Car hire minefield!

confusedgranma

I am looking at hiring a car for the first time ever and am a bit daunted. I used comparison sites and found some good deals but the excess can be high. I don't want to get there and find I have no money left because money will be frozen to cover the excess. It seems that they dont tell you this until you get there! Would someone please guide me through it so I know what to expect and if I can avoid their exorbitant insurance by buying my own and avoid them freezing the excess? I would be very grateful for any advice.
I will be needing it from Aberdeen airport for 7 days if that helps. 23 years no claims, clean licence. I don't have a credit card so can't use one for the excess.

forgotmyname

If you dont want a large excess take out the extra insurance to lower it.

Your first question will be can i hire one without a CC.

Check the terms with 3rd party excess cover, will you have to pay out first
and claim it back later?

How long will it take? What if they dont cover it all?

Mercdriver

The OP will be able to hire a car without a CC but will get money taken from the account for the excess and will be required to give evidence of address. Certainly the case with Europcar...

agrinnall

Because of your age I would expect some hire companies to either decline you as a renter or load up the excess and possibly the deposit. You may also have difficulty buying excess insurance elsewhere, although the one I usually use appears to cover ages 21-85.

OwenMc64

I'm guessing that 'confusedgranma' HAS a 23 years no claim, not IS 23 years?

I was going to point you at Martin's Car Hire tips, specifically:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-car-hire#insurancetrick

but that apparently needs a CCard to get the hire company to play along. Might be worth checking with the hire company just in case that's not a hard and fast rule.

agrinnall

OwenMc64 wrote: »

I'm guessing that 'confusedgranma' HAS a 23 years no claim, not IS 23 years?

It could be read that way but I think you're wrong. A 23 year old would be far more likely to experience the issues that the OP is than someone with at least 23 years of driving history behind them.

Mercdriver

agrinnall wrote: »

It could be read that way but I think you're wrong. A 23 year old would be far more likely to experience the issues that the OP is than someone with at least 23 years of driving history behind them.

Think about it and read and comprehend what she has written.

She says she has 23 years no claims and her user name is confusedgranmas How many 23 year old confused Grandmas do you know that have been driving since they were born????

:beer::j;):D:eek:

confusedgranma wrote: »

I will be needing it from Aberdeen airport for 7 days if that helps. 23 years no claims, clean licence. I don't have a credit card so can't use one for the excess.

Mercdriver

confusedgranma wrote: »

I am looking at hiring a car for the first time ever and am a bit daunted. I used comparison sites and found some good deals but the excess can be high. I don't want to get there and find I have no money left because money will be frozen to cover the excess. It seems that they dont tell you this until you get there! Would someone please guide me through it so I know what to expect and if I can avoid their exorbitant insurance by buying my own and avoid them freezing the excess? I would be very grateful for any advice.
I will be needing it from Aberdeen airport for 7 days if that helps. 23 years no claims, clean licence. I don't have a credit card so can't use one for the excess.

Are you going by yourself or is someone going with you who could use their credit card? If so, you could take out excess cover insurance in advance of the hire and use your companion's credit card.

Many car rental places say that the card has to be in the driver's name, but I have found this to be rarely enforced. I have used my card when someone else is the driver with Avis, Hertz and Europcar. I also rented a 4 x 4 from Europcar in New Zealand 18 months ago when only having had my driving licence for 7 months, despite the rules saying 12 months.

agrinnall

Mercdriver wrote: »

Think about it and read and comprehend what she has written.

She says she has 23 years no claims and her user name is confusedgranmas How many 23 year old confused Grandmas do you know that have been driving since they were born????

:beer::j;):D:eek:

Yes, you're right, I hadn't spotted the user name, which certainly adds a lot of weight to your argument. I just wouldn't expect somebody with that many years driving experience to be having so many difficulties getting car hire, they're the sort of issues that a young driver would have.

Mercdriver

agrinnall wrote: »

Yes, you're right, I hadn't spotted the user name, which certainly adds a lot of weight to your argument. I just wouldn't expect somebody with that many years driving experience to be having so many difficulties getting car hire, they're the sort of issues that a young driver would have.

They aren't really having a huge amount of problems, just a single one: not owning a credit card for the car hire to preauthorise a large deposit on. This means that they will freeze money on bank account via a debit card unless the OP pays the highest excess waiver, which is almost as expensive as the hire itself.

This is the only option the OP has if she doesn't have a travelling companion that does have a credit card that can be used.

agrinnall

Agreed, I would just expect someone who has been driving for the last 23 years to actually have a credit card, if only because 23 years worth of fuel bought with a cashback card would add up to a fair sum (probably enough to cover the car hire).