Cheap car hire article discussion

blades123

I have decided to hire a car from easycar but as the extra insurance is £35 for 7 day i am looking around for a better price with the insurance brookers. The best prices i have found are with questor and worldwide insure. Has anyone used these guys before and if so, what were your experiences with them.

My main concern in that i want to be covered for tyres, windscreens and underbody. I have check the policy and i am 90% sure that these are covered. Can anyone else confirm this.

However i have come across this line from worldwide insure

"There is NO exclusion for damage to tyres, windscreens and vehicle underbody."

What does this mean?

Thanks again

Malcontent

Another car-rental pitfall to avoid being stuck with a big fee for "out of hours" pick-up or drop-off. This is particularly a problem at smaller airports where the rental companies have restricted opening hours at their desks.

Today I was arranging a week's car hire from Innsbruck, next March, but only found late on in the process that some of the more attractive rates would be increased by 70.00 or 90.00 Euros because I was going to hire from Sunday to Sunday. This appeared on the website booking info, but only in smaller print when I got to the "shopping basket" stage and it was clear that this was extra to the price quoted and would be collected locally! These charges would also have applied for late-night or early monings on week-days in some cases!

Consequently, I found the best rate from a hire company operating from the airport that would be open during the hours (Sunday) that we would be there. So check this out carefully before you book, especially at smaller airports etc.

Herefordjack

By way of introduction, I should explain that I've just returned from a six day trip to the Costa Brava, where I hired a Ford Focus from Crown Auriga at Girona Airport via the website DoYouSpain. The vehicle and service were OK, and everything was as notifed up front at time of booking, including the policy of paying for a full tank at time of pick up, and bringing back empty (this cost 60E added to the bill). Wasn't a problem for us because we used almost exactly a tank and took it back with a tea-cup of petrol left in it.
My only gripe was that, because I declined the 3 Euros a day extra insurance to waive the excess, they charged the 300 Euros excess to my credit card as a deposit, on top of the car hire charge and fuel cost, and refunded it when I returned the car.
When I looked at my credit card bill, Barclaycard had charged £11 commission for the first transaction and £7 for the second, even though that was a refund.

So, is there any way I can avoid this credit card scam when I hire a car at Naples airport for a week in September? Do you have any recommendations on car hire firms? I'd like to pay everything up front in sterling before I go.

pompeyrich

Herefordjack wrote: »

My only gripe was that, because I declined the 3 Euros a day extra insurance to waive the excess, they charged the 300 Euros excess to my credit card as a deposit, on top of the car hire charge and fuel cost, and refunded it when I returned the car.
When I looked at my credit card bill, Barclaycard had charged £11 commission for the first transaction and £7 for the second, even though that was a refund.

So, is there any way I can avoid this credit card scam when I hire a car at Naples airport for a week in September? Do you have any recommendations on car hire firms? I'd like to pay everything up front in sterling before I go.

Welcome to the boards, Auriga Crown are the only car hire company I have ever used, and I have used loads, that actually TAKE the deposit and then refund it. All the others that I have used and these range from Avis, Hertz etc. to small 1 branch outfits, have authorised an amount from your card but only take it if there is a problem.

Herefordjack

Pompeyrich, thanks for the info.
From what you've said, if I pay up front for the Italy car hire in the UK, deal with a firm that only takes a swipe from your card at the pick-up point to authorise an excess charge should it be needed but doesn't actually debit your card, AND have the car on a 'full tank start, full tank finish' basis, paying cash for petrol in a filling station - I shouldn't need to have any forex credit card commission to pay at all.
Can anyone recommend a recent Italian car hire experience where all the above were true? Who was it with?

pompeyrich

Hereford Jack, I've never been to Italy but Holiday Autos might be worth a try. Enter your details and a list of cars will appear. If you click on the picture of the car you are interested in, a new window will open, click again on "view important information" and you can see fuel policy, insurance excess etc.

capcrackers

Could anyone help me out with some Vegas car hire. Looking to collect from the airport on 5th August and return on 18th August. Compact or economy sized is good. Best quote so far is just under £300. Any help would really be appreciated.

Thanks

wickywocky

Hi

I want to do a 5 day one-way rental in the UK between Peterborough and Stansted Airport, but we're travelling with a 3 year old. Are there any rental companies that are significantly cheaper than the others for child seat hire? We don't want to bring ours with us - we're arriving by train and returning on easyJet and it's a really heavy, cumbersome thing.

Thanks

Herefordjack

Just to tell you that I've decided to appoach my problem from a different angle. Instead of trying to find a car hire company that doesn't charge a deposit to your credit card, with the help of this site, I've found a credit card which doesn't charge commission on foreign currency purchases - and I've applied for it. Stick that where the sun don't shine, Barclaycard.

This will now be my 'going abroad' credit card. Well done, Money Saving Expert!

2Sheds

pompeyrich wrote: »

Hertz currently charge from £12 a day for "Super cover" which covers your excess for damage through accident, vandalism or theft, except for lost keys or misfuelling. The advanced rate only includes 150 kms a day whether you pay now or on pick up.

We used the super cover with Hertz when in Ireland last year, when we dropped the car off they just saw we had the super cover they signed the car back in without even checking it. So for peace of mind I'd pay the extra again.

Not exactly moneysaving but a dented door would have cost us more