Cheap Car Hire: Slash £100s in hire and insurance costs

Former_MSE_Archna

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Cheap Car Hire: Slash £100s in hire and insurance costs

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richardw

Don't forget a bit of www.quidco.com cashback, Insurance4carhire are now listed.

BenL

I am looking at the moment for Nantes airport in April 08 and Hertz.co.uk have some good deals on the smaller cars. £65 for 3 days.

I checked the hertz.fr website and it comes out same car 220Euro - £160.

I would have though a french hirer would have got cheaper rates than a UK opposite side of the road driver.

Going direct to Hertz.co.uk is also about £1 cheaper than the Ryanair affiliation.

Oh yeah, Hertz is also on Quidco - £8

Ben

yaspop

Don't forget thomson car hire http://www.thomson.co.uk/car-hire/car-hire.html I used it and it was a little cheaper than travelsupermarket, I think it has a bigger supplier comparison range as well.

Also (I know it's obvious - but it happens to the best of us ( ), don't forget to take the credit card you used to hire the car in the first place with you - you need it when you pick up the car (don't know why though).

BrookeDavis_2

One major problem over car hire costs is the policy on fuel. We tend to take short breaks and we try to avoid the hire companies who have a "pick up full, bring back empty" policy. Strange how much fuel they can get into a small car! and how incredibly expensive it is.
Trouble is, it is often impossible to find out what the arrangements on fuel are until you have reached the full terms and conditions AFTER paying.

acwalters

If anyone has an American Express Gold Charge Card, you get free rental insurance, so you can refuse all the insurances offered by the rental company, including CDW. Also, other credit cards are starting to offer this, but check.

I think you have to pay an annual fee for the AMEX, but if you're a frequent traveller and/or have other uses for it, it is worth it. (e.g. if your flight is delayed 4 hours, they give you a couple of hundred pounds to spend on clothes etc.)

Not only this, but it is good for the whole family, so if your father/son/husband etc has one, it's good for you too. Check.

It's also worth getting a wizard number (like a frequent flier number) (free from Avis - other companies offer the same thing with a different name). Apart from the convinience, I am upgraded 8 times out of 10 because of this. It also knocks a massive 90% off the one way fee - from £110 down to £11, and in the USA, it removes the underage charge for under 25s (In New York, a $110 per day!!!!!)

sca

I have checked Travelsupermarket, opodo etc. for Nimes in January. Fairly similar for 4 days (App £90). However CDW and DEW (new on me) are confusing. Does anyone do an all inclusive and no access policy?

Regards

Bazzablue

We went to Menorca recently and I hired a car through Hertz for a week at a cost of £89 but they wanted to charge me over £70 for CDW cover( which is how car hire companies make their money).
I shopped around on the internet and took out car hire insurance with Worldwide Travel Insurance Services Ltd at a cost of £13.65 for the week.
What happens is if you have an accident you would pay the excess (normally around £500-£600) to the car hire company and then you would claim the money back from the insurance company when you arrived home.
While we were on holiday the car got a puncture which cost me £40 euros (£25) which I paid to Hertz to cover the cost.
When I got home I contacted Worldwide Travel Insurance Services Ltd and asked if I could claim the money back for the tyre and they said YES, they then emailed me the claim form to fill in.
It did take 2 weeks for the claim to be processed but I did get my £25 back ........insurance for £13.65 what a bargain.
Also if you had taken the insurance out with Hertz if wouldn't have covered you for tyres....
DON'T GET RIPPED OFF BY CAR HIRE COMPANIES INSISTING YOU TAKE OUT THEIR INSURANCE :money:

NeilK_3

Hi, I have a question about hire car insurance. I will be renting a car in Italy for two weeks in November. Now I've never hired one in Europe, though I have in the USA. There they keep hire cost and insurance cost separate, and I saved a bundle by insuring through insurance4carhire.com. Now I've been told (by a mate!) that they don't do this in Europe, and insurance is included as standard in the price.

Firstly, is this true? If so, then...

Secondly, can it be worked around, i.e. could I pay for the hire cost but NOT the hire company's insurance (since I'm sure they're raking it in off that!), and use insurance4carhire instead? Just like I did in the USA.

tncm

HI.
I used to work for a car hire company so thought i'd post some tips.

If you book a car, and you would like a slightly bigger one, ask at the desk, most of the time there are upgrade cars available at a good price, but you must haggle!! the agent normally gets around 10% of the price he gives it too you, so he will always go high first. and be carefull when the agent says "Total price", it really means "extra per day".

Always check the price at the desk, the agent gets "points" for what he sells sometimes you may see youre paying for "personal insurance" when you havnt asked for it. you would not believe how many people are in a hurry and dont check.
when they return? too late! theyve signed the contract!

Always check for damage before you leave, no matter how minor! yep, incentive for the agent again!

hope this helps

tncm

Neilk

hi. you can do it that way, depending on who you are with . you have to shop around really and check what you are covered for.

HolidayAutos are great. basic insurance is included and to waiver the excess is really cheap.

ryanair/easy jet have good price with their partners hertz/europecar with insurance included, you can get it without and use an indepedent one which quite a lot of people are doing now, but if you damage the car you will get charged and then have to claim back through the insurace company, which can be a hassel.