don817

Has anyone rented a car in Ireland from Economy Car Rentals? The quote in June for 9 days is 230 USD with CDW and excess insurance included, where Auto Europe is 405 USD with CDW with 1365E deductible. SCDW would cost about 14E a day from Auto Europe. Any recommendation?

Sher

Used them in Portugal. No problems. Also, there are posts here from people who have used them in various countries but I don't think from Ireland.

Itallian_Chauffer

Be SURE to read ALL of the Coverage and Terms and Conditions. Only damage DOCUMENTED by a Police Report are covered -- you will STILL be responsible for any scrapes, dings and dents that were either not listed at time of pick up, or which you failed to call the garda and waited for them to come and fill out a written accident report for.

They also do NOT cover tires, glass, mirrors, undercarraige ... Well, you get the general idea ...

I would hand on to their quote, but I suggest that you keep shopping, too.

Bob

ira

Hi don,

AE says that they will better any equivalent rate. Have you called them?

If they won;t match it, they will tell you why.

don817

Thanks Bob. It sure does help to read the "fine" print. It seems that I should with Auto Europe.

Itallian_Chauffer

don -- I'm not saying that economy is not a viable option -- just be aware to read ALL the "Fine Print" connected to ANY rental company, to make sure that you are comparing 'Apples to Apples'.

Also, FYI -- http://www.kemwell.com is a 'Sister Company' of Autoeurope and I have found that SOMETIMES their prices are cheaper -- dunno why. They also claim to 'Match any Price' and, since they are located in the USA (Maine, to be exact), if you PREPAY (in US Dollars), the is NO Foreign Transaction Fee of 1% to 4% tacked on by the Credit Card company.

Dan Dooley is the only company in Ireland that I know of that has NO 'Hidden Charges', but THIS year their quoted prices seem border-line OUTRAGEOUS. The DO offer a 10% discount if you call the New Jersey Office and mention Pat Preston's web-site -- http://www.Irelandexpert.com If you pre-pay there, as well, there would be NO 'Foreign Transaction Fee', either.

Car Hire in Ireland is THE worst. I call it "Kissing The Frog" -- as in, 'If you kiss A Frog, FIRST thing in the morning, pretty much NOTHING worse can POSSIBLY happen for the RESt of the day!'

Bob

Bob

allisonm

We are using Dan Dooley this year (next week!!). We have a world MasterCard so are not buying the extra coverage, but their price was only $202 prepaid (in dollars, not Euros) for our 9 days. Compared to what we have paid in the past, that is decent. We shall see about hidden charges.

(As an aside, I have googled the current price of petrol which is about E1.30/litre. Ouch!)

Itallian_Chauffer

allisonm --

I'm renting a car for 17 days -- in July -- Dooley quote for a Ford Focus, Manual transmission, w/o the insurance is right at $1800 !!!

And you DON'T want to know what they are quoting for a Nissan Micra Automatic !!!!!

Bob

jefe

Bob, are you doing an online quote on their US site? And are you older than 23? I noticed recently that they added some "Age Group" buttons on the US website that default to assuming that the driver is aged from 21-23, even though neither button is marked.

It was a bit confusing at first but this seems to tack on about $600 extra youth tax if you don't click "24 Plus". A few quick on-line quote checks for a manual Focus (pickup in Dublin, drop off in Shannon) is anywhere from $1200 to $1600 in July (time of month seems to make a difference), and that includes the Excess Waiver that drops the damage deductible to $100. Waiving that waiver brought those totals down by a few hundred.

Seems the numbers are a bit higher overall than last time I rented. I've had great service from all the Dooley folks in the past, so I'd still consider them, but I can certainly understand people looking elsewhere.

rs899

We just got back from Italy and rented from Easyterra, a European branch of AutoEurope. Their prices were much cheaper than anyone else and I got the same prepaid voucher from AutoEurope (reads "AutoEurope", not Easyterra), and the same customer service, had I needed it.

Bob, FYI your 17 day July rental of a Ford Focus from them in Dublin is $510.

The catch may be that the CDW deductables that are quoted may be higher than Kemwel or AutoEurope, but you can can find excess cover from a third party insuror for about $3/day.

Rick

Itallian_Chauffer

Yar.

I'm picking up in Cork and dropping off at Shannon. The $1800 was pick up at the Ferryport. It was "ONLY" $1600 for pick up at Cork Airport. Co-incidently, if I were to pick it up in BELFAST and return it to Shannon, it was ONLY $900!!!!
All quotes were on-line, over 24, and waiving the CDW and Super (Excess) with my World MasterCard.

There are a number of reasons why my quotes are so high -- July, 17 days, and SIGNIFICANT cutbacks by all the car hire firms on the size of their rental fleets due to the economy, etc. I only mentioned them as examples.

