Worried about car hire in France

wigglers

Hi
First time renting a car in France, we went on a compare site and ended up going through gotrentalcars.com it's at alamo the booking says.. In England I'm a named driver on my fianc!'s insurance as we both share a car and I usually only drive it on weekends also I've had my lisence for 9 years but I got 3 points the other year... Will I be able to rent the car when we get there as I've started reading need to take lisence insurance docs and credit card... Also do I need extra insurance? We already have a cdw included but its becoming so stressful and we haven't even gone yet! Any help appreciated thanx..

eDicky

See the MSE advice article on car rental and separate excess cover. As long as you have a valid licence entitling you to drive, you can use it to rent a car. Passport, licence sand credit card will suffice, your insurance docs are not relevant. Don't stress for no reason.

wigglers

So my 3 points won't matter? See when we looked and booked it said the cars are £185 for the 10 days but now they are coming up £156 but then there's an option to add extra insurance full cover for £70? So I'm wondering what's included in my cover and weather 8 should cancel it and go elsewhere

EveryWhere

wigglers wrote: »

So my 3 points won't matter? See when we looked and booked it said the cars are £185 for the 10 days but now they are coming up £156 but then there's an option to add extra insurance full cover for £70? So I'm wondering what's included in my cover and weather 8 should cancel it and go elsewhere

Your car rental has a certain amount of cover. But you will still be responsible for the cost of some of the damage. Often up to 1200 euros. That is why you are required to have a credit card with enough credit on it for them to block the requisite amount. No credit, no car.
In addition, some things aren't covered at all, such as windscreens, tyres etc

The money saving way to deal with this situation is to purchase a separate insurance policy, that will pay you back if you are required to pay in the event of an incident.

But buying the insurance from the broker with which you book the car is not cost effective, as they add their own bit to it.
So best to buy it as a standalone policy.
In fact, an annual European policy can cost less than £40. So £70 for ten days is a bit of a rip.

https://www.insurance4carhire.com/products/europe-car-hire-excess-insurance
https://www.bettersafe.com/car-hire-excess-insurance
https://www.questor-insurance.co.uk/car-hire-insurance

The good thing about the buying the insurance is that they cover windscreens, tyres etc
Quidco can offer further discounts.

eDicky

wigglers wrote: »

So my 3 points won't matter?

No, you are licensed and legally entitled to drive, in UK and in France (and elsewhere). Nobody is interested in your points, apart from UK insurance firms, until you have enough to disqualify you from driving.

gingerdad

you'll be fine, they don't even look at the print out of your licence details.

wigglers

That's a relief thankyou I've booked with gotrentalcars.com and the company is alamo but even on the alamo site I can't change or amend the booking and the gorental site is down when entering the info... So don't wanna be ripped off

wigglers

Car Summary
Economy 5 Doors Manual
Citroen C3 (or similar)
Power Steering/Brakes
Manual Transmission
Air Conditioning
ABS Brakes
Power Door Locks
Diesel or Gas Fuel
Diesel Fuel
Additional options available
AM/FM Stereo CD/MP3


Your Options
Collision Damage Waiver

This for 10days is £184 not sure how much I need on my card or weather to ring up and cancel and go for the quotes which are coming up at 150vl now?

Policies
- Minimum age : 21 years old
- Driving license validity 1 year +
- Young driver supplement under 25 years old : �290
Services included
- Unlimited mileage
- Collision Damage Waiver with deductible (�880)
- Theft Protection with deductible (�880)
- Third Party Liability Insurance
- Assistance 24h/day

isplumm

wigglers wrote: »

Your Options
Collision Damage Waiver

This for 10days is £184 not sure how much I need on my card or weather to ring up and cancel and go for the quotes which are coming up at 150vl now?

But would you not lose the £184 if you cancelled?

Mark

Sharon87

isplumm wrote: »

But would you not lose the £184 if you cancelled?

Mark

Most rental companies have free cancellation.

When I rented in Europe they blocked out about 800 Euros on my credit card, the excess was 1000 Euros.

Use somewhere like carhireexcess.com to book the additional insurance, so if you did have an accident and paid the excess you can put in a claim with them. The car hire place will offer to reduce your excess to £0 but it's like £20 a day normally! for 10 days in Europe you may pay £40 or less (better than £20 a day!)

EveryWhere

Sharon87 wrote: »

Most rental companies have free cancellation.

When I rented in Europe they blocked out about 800 Euros on my credit card, the excess was 1000 Euros.

Use somewhere like carhireexcess.com to book the additional insurance, so if you did have an accident and paid the excess you can put in a claim with them. The car hire place will offer to reduce your excess to £0 but it's like £20 a day normally! for 10 days in Europe you may pay £40 or less (better than £20 a day!)

For £40, you can buy an annual policy. Probably closer to £20 for ten days.