This review also includes Fox Car Rental as they are part of the same group. From what I've been reading online, my experience is not unusual for a lot of car rental places in Ireland. It's important to know what your getting yourself into before you reserve a car to rent. It appears that all car rentals in Ireland require a form of collision insurance that is not included in the advertised rate online. In fact, the advertised daily rate is just for the car itself. Where the racket comes in is the "up sell" of mandatory insurance once you're off the plane and standing in a foreign country. They have you at that point because you will need transportation. I reserved thru Expedia and chose their optional insurance thinking I was good to go when I arrived like any where here in the states. On arrival, I was told that the "small suv or like rental" was not available and they tried switching me to a car. I then found out that the optional insurance was not the collision insurance required. I was already in for about $300 for a weekly rental. I was then presented with three options for insurance with various "deductibles". Which ever option you choose, they will hold the deductible amount on the same credit card that you use to rent, and all of them were expensive. I called Expedia and after about an hour delay with them talking to the company, they agreed to return the amount of their insurance. Dan Dooley's then magically produced a small auto transmission suv for me with a less expensive option then I previously was presented with. I choose the better coverage with $100 deductible and the rental still cost me $667.00 total or $554 euro. I didn't request to pre pay for a full tank of fuel, but it was included at $134 euro. I found that it only cost me about $80 euro to fill up while I was traveling. I also found it hard to gauge my usage and I returned the car with a 1/4 tank left. So all in all it was an expensive mishap. I'm not entirely blaming Dan Dooley and Fox for their business practices. Shame on me for not researching it better. However, I hope that my post here will help future travelers same some time, money, and the hassle of renting a car in Ireland.
To summarize, call the rental car company directly and get a price with the insurance ahead of your trip so you know what to expect. In fact, pre pay if you can. Also, opt out of the prepaid tank of gas and fill it up before returning. ... and unless your a master at driving a stick in a right hand drive car, make sure you reserve a car with an automatic transmission. read more
