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Car Rental in Ireland GuideCar Hire in Ireland Explained

While a lot of people who travel to Ireland don’t venturebeyond the city limits, there are hundreds of reasons inIreland to rent a car – but the ability to explore Ireland at yourleisure is probably the best reasons. In saying that, Irelandhas a bad reputation when it comes to car rental services,and this either puts people off or leads to situations wherepeople feel they have been ill treated by the various carrental companies.This article will attempt to explain how car rental worksaround the world, and give you the information before youtravel of what to expect when you arrive at the car rentalcounter.

Car Rental Companies - ContactInformation

Car Rental Companies Phone NumbersAvis 1890 22 33 55CARHIRE.ie 1800 515 800Enterprise 1890 227 999Europcar 1800 948 855Dan Dooly +353 62 53103Hertz +353 1 676 7476Irish Car Rentals.com +353 61 206 088

The car rental companies listed above are the main carrental companies in Ireland. A number of companies operatemore than one brand.

Car Rental Brands at Irish Airports

Dublin Airport Cork Airport Shannon AirportHertz Hertz AvisEuropcar Europcar Dan DooleyBudget Budget EuropcarDan Dooley Dan Dooley HertzEnterprise Enterprise  CARHIRE.ie    SIXT    

Dublin Airport is by far the busiest car rental collection pointin Ireland. In Terminal 1, the car rental desks are located inthe arrivals hall, while in Terminal 2 the desks are locatedbeside the access point to all other forms of transport, andon the way to the taxi and bus terminals.Dublin Airport car hire is attractive to people for a numberof reasons:

• As all car rental brands are present, the car rentalmarket is extremely competitive, and customers canget multiple prices before making a decision.

• Dublin Airport is the most important gateway to Ireland,with over 19million people flying through the airport in2012

• The airport is extremely well connected to the majorroad network, located just off the M50 and the M1motorways

• Dublin Airport is located just north of Dublin City, and isextremely well connected to Dublin City Centre whichis a major draw for tourists

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Car Rental Insurance

CDW InsuranceAll car rentals in Ireland come with basic insurance whichis required by law to rent a car. This insurance is typicallycalled collision damage waiver (CDW) and will cover you fordamage to the car with an excess.An excess is a security deposit you leave behind when yourent the car in the form of a hold on your credit card. Theexcess amounts vary depending on the size of the car yourent, but will start at around €1200. This means, should youdamage the car, the maximum liability you will have is €1200with the car rental company being responsible for the rest ofthe value of the car.Should you have the misfortune to damage the car whileon rent, the entire amount of the excess will be retainedby the car rental company until the damage is fixed. If thedamage is less than the excess, you will then be refundedthe difference.If you return the car undamaged, the hold will be releasedimmediately. However, be aware that the bank can takea number of days to release this back into your account.If you do not have sufficient credit on your credit card forthe security deposit, you will have to purchase additionalinsurance, called super damage wavier (SDW) which willreduce your excess to between €0 and €200.Excess insurance from third party providers doesn’t removethe requirement for the excess to be placed on your creditcard. Excess insurance merely means, should you damagethe car, you will be able to reclaim the cost of the damageagainst the insurance policy.

SDW InsuranceSDW insurance is an optional cover you can chose topurchase or not when you pick up your car. This insurancewill reduce your excess liability right down to between €0and €200 depending on the company. This means, thesecurity deposit you leave is much lower, and your liabilityis greatly reduced. Obviously there is a cost associatedwith purchasing this additional insurance. To a great extent,whether you purchase it or not are down to your aversion torisk and the availability of funds in your credit card to coverthe excess amount.

Additional ChargesCar rental companies in Ireland have always received a badreputation for not including all charges when you purchasethe rental. Although, these will be listed as unpaid and made

clear to customers during the booking process that the feesare due once you come to pick up the car, confusion stillreigns.However, a number of car rental companies are making aneffort to have fully inclusive pricing, most notably Irish CarRentals.com which uses this as its key value proposition forcustomers. Also, the premium brands such as Europcar andHertz will not have additional charges not included in therate when you book. Recently, www.CARHIRE.ie has alsogone fully inclusive although it doesn’t include the credit cardadmin fee in its rates. Thrifty and Budget.ie both charge apremium location fee, or location surcharge when you rentwith them.

Toll RoadsDublin has one automatic toll road, the M50 which is the ringroad around Dublin. People who drive this route are liable topay a toll for using the road. However, car rental companiesare made pay for each time a car passes over the toll road,meaning you the driver will not have to worry about paying.

Fuel Policies

Given the rising cost of fuel in Ireland, the fuel policies ofthe car rental companies have come in for some stick. Somecompanies insist on all car rentals over a two day durationcoming with a full tank of fuel with no refunds should the carbe returned half full.However, Europcar, Irish Car Rentals.com and CARHIRE.ieallow customers to decide what option they would like. Thereare two main options:

1. Buy a full tank of fuel with the car at fuel prices that arelower than market rate, and return empty

2. Be given a full tank of fuel and be asked to return it full.If the car is not returned full, fuel is charged at abovethe market rate

In terms of fuel policy, these companies are definitely worthchecking out.

Tips and Advice1. Be careful that you put the right fuel into your car. If

petrol is put into a diesel engine, the car will cease towork almost immediately and will require a tow to thenearest garage and the engine to be cleaned.

2. If you are only used to driving automatics, think twiceabout learning how to drive a manual car during a

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car rental. Damage to clutches by people not used todriving manual cars can be severe and costly to repair.

3. Car rental companies in Ireland in the main only acceptcredit cards. Debit cards are not the same as creditcards as a security deposit cannot be placed on them.

4. Pay close attention to the car before you depart the carrental depot and ensure all damage is noted.

DisclaimerAll effort is taken to ensure the information providedis accurate. However, before deciding which car rentalproduce to purchase, please verify all information provided. Last updated on August 15, 2013 - All Rights Reserved