AutoEurope, Nova, Kemwell, Irishcarrental, etc. are all consolidators -- booking agents that set you up with rentals through "Real" companies, like Dooley, Budget, Europcar, Avis, Hertz, etc....

Bob

Itallian_Chauffer

As to the whys and wherefores, an article in the Irishtimes.com on Tues, Mar 30, talks about the shortage of rental cars in Ireland that is predicted for 2010. There were 30,000 cars available in 2006, 17,500 in 2009, but only 12,500 for this year. The costs are predicted to go from 200 Euros per week average, last year, to 400 Euros per week, this year.

Due to the significant drop in over-all tourism numbers, the impact is less significant during low-demand periods but is HUGE during the Peak season of July and August.

Co-incidentally, just for Giggles, I priced a Focus through Kemwell for the exact same dates, with Pick Up AND Drop Off at Belfast International Airport and received a quote of LESS than $600, under the exact, same terms (NO CDW).

This MAY be the Year of The North!!!!

Bob

allisonm

Bob: WOW!

If you go North, it is lovely; the Antrim Coast is one of the most beautiful sights...I could rent a place there for a week and just look out at the water. (BTW, where ARE you going this year? I know you have a fondness for West Cork.)

I guess we are very lucky to be going to Ireland in April, when the demand for cars is low.

When we first started planning this trip in Feb, I was looking at going in March. (No long-term planning in this household, decide to go and do it. That's also how we got married all those years ago.) Anyway, car rental prices for 9 days in March were ridiculously low, under $100!

I wonder if there is any fluctuation in the rental car prices, same as there is supposed to be in airline tickets? (Like:buy your tickets at midnight on Mondays or Tuesdays? - I forget which, but I can't stay up that late, anyway.)

jefe

The North sounds like a fine plan I want to spend more time there on our next trip. Maybe someday car rental in Ireland will become easier and more straightforward, but I'm not holding my breath.

TPAYT

What valuable information for our Sept.'10 trip.

Itallian_Chauffer

allisonm --

I'm not actually paying that much, but I'm NOT using Dooley this year, either. Locked in a price that works out to $812.70 at an exchange cost of $1.35, that includes all the 'Hidden Charges' -- OTHER than the Initial tank of fuel, but at least, they DO allow you to return it FULL to garner a refund on that, unlike SOME companies.

That works out to about $300-350 per week, so a LITTLE less than that $400 per week projection.

I LOVE the North, but we've got settled plans in Co. Cork begining on the day we arrive. I DID look into hopping on the train, as the run "Specials" online for train tickets as low as 10 Euro ... but my departure this year is out of Shannon. Had I known at the time about the car prices, I would have booked a return from Dublin, gotten the car from Belfast and saved about $400 or more!

SOMETHING has GOT to change vis-a-vis Car Hire, or Irish Tourism is going to take a HUGE hit...

Bob

allisonm

We are in Galway now. We picked up the car - a Ford Focus about 4 years old with 11K miles on it. The gas charge was 75E, and we will bring it back full to get a refund.

So far (and we got here yesterday) we left the running lights on and have a dead battery, but our host has cables and will jump us after breakfast! One lesson learned!

Irishgal127A

I'm so glad I checked this link today! Thinking of getting our car in Belfast and returning in Shannon -- changing my whole trip itinerary! Which sites should I check for car rental? Or is it better to get a deal that includes the car rental with flights?

Itallian_Chauffer

Irishgal127A:
Please remember that all car hire quotes are DATE DEPENDANT...

One-way rentals from Belfast to the Republic are only allowed by a handful of companies and most of them charge a HEFTY drop-off fee.

Dan Dooley DOES allow one-ways and INCLUDES the price in their quote. For MY dates in July, as I said, the quote was actually MUCH cheaper than picking it up AND dropping it off in the Republic ???? (See my post from 6 April)

If you want to REALLY save money, try a pick up AND drop off in Belfast -- as I said, Kemwell quoted me $395 + 'Extras', (which should have run MAYBE $150 more, TOPS!)for the SAME 17 days.

alissonm -- I am SOOOOO jealous! I won't be able to get anywhere NEAR Galway this year, as my trip co-incides with the Arts Festival and I am NOT a fan of massive crowds and traffic gridlock ...

Even if it IS only 'relatively' speaking ...

ENJOY!

Bob

Sher

Irishgal1727A. Renting a car anywhere is just making a list of all of the car rental companies you can find that rent in a particular place, submitting your information, checking the fine print and price and comparing prices.

Start with the price you will receive from the airline you are flying and go from there. Sometimes it is a good deal and other times not.

You just have to do your homework as time of year, pick up and return location type of car all factor in. You will be surprised at the difference in company prices and how they vary.