Car hire question

[43055]

Hello,

In a couple of weeks I will be on holiday in Ireland and we are planning a day out by hireing a car when we are staying near Dublin Airport. Being near the airport i presume there is plenty of places to choose from but my question is about payment having never done this before. Someone at work said they only accet Credit Cards which has got me a bit worried as i only have a debit card. Is this correct? Looking round i cant seem to find a definite answer.

Thank you

 

[speedy1]

https://sunnycars.nl/en let you filter results to Rent Without a Credit Card

Used the company a couple of times in Portugal and Italy (got Hertz both times but they have both better and worse companies). With a CC though

Looks like only off-site providers at Dublin airport accept debit cards

Credit card is the expectation when hiring a car in many parts of Europe. So make sure to book something that specifically says they permit renting without one.

Alternatively there probably lots of coach excursions you can book, instead of hiring a car

 

[43055]

Thank you.

The idea is to go to the farther teds house which looks like the only way to get there is by car.

 

[Grumpy Git]

I hire cars at airports all over Europe more than 10 times per year.

I honestly did not know it was possible to hire one without a physical credit card!

In fact, its always pointed-out on the email confirmation, that an actual credit card must be presented at pick-up, (to guarantee the deposit and fuel).

 

[speedy1]

Also reading the terms at hertz.ie ( https://www.hertz.ie/rentacar/reser...s/rentalTerms.jsp?KEYWORD=PAYMENT&EOAG=DUBT52 ) it states:

"Certain bank issued Visa or MasterCard debit cards are accepted however, to collect your vehicle, you must either produce a credit card in the driver's name to support the Excess or include our Super Cover to your rental (€ 250.00/€ 500.00 limited excess will apply)."

Should you wish to book direct with Hertz (I've used them a few times at Dublin Airport and found them quite good)

 

[thejuggler]

It would make it far easier if you had a credit card. Apply for one today, even if you only use it once for the car hire its a handy piece of plastic to have access to.

 

[gazthomas]

While expensive, I would recommend the Super Cover, especially over getting stand alone excess insurance. This will eliminate any worth about any damage, even a stone chip can be costly. As in the Hertz above you would be able to use your debit card then

 

[IslandDweller]

As noted above, your choice is much restricted if you are going to use a debit card. And taking the additional insurance is usually mandatory, but if it is only a one day hire that shouldn't be punitive.
Check age restrictions. If you're young, that can add more restrictions (and cost) and some companies won't rent if you are over 70. Have you had a driving licence for more than a year - you'll have trouble if you are recently qualified.
I recommend hiring directly with the company, not via a broker. I see so many horror stories with brokers - details and prices get mixed in the comms, or the booking lost entirely. If you have an email confirmation from the company itself you are much less likely to hit any hitches.
Don't expect to get the car they quote - they are only "examples" - all you can expect is something similar. If you want/need an automatic model, you must specifically book that type of vehicle, or you might get a manual. That said, manual gearboxes are becoming rarer, even on hire fleets. I rent a few times a year and the last time I was given a manual transmission car was over a year ago.
Take your driving licence, your card (the physical one, not a virtual one in your phone) and your passport. I rented a car on Wednesday this week and I witnessed one guy turned away because he didn't bring his licence and another refused for not having the physical payment card.
Expect to spend the first hour screaming in frustration as you try to work out how to turn off the hateful ADAS features (lane keeping, emergency braking alerts for a pedestrian about a half mile away, speed limit warnings that will read the wrong signs about 50% of the time).
Work out where you will refuel the car when you return - letting the hire company refuel it will cost an arm and a leg.
If there is the option to check in advance (it varies by company), do that - it will save a huge amount of time at pick up.
Some of the motorway roads near Dublin airport are toll,, but no barriers. You need to pay online. Like the Blackwall tunnel or Dartford Crossing. The hire company won't cover this and if you fail to pay you'll pick up admin charges from the hire company and a fine.
Enjoy the day

 

[Grumpy Git]

Regarding brokers; I've used Autoeurope exclusively for as long as i can remember. There is in excess of 150 car hires in my history with them, (all from European airports).

Apart from one additional charge of about £70 from a crafty desk agent in Oslo Gardermoen (Norway) which was my own fault, I've not had another single charge over and above the original hire fee paid to Autoeurope, ever! And that includes being rear-ended good and proper in a brand-new hire car once in Rome.

They also allow you to get a 100% refund if you need to cancel, unless it is less than 48 hours to pick-up. This means if the price drops in the interim, you can save money, (but you do have to keep checking and make the cancellation and rebook).

I have no connection to Autoeurope whatsoever.

 

[Flying Snail]

Thank you.

The idea is to go to the farther teds house which looks like the only way to get there is by car.

That is a good 6 hour round trip from Dublin.

Are you also aware that it is a private house with no access to the public on a very narrow road, not a tourist location.

 

[thejuggler]

Regarding brokers; I've used Autoeurope exclusively for as long as i can remember. There is in excess of 150 car hires in my history with them, (all from European airports).

Apart from one additional charge of about £70 from a crafty desk agent in Oslo Gardermoen (Norway) which was my own fault, I've not had another single charge over and above the original hire fee paid to Autoeurope, ever! And that includes being rear-ended good and proper in a brand-new hire car once in Rome.

