How to hire a car for less - RTE.ie
October 1, 2007 - Posted in Car Rental, Cheap travel, Deals, Expedia Travel, Flight Tracker, Shows, Videos
by the amount of money you ended up forking out to the car hire company, as opposed to the ‘lowest price’ you thought you would be paying?
Every time?
One way car hire companies make money is by selling you lots of extra insurance on top of the basic collision damage waiver and theft waiver.
You’re standing at the counter with your luggage, there’s a queue of people behind you, and you get scared. You realise you could end up paying €1,000 in excess if anything happens to the car. And you decide it would be a lot cheaper to pay for ‘complete coverage’ and have total peace of mind.
You are told that peace of mind will cost you an additional €20 per day, and you gulp as you multiply €20 by 10 days’ holiday in your head, but you slap down your credit card and sign the rental agreement.
There are several ways to cut the cost of insurance when hiring a car, and they don’t involve taking extra risks.
First, check your travel insurance.
Some policies will cover various extras you may encounter when deciding on what car insurance you need.
to see if it contains any extra protection, or if you can buy insurance for a small rate.
Next, shop around for car hire insurance.
That’s right, you don’t have to get your complete car insurance from the car hire company. There are third parties who sell insurance that will cover the excess for up to 70% less.
The way it works is this: You buy excess insurance - there are a variety of companies that provide it (see below). Usually you will buy either a single policy for the dates you are planning to hire a car, or an annual policy. The insurance company insures you, the policy holder - not the rental vehicle.
Then when you go to hire a car, you pay the rate and the basic insurance cost, but you decline the extra collision damage waiver and theft insurance. You are told that if something happens to the car, you will have to pay an excess before the basic insurance kicks in - it might be €500, it might be €1,000 excess. You show the car hire company your excess insurance policy.
In most cases, that’s it. You’ve got peace of mind that your excess is covered for a (decidedly) cheaper price than you would have paid for complete coverage from the car hire company.
But if something does happen (say the car hire company charges you for a dent in the fender, or someone bashes your door in the car park) and you find a charge for the damage on your credit card bill after you return the car, just send it on to your third-party insurer, and you will be reimbursed. In some cases, the car hire company will communicate directly with the third party insurance provider.
As with any insurance, always check all the options and read all the fine print to ensure that you decide on the right option for your circumstances.
There are many companies that offer excess insurance.
is part of Blue Insurances Ltd and has a user-friendly, straightforward website where you can buy excess insurance starting at €2.99 a day. You can choose to purchase either a single trip policy or an annual policy.
may be the best-known excess insurer. It offers worldwide annual policies for €66.15. Its partner company,
, offers the single trip policies for €5.39 a day.
, from €2.40 per day.
1. Use comparison sites
for searching for the cheapest rates, like
,
.
2.
When you are getting quotes for cars,
. Does that really good deal you’ve spotted include insurance, VAT, airport surcharges? When you are comparing, compare apples with apples. A super low price is often not what it seems.
3.
If you decide to rent through a broker,
. Some brokers actually include excess insurance. Others might advertise the lowest price because they are not including any surcharges.
4.
If you have any extra requirements (an extra driver, a child seat),
make sure you know what those extra costs are when you book.
Again, one company might charge such a high rate for extras that it is worth going elsewhere.
5. Ask your preferred car hire company to match the lower rate
you found elsewhere. In such a competitive market, this often works.
6. Check the car hire deal you are offered when you book your flight.
Sometimes you can get a great deal; other times you are better off booking a car separately through a different provider.
7. Be sure to thoroughly inspect a hire car
before you even get into it to make sure there is agreement about the state of the vehicle and what pre-existing scratches and damage are on it. We have all heard numerous horror stories of people who return cars in the same state they rented them only to get hit with savage bills for pre-existing damage.
8. Make sure you know what the fuel policy is.
If you are meant to return a car with a full tank of petrol, do that. If you are expected to return it empty, use as much petrol as you can.
If you have had any good or bad experiences with car hire insurance companies, tell us about it at
money@rte.ie
.