I must admit that I've hired from Dublin before and never been asked for a deposit, although many companies pre-authorise the card in case of problems. I tend to use the big 'number one' (mainly because of the free upgrades), and have to admit in the 100 or so hires over the last 3 or 4 years I've never had a single problem / charge / query with them or indeed any of the other companies I've used.

Re: making money on fuel - it also depends on who you book through as well as who you ultimately hire from - for example the low cost booking sites often contain 'hire full return empty' clauses for bookings over 72 hours. Always read the label!

............. Is leaving a deposit something specific to Ireland?

Depends upon who the hire company is. I always use Autoeurope to book my hire cars with (on-line or via telephone, it makes no difference) as they have always provided a really great service and it is an 0800 helpline with NO recorded messages and staff are 100% helpful. The real problem this time was taking the deposit in Sterling and refunding in Euro. They agreed to cover any losses when they could not refund my card in Sterling, but I'll have to chase then for this. Like everything in life you can't have it all your own way!

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