cokeefe88

Hi,

I'm a 23 year old American, and I will be getting married in a few months and honeymooning in Ireland (flying into and out of Shannon) May 23-June 6. I've never rented a car before, and so have no experience dealing with car rental companies and figuring out how not to get ripped off with all the extras and charges. I'm not on a strict budget, but I'm very price-conscious. After doing some research about car rentals, I have a rough idea what I should do, but I thought I'd run it by you all:

Everybody seems to like autoeurope. The cheapest quote I got from them was $256.03 for a basic package for the 14-day rental, and $532.60 for a package with all the insurance added. Notably, neither of those prices includes a young driver surcharge which, at today's exchange rate, would amount to about $220. Therefore, the pre-insurance quote is really $476.03, and the post-insurance quote is really $752.60.

So I looked around some, and found that I can apparently avoid any young driver surcharge by renting directly through Avis. Moreover, the base quote (after taxes) was $250.80. With all the extras (CDW, PAI, TP), it was $695.30.

So it looks like if I get all my coverage from the rental agency (instead of credit card), I can save $57.60 by going directly through Avis; if I don't get any of the insurance, I can save $225.23 with Avis.

With that said, these are my questions:

1) Can anyone confirm that Avis does not charge a young driver surcharge in Ireland?
2) Are there any other companies which don't charge a young driver surcharge in Ireland?
3) Are there any other standard charges I should know about which are probably not included in the above quotes from autoeurope and/or Avis?
4) I've heard that autoeurope will match prices sometimes, is this worth pursuing?
5) I'm considering applying for the MC World just for the CDW waiver. I have a very good credit score and would probably not have trouble getting it. Is this a good idea?
6) Are PAI and TP or a credit card substitute mandatory?
7) Does the MC World also offer a substitute for PAI and TP, or just CDW?
8) If they're not mandatory, and the credit card doesn't cover them, should I pay for them?

Thanks for reading. Any other suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Thank you.

Robert2533

My advice is to contact Auto Europe. They will be able to answer all your questions. And yes, they do offer the best discounts in Europe.

plastic_paddy

I've just checked holidayautos.com and they're quoting:
Basic rate - $242.42 (this includes airport surcharge and license fee, check autoeurope's inclusions on that

Insurance included - $394.41

Underage surcharge is EUR10 a day, so including tax approx $200

These don't include PAI though, which can be covered under your general travel insurance.

1) Checking the Avis site, it seems they don't have a minimum renter age in Ireland (which surprises me!) but does stipulate you've had your full license for 4 years
2) I've never seen a company not charging an underage surcharge before
3) In the auto europe quote, check if airport surcharge and vehicle licence fee is included

5/7) Having the World Mastercard is a good idea if you want them to cover the CDW (I believe it also covers the TP) as you can see the saving. It doesn't cover PAI. Also, if you use tghe World MC you have to sign paperwork saying you/the CC is liable for the full cost of the car in the event of damage

6) CDW and TP are mandatory, whether you pay the local company, the broker (HA or AE) or covered by CC. PAI is not mandatory.

Hope this helps!

Tony2phones

You will find that not only will you have to meet the age restrictions you will also have to meet the minimum driving experience restrictions. Only the company involved can give you their individual requirements. Asking on this Forum Will Not give you an answer to your question. You have to contact the rental companies directly.

Don't take unqualified advice no matter how well intentioned and end up being turned away at the desk when you get to Shannon

Tony2phones

This forum needs an edit button.

By individual company restrictions I mean the Actual rental company and not an agency or broker.

World Mastercard does not give guaranteed coverage, An individual hire company be they Dooley, Budget, Hertz or Avis etc etc only accept world mastercard coverage from certain card providers and each have their own approved list.

plastic_paddy

Even "approved" card lists can be rejected if the supplier wants to try and upsell their insurance. ALWAYS get written proof from your credit card provider that you are covered in REPUBLIC of Ireland (I know someone recently got charged as their letter from MasterCard only said Ireland without stating Republic)

socal

cokeefe.... this may seem like a dumb question, but if you are renting your first car, have you ever driven a car on the left side of the road, with a steering wheel on the right side of the front seat, and shifted a stick shift car with your left hand? It can be a bit of a challenge for some folks who have only driven cars with an automatic transmission. I'm getting ready to pick up 2 or 3 cars for myself and my wife and our daughters/grandkids who will be traveling with us this July in Kerry. Just be advised that when you look for s rental with an automatic transmission, you'll find them very expensive.

Driving in Ireland can be a bit challenging during your first trip, but you'll quickly get used to it. A good tip might be to remove the left front hub cap and put it in the trunk before you leave the airport. Sage advice from one who has drifted too far left in both England and Ireland.

You are lucky that there are not as many double round-a-bouts in Ireland, as there are in England. Have a good trip. I'll follow your posts and see what you finally come up with before I make my final purchase... SoCal

nytraveler

For a first time in Ireland I wouod definitely rent an automatic - unless all you ever drive is a stick. If you do only stick it's not that difficult to adapt to the opposite side - but if you usually do automatic and have to at one time change 1) mode of driving. 2) side of the road and 3) new roads and conditions (not a lot of superhighways but definitely a lot of sheep in the countryside) it can be a challenge. I rent an automatic there - since I can do stick shift but don;t do it every day.

cokeefe88

SoCal and nytraveler: No, I've never driven backwards, and no, I don't drive a stick regularly. However, I did drive stick regularly for about three years.

My dad rented a stick on an Ireland trip a few years ago; he used to drive stick in his younger days, but had not done so regularly in probably 20 years. He said it took a little bit of getting used to, but he didn't have any real trouble with it; he added that if he could do it, I would be able to.

I like the hub cap tip. I keep reading about people having to pay to replace hubcaps. Pretty funny. Not used to that here.

Robert2533: Took your advice and called autoeurope. The lady I spoke to explained that I had misread Avis' young driver policy; I had misinterpreted "There is no minimum age for drivers", combined with a lack of readily available information about any surcharges, as a claim that there was no surcharge.

She offered me a sale price, inclusive of CWD, TP, and young driver's surcharge, of $589.24 for their cheapest vehicle for the rental. I mentioned that I had been thinking about applying for the MasterCard World to save a couple hundred bucks; she said that even if I do that, I should still buy now to lock in the sale price; if I do decide to get the MasterCard, I can have them refund the price I had already paid to my other card, and charge the same amount to the MasterCard.

So I did. $589.24 paid. I will do some research on the MasterCard to decide if it's worth the hassle, and I'll keep shopping around every week or so to see if I can find any cheaper offers to use autoeurope's price match guarantee.

Thanks for all your tips!

Tony2phones

Well done..

plastic_paddy

Wow, that's still $200 more than the quote I got from holidayautos.com!

plastic_paddy

Scrap that - missed the underage bit. works out the same price and you get to not pay the underage fee on arrival (in euro) so that's a very good deal - well done!

bilboburgler

Well done, my experience is that what ever we tell you and what ever the phone calls you will make when you get to the counter you will suffer the "up-sale". This will include GPS "no one can drive in Ireland without a GPS sir" etc etc. See if you can take an APP with you..

GreenDragon

Check out Dan Dooley as well - they guarantee no hidden charges, and may be able to beat the price. I've had great experience with them. Autoeurope I had a couple issues with but nothing terrible.