I am off to Tuscany in October to celebrate wife's 50th birthday. I want everything to go like clock-work and want to hire a nice car for the week from Pisa airport. Pitfalls? I hear of people coming back home to find their credit card ramped up with spurious extra charges.
I will obviously check vehicle carefully at pick up and ensure previous damage is noted before I drive off. I will also ensure it is inspected when I take it back.
But what about excess insurance. Can I pre buy it rather than use their (probably) exhorbitent insurance?
What insurance do I need to drive the car? What other problems have people had when they have hired cars abroad?
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I always found it cheaper to use a UK based car rental company to arrange car hire abroad.
I used to use a firm in the Isle of Man but I can't find the details at present.
The last time I used it was for car hire in South Africa - the car provided was two-thirds of the price of the original arrangement through an SA travel agents and was a Honda Civic with less than 500k on the clock.
Only problem was a puncture and, amazingly, this occurred whilst approaching a petrol station in a small town miles from anywhere...:-)
The garage repaired the puncture within 20 minutes and we were on our way again.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Easy! Click on this link and all will be revealed!
www.insurance4carhire.com/
I've used them and made a claim - no problems at all!
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Stick with a multi national,Hertz/Avis,check the car,even ask the reception desk to mark a few scratches on the rental agreement and then check the car carefully.On return have the car checked,make conversation with the checker,be friendly and you will be ok.Easy really.I never have top up insurance,i know i'm going to get caught out one time,but i'll deal with that when it happens.I rent cars about 20 times a year.
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I agree that one can be lucky - like TL above. I had a hire car in Italy and it was damaged while parked and some chianti crazed oik went over 3 panels with a key or a knife. Immediate Euros 500 off my credit card! I don't know how much Super CDW is for Avis etc, at least £5 a day I guess. To cover this XS, for any number car hires in a year in Europe thru insurnace4carhire for £49 strikes me as good value. I prefer to pay up and relax rather than worry about what is happening while the car is parked or getting involved in an accident that isn't my fault.
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I have experience of hiring cars via Avis (last year im Tuscany) and Hertz (via Holiday Autos from Milan Malpensa) which might help people.
The Tuscany hire was part of a "package" holiday via Cresta (not a real package though). Upon arriving at Pisa to collect car get offered the super collision damage waiver and theft cover. It was about ?17 per day or something. Even after driving in Pisa didn't need it but you never know.
Booked this years cover via Holiday Autoes who over collision damage waiver for £2.50 per day. Took that option. You have to pay any excess and claim it back. Within 40 minutes of leaving the car park an HGV crashed into us, injuring us and writing off the car. The normal Hertz excess is ?800 which they deducted but via Holiday Autos it should have been "only" ?600 and they quickly refunded the difference.
Holiday Autos are now in the process of refunding the excess so the £2.50/day was well spent. Of course the total of £200 for the week a right off because could not drive for the rest of the week and paid ?180 for the taxi to the hotel.
So my learning points:
- Check out what Armitage Shanks says... I will but I'm not sure if I will hire overseas again after that accident. I would drive but my wife is relucant to be a passenger.
- Apparently (but not offered to me), Hertz has personal injury insurance as an extra per day.... we're getting nothing since (a) didn't take out cover via car hire and (b) most travel policies exclude cover for accidents occuring whilst in a motorised vehicle!! Serious. Wish we knew that. My large cut to the back of the head still has not healed fully in over a month but I consider myself lucky to be alive etc.
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>>a multi national,Hertz/Avis>>
You've reminded me that the particular Honda I had in South Africa was a Hertz car which was picked up in Cape Town and dropped off in Port Elizabheth at the airport 10 days later.
The girl manning the desk just looked at the doucumentation regarding the vehicle's return for that particular day and time, politely asked for the keys and that was it...:-)
She didn't even check the car over.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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So, with you back in UK, what you have been able to do if they billed you for a missing spare and some panel and paint damage, after you had handed it back and without an inspection? This is the current scam ie bills for cars claimed to be damaged, having been returned without an agent inspecting it and signing it back in, in your presence.
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So, with you back in UK>
Well I've been back in the UK for several years now after that trip...:-)
Just a rider - the South African built Hondas (plus other well known makes built out there) are not a patch on those sold here as regards build quality.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Car rental is definitely something of a minefield.
I have only ever rented direct with the large companies. Over 100's of rentals I've had one or two minor problems. This year one company tried to bill me for windscreen damage to a Merc C-class. I asked for a digital picture of the damage and heard no more!
Another rental company invoiced (and took from my credit card) a charge for fuel and an extra day's rental and return to a different airport from where I'd dropped it off. I had signed return documentation from their agent, but they didn't accept that! It was not until I sent them a flight coupon proving my departure airport and day of departure that I received a refund - even then I lost out because of exchange-rate fluctuations (lost about £5 - not big deal I guess). In general its a case of take money first and ask questions later - I've used most of the majors and they're all much the same.
I have used insurance4carhire since they started up. I've never had to claim. I worry slightly that they're a company based outside UK (Irish Republic I think), but hopefully they'd cough if I needed them to.
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I think I've lost £8 on the refund for CDW. But have not been charged for not returning a vehicle not full... well did about 30-40 minutes before the right off.
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Is it possible to get credit cards companies to block 'cardholder not present transactions'? This would stop such activity.
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Is it possible to get credit cards companies to block 'cardholder not present transactions'? This would stop such activity.
They normally want an imprint of your card at overseas pickups and I think at that point you are allowing them access to your card for up to the full excess.
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That difference could be explained by a variation in the exchange rate! If you were charged and then refunded, a euro/£ exchange rate difference might explain this.
I am going to France today and having a 4 day car rental with Hertz, at a very small provincial airport - I'll report back on Thursday
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See what price Car 3000 give you, they were cheapest for me at Geneva in April - car was an Avis one. Vauxhall Signum (yawn) - do GM have a special vehicle charisma removal department?
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I've used Holiday Autos many times and have never had any concerns;to AS,if you're picking up a Hertz car,get to the desk as quick as you can,the queue is long,particularly if it's the "Ryanair" special price!!The last time I used Ryanair ,I hired with Holiday Autos(which was cheaper than the special offer);on collecting my car from National ,I had one person in front of me while I watched the Hertz desk which had a queue at least twenty long!!(at a conservative 3 mins. each-that's an hour.)
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Has anyone here had a claim with insurance4carhire.com and how did it go.The price looks very good value,especially if you rent a lot of cars but i am always very sceptical about insurance companies and their promises.
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thanks all for the helpful advice. Will report back
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>>and was a Honda Civic with less than 500k on the clock.<<
Presumably thats 500 k as in km - not 500 k as in thousand - although for a Honda it will probably still be like new with only 500K miles on the clock.
Sorry stuartli - not helpful I know but I couldn't resist - you will have no trouble picking at speeling mistakes with my inputs so feel free.
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