's and will be renting a car at Dublin airport to travel south and west on the Emerald Isle. First I would like suggestions on car rental agencies and options. Second, I would like some information about insurance requirements. Both Liability and Property Damage coverage and how you obtain the insurance.
Thanks for our help.
Luv2 Travel

janisj

I'd first check Autoeurope.com -- a broker that deals with all the major providers. Then double check against what you can get with Dan Dooley - a major Irish company.

Credit cards generally cover rental cars . . . but mostly the coverage is not valid in Ireland so you almost always have to buy coverage from the rental agency.

" . . . will be renting a car at Dublin airport to travel south and west on the Emerald Isle." . . . Hopefully you are renting after being in country for a couple of days and don't mean driving when you get off the plane at DUB.

janisj

. . . meant to add ALL rentals have included liability insurance - it is mandatory

sf7307

Quote:

Credit cards generally cover rental cars . . . but mostly the coverage is not valid in Ireland

In particular, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card DOES cover rental cars in Ireland, and as primary (not secondary) insurance. It's a well-known benefit of that card, and we double-checked it was accurate information before we left for Ireland last September.

janisj

Yes, that is why I said 'mostly not valid' . . . World Master Cards used to but now don't. The Chase Sapphire does but that is a rare example. I 'think' one particular Amex does. The three "I's" - Ireland, Italy and Israel most credit cards don't offer coverage.

tom_mn

The primary vs secondary credit card insurance is only an advantage in one's home country since it keeps rental car incidents off your personal car insurance. There's no advantage in a foreign country.

Can't confirm it now but the Chase United Explorer Visa last year had the same global, any country, CDW policy that Chase Sapphire did (I had both cards).

Odin

The rates quoted on Autoeurope include either liability insurance, fire insurance, collison damage waiver and theft protection, both with deductibles OR you can have a rate with the same insurances and no deductible.
Dan Dooley offered Alamo rentals for the dates I chose, in Dublin, it wasn't clear what the deductible options were. They appear to be another broker for Alamo and Enterprise.

Compare prices with rentalcars.com, holidayautos and economycarrentals.

Elderhood

Thanks janisj
appreciate the quick reply. I did check with my credit card company and you are correct, they exclude Ireland.
I will check with the rental companies.
Susan

Elderhood

janisj...forgot to add that we are coming from London so will have had time to adjust. Thanks for the tip though, much appreciated.

girlonthego

We used Dan Dooley's Alamo car rental and they were great! We took all the insurance, including tires and glass, not cheap, but were fully covered. We had no issues with the car and no incidents. We had an automatic car which i highly recommend if you are a US citizen and are used to that. DH can drive a stick but it was the opposite side of the car and road for us. So, much easier that we had an automatic. Get the GPS. It tells you when to turn and was great! I was the navigator and DH was great at driving. Roads are very narrow in many spots. I just kept saying tree, ditch, tree, mailbox, hedge, ditch, so that DH would move over a little. All in all we did great and had a few laughs along the way. You will love Ireland. Very friendly people and a great place to get lost and then find your way again.

Elderhood

Thanks girlonthego
Is the GPS that comes from the rental company better than using your iPhone?
I definitely am considering the automatic, even for the extra cost. Driving on the left and small roads may be enough for hubby to deal with.
Thank you!

janisj

Oh -- that's great - no jet lag or problems. Drive away

girlonthego

Yes the gps was rented from the car company. I heard lots of friends say their phones didn’t work very well in the rural areas. The gps worked everywhere we drove!

Elderhood

Thanks so much!

Christina

As far as I know, all AMEX cards cover Ireland. I have one that has no fee at all, the Blue Cash Everyday card and it covers Ireland. AMEX doesn't typically cover New Zealand, Australia or Italy, that's all. They have some different exclusions on the extra primary coverage you can buy with Amex, and it is excluded on that one, but not the free secondary coverage.

janisj

You probably won't see this since you seldom return to a thread after contributing, . . . You may have other info but everything I've ever heard makes it much less straightforward than that. Maybe you just haven't read the fine print on your account.

This post from TA Quotes an e-mail they received directly from Amex saying that IF you get a letter from AMEX, yes it will, but will place a $5000 hold on your account. (Avis in Ireland states the hold is €5000) So in a sense they do cover but it is a hassle.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...e-Ireland.html

Per AutoEurope (but this is for booking through them - which likely takes into account the €5000 hold which they have no control over): "Nearly all American Express cards do not offer car rental coverage in Ireland, so unless you have an American Express Centurion (invitation only, cardholders have an average income of ~1.3 million dollars per year) or similar, you'll need to purchase insurance through Auto Europe or your rental car supplier locally."

So sure -- with a some red tape including having a printed letter in hand and OK w/ a €5000 hold on your card.

margo_oz

Rent the smallest possible car - many roads are narrow and those hedges jump out at you.

jobin

Anyone know if mentioned car rental companies in IR accept USA bank 'debit cards'?

janisj

I would NEVER use a debit card.

Odin

I would never use a debit card for car rentals. You need to have enough funds in your account to cover the excess (deductible). I always use a credit card where they can get pre approval for that amount, instead of it coming out of my bank account.