Car Rental

Sometimes people rent cars because they don’t want to put a lot of miles on their own car when also going on a road trip. Exotic car renting can also be a thing, where a car you would likely never be able to afford you would get the chance to drive.

 What do you need to know about Car Rental?

Know what you want, i.e. cheap vs peace of mind!

• If the price is not your main driver but rather a peaceful mind, go for tier-one companies (e.g. Avis, Hertz, Europcar, etc.); you will have better customer experience and often smooth rental.
• Make sure you rent from the company website and don’t take third party insurance but rather the company comprehensive insurance at the counter, in this case, no question asked when you return the car. 
• Usually, the comprehensive cover is not included in the quotation. Generally around 20 euros a day, this gives you a peaceful mind. If you don’t take it, the whole value proposition is questionable and it would be better to consider online rental + insurance options [see option 2) below, ].   
• If you end up with regular premium rentals, stick with one company and get a membership that gives you benefit such as car upgrade and fast track for a car collection. 

Low cost and safe rental are what I care about! 

a)Shop online

• Look at sites like easycar, rentalcars, Kayak to compare your options and narrow in on the best deal. You can get cars as cheap as few euros a day for the duration of the rental.
• Don’t go for premium brands such as Avis, Europcar, Hertz but rather target their low-cost brands (Budget/Payless for Avis, Thrifty for Hertz, Carhire for Europcar, etc). They often offer a lower rate and tend to maintain quality of service in comparison to other cheap brands
• Economy cars are much cheaper, in addition, because they get sold fast, you can be lucky enough to get a higher range of the car.
• Stick with one driver, as adding extra drivers is costly for multi-day rental.

b)From where? Airport vs Down-town 

• Renting at the airport is obviously convenient when you’re flying, but that convenience can come at a premium since most airports rental sites include airports taxation.
• Make sure you compare with down-town locations. Factor the transportation to the renting location before you make a decision. Although Airports include the extra fee (i.e. tax) they could be cheaper because they have more cars.

c) Costs and insurance

• The attractive quotation you may get online quickly faces the challenges of comprehensive insurance. In fact, the insurance is the main cost factor when renting a car. All quotations come with basic insurance covering Collision Damage Waiver (CDW), Theft Protection and Third Party Liability. This is not enough. You are always requested to pay extra insurance (comprehensive) or hold an excess of 1000 to 2000 euros to be used to cover damage during rental up to the excess value.
• If you do multiple days rental or simply more than a hire in a year it is strongly advised to purchase a yearly excess waiver to cover your excess spent in case of an accident or damage. This will operate as reimbursement, i.e. the rental company takes the money and the insurance returns it back to you.  This will cost you in the range of 50 euros covering up to 5000 euros which is more than enough to cover the excess waiver for many (unlikely) incidents.  
• In the process of acquiring an excess waiver insurance, make sure to buy it from a reputable insurance company, e.g. AIG. Link: https://www.aig.ie/personal/car-hire-excess-insurance
• When renting the car, please avoid taking comprehensive insurance from the broker since it operates as an excess waiver scheme and works the same way however it is usually far more expensive.

d) Forgo the extras

• Rental agents make more money if they sell you on the benefits of extras like roadside assistance, satellite radio and GPS navigation. You’ll save money if you resist their spiel.

e) Get quotes for weekly rentals. 

• Typically, the longer you rent, the less it’ll cost per day. You may find that renting for a full seven days costs the same as, or even less than, five or six days.

f) Credit card vs Debit card

• Unless you pay for the full coverage including comprehensive, you will need a credit card to cover the excess. Credit card is the main mechanism to make use of excess waiver insurance. In certain cases the credit card have already car insurance included which should be demonstrated.

g) Price out prepaid gas

• Return the car full and avoid paying a premium price for petrol. Sometimes they include a fee for filling the car.

Important general remarks  

• Always make sure to verify the car before you take it and ideally take pictures
• The credit card holder should the renter and therefore the driver
• Insurance does not cover gearbox. If the gearbox behaves funny to ask a car replacement on the spot.
• Tires are not covered by insurance. Pay particular attention to tires and in cases you have issues, fix them yourself.