cobbycito

If you read through the threads of Ireland car rentals it seems like most people have complaints with the process, but don't give specifics.

I'm flying into Shannon this weekend to pick up a Hertz rental. I'm curious from other people who have done this already -> how or why can it take 2+ hours to pick up a rental car? (I realize it's a different culture and how Europeans generally operate on a slower pace than stressed out Americans, but 2 hours seems excessive to me.)

Is there anything I can do in advance to make the process as quick & smooth as possible?

nini

cobby__we flew into Shannon and rented a car from Hertz and were out in no more than 20 or 30 minutes--very easy getting out of Shannon and into the counryside. The rental agent happily informed us the car had only 28 miles on it. But fortunately we managed to drive over 1,000 miles and return it to Dublin AP without a ding-- a small miracle really. Good luck and have a fun trip!

carolsc

We rented from Dan Dooley in May. No problems. Only took about 30 minutes start to finish. Returning the car was even faster.

edhodge

Used Dan Dooley twice- no issues and on the road in no time flat.

jfahey

Gripe - Gripe!! rented from Budget in Galway - - took one hour +, watch out for 'extras!' Huge add on for automatic, add on for extra driver - gas charge was $82 - supposed to get refund (still waiting,) had to pay for parking fee where car was picked up. (Yes, I wrote a letter to Budget.) I'd never rent another car from them.

kayd

There are so many flights arriving at Shannon from the U.S. at the same time (within an our or so of 8 a.m.) that there are just lots and lots of people expecting their Hertz cars then. Add to this the fact that the wave of departures to the U.S. is several hours later (noonish), so you have lots of cars being checked in at the same time as the rush to check them out. A Saturday morning in July must be expecially frenzied (I've only seen the phenomenon in June and September). Hertz ought to be able to figure out a better way to handle it, but they are sometimes at the mercy of customers who are "just a few minutes" late turning in their cars.
Your best hope may be to fet a seat at the front of the plane and to send only the driver sprinting to Hertz while the other(s) guard bags and wait for the car to come to them. I don't know whether Shannon has an express line for Hertz frequent customers, but it wouldn't hurt to look into joining that club just in case.

Jackie

I had one of those nighmarish experiences. I think it had to do with everyone who arrived on my flight booked their car thru Auto Europe. From what I could see, there were no lines at the other rental car places. Also, when checking off a pick-up time, I allowed an extra 60 minutes minutes on the back end. My mistake. Once getting to the head of the line, we had to wait for a car to come in before we could check it out.

wojazz3

If you rent with Oscannlain travel which usually has pretty competitive prices with Hertz, you get a voucher and can go directly to the rental lot, skipping the line. You have to pay in advance though, but the price is usually as good as anyone else's. If you rent a small car, check the tread on the tires. They seemed to be the worst. I ended up with a slightly larger one.

Bill