They also allow you to get a 100% refund if you need to cancel, unless it is less than 48 hours to pick-up. This means if the price drops in the interim, you can save money, (but you do have to keep checking and make the cancellation and rebook).

I have no connection to Autoeurope whatsoever.

I had similar with Zest as they provide full CDW insurance with all bookings.

Hired a car in Portugal, someone who couldn't park decided their bumper needed to hit the passenger door as part of the manouver. Reported it, but heard nothing more, no extra charges etc.

 

[Egg Centric]

It would make it far easier if you had a credit card. Apply for one today, even if you only use it once for the car hire its a handy piece of plastic to have access to.

This is probably the most important piece of advice in this thread, actually. Unless you're an undischarged bankrupt or something if you can afford car hire then there'll almost certainly be a credit card you're eligible for and they're extremely useful not just for things like this where you need to "reserve" a big chunk of change (in some countries it's not uncommon to have to reserve >5k for car hire) but also for things like building your credit rating, Section 75, points, cashback, loyalty schemes (e.g. with car hire with certain credit cards you can be a member of Hertz President’s Circle without paying a penny to Hertz)

 

[Harpers Tate]

Agreed. There are many cases (and car rental is one of them) where providers' policy is to take a "pre-authorisation" sum* in addition to the base cost, to cover things like damage etc. Typically, for example, self-inflicted damage (eg to a car, by you, trashing the interior) is not insured, and they want to be confident you will pay as required.

The point is that if they do so, it's a hold against your money - in your bank account. For the duration of the hold, you won't be able to spend it on anything else. Whereas, if it's a credit card, it's a hold against your credit limit (which is often far more than you'd be likely to spend) and would not have any effect on your real spending.

===========

* pre-authorisation: it's a shadow transaction that reserves (but does not actually take) the money. It's done routinely at the point of transaction authorisation. Most of the time the money is then taken i.e. the pre-authorisation is drawn and becomes a real transaction. In "deposit" cases like car hire, it's never drawn and expires. Most banks' online services show these pre-authorisations as something like "pending transations".

 

[sprunt]

Agreed. There are many cases (and car rental is one of them) where providers' policy is to take a "pre-authorisation" sum* in addition to the base cost, to cover things like damage etc. Typically, for example, self-inflicted damage (eg to a car, by you, trashing the interior) is not insured, and they want to be confident you will pay as required.

The point is that if they do so, it's a hold against your money - in your bank account. For the duration of the hold, you won't be able to spend it on anything else. Whereas, if it's a credit card, it's a hold against your credit limit (which is often far more than you'd be likely to spend) and would not have any effect on your real spending.

Sure, but that's the customer's problem to deal with. If there's enough money in the account for the hire company to take the pre-authorisation why does it bother them whether it's credit or debit?

 

[Egg Centric]

Sure, but that's the customer's problem to deal with. If there's enough money in the account for the hire company to take the pre-authorisation why does it bother them whether it's credit or debit?

I assume this question is from the hire company's perspective: one reason is you can't hold a pre auth against a debit card very long (matter of hours/days) essentially because a direct debit or something will "win" so the bank can't permit that.

 

[sprunt]

I assume this question is from the hire company's perspective: one reason is you can't hold a pre auth against a debit card very long (matter of hours/days) essentially because a direct debit or something will "win" so the bank can't permit that.

Fair enough, that makes sense.

 

[chrisjo]

even if you only use it once for the car hire its a handy piece of plastic to have access to

I had a Bank of Scotland credit card for many years, until one day they told me they were cancelling it because I didn't use it enough. So I got a different one. I still have accounts with BOS, and now of course I'm being subject to a barrage of correspondence from them in various forms telling me that I really need to apply for their credit card. Sorry, straying off topic a bit but 'even if you only use it once' doesn't necessarily mean you'll have access to it again sometime in the future.

 

[Harpers Tate]

Sure, but that's the customer's problem to deal with. If there's enough money in the account for the hire company to take the pre-authorisation why does it bother them whether it's credit or debit?

Perhaps I should have rephrased that as
For the duration of the hold, you need to have sufficient available funds in your bank account to cover that hold PLUS anything else you wish to spend for real, as it will affect what your bank will allow you to use. Not everyone has an extra few hundred pounds (-worth of currency) spare.

Yes, it's the customer's problem. Perhaps not everyone who wants to use Debit rather than Credit realises this happens and/or its consequences. I see more than enough questions on travel forums about budgeting (for accomodation, food, tickets, etc.) to accept that there are some - many perhaps - for whom cost matters.

 

[sprunt]

Perhaps I should have rephrased that as
For the duration of the hold, you need to have sufficient available funds in your bank account to cover that hold PLUS anything else you wish to spend for real, as it will affect what your bank will allow you to use. Not everyone has an extra few hundred pounds (-worth of currency) spare.

Yes, it's the customer's problem. Perhaps not everyone who wants to use Debit rather than Credit realises this happens and/or its consequences. I see more than enough questions on travel forums about budgeting (for accomodation, food, tickets, etc.) to accept that there are some - many perhaps - for whom cost matters.

I understood what you meant perfectly well. My question (which was answered) was why should the car hire company care about that as long as they get their money?

 

[Amos]

That is a good 6 hour round trip from Dublin.

Are you also aware that it is a private house with no access to the public on a very narrow road, not a tourist location.

The residents aren’t particularly friendly either, though not on the same scale as Altnabreac.