Car hire in Slovenia - advice needed please.

Cathyandtwins

Hi all,

Our car hire company are being particularly unhelpful answering my questions & have told me that with the "personal touch" someone will contact me 2 days before we arrive with further details and that, "no", they havent got anything to send me now!!!

I am trying to research the questions myself and was hoping that you lovely people might be able to help please?
My questions are as follows:

- What information/paperwork I will need to bring when collecting the car?

- Will I need to provide an International Driving Permit or not? (Looking at the Gov.co.uk website, it suggests not, but for £5.50, I'll probably get one anyway!)

- Will I need to provide a DVLA code or not?

- Will I need to provide any insurance details or not? (Allegedly the car hire covers insurance costs, but I really want to have my own to be 100% sure!)

- Details about the Slovenian vignette system works and what this covers?

Also, if anyone has been to Ljubljana Airport, would you be able to give me a clue as to where the car hire desks are please, as this apparently is information I don't need to know at the moment!!!

They were recommended on one of the Facebook Slovenian Travel Groups & we have already transferred payment, so I am just accepting their attitude (for now - needless to say, my review on the company after our holiday will reflect my treatment to date!!)

Thanks loads, Cathy 

P.S. Is the wording "booking confirmed" via WhatsApp, legally binding, when you haven't received a contract or receipt?!

iainscomputer

Hi, car hire in Europe is much the same everywhere, you will need photo driving license, if you have an older paper driving licence, you will need an IDP otherwise you won’t. You will also need your passport & a credit card to cover the car hire excess.
The Slovenian Vignette system is online only, you find the website & input your cars details, pay with your credit card. You can buy various periods of time. Obviously you will need to wait until you receive the car & know the registration number.
Ive been hiring cars for over 20 years with no issues but this year I’ve been charged twice for tiny amounts of damage which wouldn’t be charged for in the UK. 

First time in Poland was €500 for tiny windscreen chip under 0.2mm, 2nd time was €770 for pimple sized dent on the wing. Luckily I had an annual car hire excess policy & I was refunded in full, so make sure you have this cover, if you only have a low credit card limit you will have to buy it from the car hire company.
Buying this at the desk can cost more money.

iainscomputer

I always buy car hire with free cancellation, so if I find a better quote later I can cancel & rebook. Use a well known broker such as Rentalcars.com, Always print off your confirmation or screenshot it as we were late to the desk at our last booking & I couldn’t download it as it was cancelled because we were late. We did still get the car, luckily I had it printed off.

Cathyandtwins

iainscomputer said:

Hi, car hire in Europe is much the same everywhere, you will need photo driving license, if you have an older paper driving licence, you will need an IDP otherwise you won’t. You will also need your passport & a credit card to cover the car hire excess.
The Slovenian Vignette system is online only, you find the website & input your cars details, pay with your credit card. You can buy various periods of time. Obviously you will need to wait until you receive the car & know the registration number.
Ive been hiring cars for over 20 years with no issues but this year I’ve been charged twice for tiny amounts of damage which wouldn’t be charged for in the UK. 

First time in Poland was €500 for tiny windscreen chip under 0.2mm, 2nd time was €770 for pimple sized dent on the wing. Luckily I had an annual car hire excess policy & I was refunded in full, so make sure you have this cover, if you only have a low credit card limit you will have to buy it from the car hire company.
Buying this at the desk can cost more money.

Thank you so much for the advice. You mention an annual car hire excess policy - I don't suppose that you remember which one you got do you, by any chance?

Thanks loads 👍

Mildly_Miffed

Cathyandtwins said:

Thank you so much for the advice. You mention an annual car hire excess policy - I don't suppose that you remember which one you got do you, by any chance?

Thanks loads 👍

I asked a very similar question the other week...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6596666/hire-car-excess-insurance

As far as IDP goes...
https://www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/international-driving-permit

You only need a vignette for Slovenian motorways, which you really won't need given the size of the place.

It's a fantastic country, and Ljubljana is one of my favourite cities. Enjoy it!

jimjames

Cathyandtwins said:

iainscomputer said:

Hi, car hire in Europe is much the same everywhere, you will need photo driving license, if you have an older paper driving licence, you will need an IDP otherwise you won’t. You will also need your passport & a credit card to cover the car hire excess.
The Slovenian Vignette system is online only, you find the website & input your cars details, pay with your credit card. You can buy various periods of time. Obviously you will need to wait until you receive the car & know the registration number.
Ive been hiring cars for over 20 years with no issues but this year I’ve been charged twice for tiny amounts of damage which wouldn’t be charged for in the UK. 

First time in Poland was €500 for tiny windscreen chip under 0.2mm, 2nd time was €770 for pimple sized dent on the wing. Luckily I had an annual car hire excess policy & I was refunded in full, so make sure you have this cover, if you only have a low credit card limit you will have to buy it from the car hire company.
Buying this at the desk can cost more money.

Thank you so much for the advice. You mention an annual car hire excess policy - I don't suppose that you remember which one you got do you, by any chance?

Thanks loads 👍

I used Eversure for my car hire excess cover

Cathyandtwins

Mildly_Miffed said:

Cathyandtwins said:

Thank you so much for the advice. You mention an annual car hire excess policy - I don't suppose that you remember which one you got do you, by any chance?

Thanks loads 👍

I asked a very similar question the other week...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6596666/hire-car-excess-insurance

As far as IDP goes...
https://www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/international-driving-permit

You only need a vignette for Slovenian motorways, which you really won't need given the size of the place.

It's a fantastic country, and Ljubljana is one of my favourite cities. Enjoy it!

Thank you so much for the reassurance and useful links 😊