LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT . When a car is rented in Ireland there is a full tank of gas which the ren

I have a World MasterCard -- A BankAmerica Elite Rewards that DOES cover Ireland. There are several others, but generally speaking, only CERTAIN US-issued WORLD MasterCards and CANADIAN-issued Visa Cards still offer insurance waiver for the Republic of Ireland -- IF the Rental Car Company agrees to accept their coverage.
The reasons ore MANY -- Vehicle (and Insurance) renting a car with cash costs in Ireland; Frequency renting a car with cash of accidents/damage; corporate Greed (on BOTH sides); governmental oversight (or LACK, thereof) and the old-fashioned rules of Supply-and-Demand.
MOST Irish car hire contracts contain similar 'weasel-wording' and terms and SOME are even MORE devious and obscure .. . Murray's is a reputable company -- no worse and no better than the rest -- in MY opinion.
If you DO waive the insurance, MasterRental has its own arcane renting a car with cash and VERY specific rules on how to go about THAT process. For those who can't, won't or are unable to use a CC to waive the insurance, though --THIS is what it all means:
The Inclusive rental comes with CDW (Collision Damage Waiver), Theft and Liability. The CDW carries a DEDUCTIBLE (in YOUR case -- as it DOES vary) of 1350 Euro. That is the amount that you are still liable for, in the event of an accident or incidental damage. That amount can be reduced to NEAR zero (usually 100 Euro) by purchasing supplimental insurance -- variously called 'Super-CDW', 'Excess', 'Super CDI', etcetera.
Even WITH the supplimental 'EXCESS' there are SEVERAL items that are NOT covered renting a car with cash -- Tires and undercarraige, windshields, side mirrors, loss of keys, putting in the wrong fuel are the most commonly listed of those. MasterRental does NOT cover those items, either. In THOUSANDS of kilometers of driving
on my fourteen trips to Ireland over the past 12 years, I have only purchased CDW once, but I HAVE needed to buy three (3) tires and pay to have one wheel rim repaired. There are independantly offered options to cover MOST of those excluded items available. Recently, I have used Insurance4carhire, but have not yet filed a claim, so can't speak to their efficacy ...
Tourists DO have a tendancy to 'bump' curbs, knock side mirrors off and scrape the sides of the vehicles on rock-walled, narrow renting a car with cash roads and vehicle-filled, side streets -- particularly tourists from North America that have the added distraction/difficulty of negotiating the whole, Right Hand Drive, mental adjustment, so there is SOME merit to these exclusions.
Initial Fuel Cost: 50 to 100 Euro Be VERY aware about the Rental Company's renting a car with cash RETURN Policy -- Do you get Credit Back, if returned with a FULL tank, or do they INSIST that you return the vehicle EMPTY??? Remeber that you will be driving an unfamiliar vehicle in an unfamiliar location and that fuel costs in Ireland (currently about 1 Euro 45 per Litre, or $8-9 per US gallon!)can mean an 'EXTRA' profit per rental of $30, unless you really DO 'Limp In' on fumes!
PLUS, they will often place a CHARGE (as opposed to a 'HOLD') against your Credit Card of 2-3,000 renting a car with cash Euro, against the POSSIBILITY of damage. THAT can be near catastrophic, if you have a low credit limit available. renting a car with cash You also need to be VERY aware of your CC's 'Foreign Transaction Fee' structure.
My purpose here was NOT to frighten you AWAY from Ireland -- merely to EDUCATE you so that you might make an INFORMED decision about a complex issue. In the past, I have likened Car Hire in Ireland as "Kissing The Frog".
emv0816 Thanks for posting this info. You saved me a lot of grief. renting a car with cash I had booked a car through Avis without the added insurance thinking my credit card covered it. I checked with Chase and Visa and they both said that Ireland, Northern Ireland, Israel and Jamaica are excluded renting a car with cash from the insurance benefit. It appears that the same is true of Master Card and American Express.
I was on another forum and read that World Mastercards do provide insurance for car rentals in Ireland. I contacted Capital One and Chase (who both issue World Mastercards) renting a car with cash but they could not get the card to me in time. Bank of America is overnighting a card to me so I can change my car reservation to the World Mastercard.
MasterRental is an insurance renting a car with cash program provided by MasterCard. An individual BANK (like Chase, CITI, BankofAmerica, etcetera)issues the actual credit card, but MasterCard provides, oversees and processes the Benefits Package.
THAT wording refers to the fact that Irish Car Hire Companies are NOT required to ACCEPT MasterRental and may opt NOT to. THOSE companies should be readily apparent, though -- as they will not offer the OPTION of Waiving the Insurance in the FIRST place.
LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT . When a car is rented in Ireland there is a full tank of gas which the renter is charged for. At $8.50 per gallon x 15 gallons capacity =$127.50. When the car is returned they tell you to bring it back empty. in order to make it back you need petrol in the car. Say you bring it back with 1/3 of a tank = $42.50 worth of your petrol that you are giving to the rental company. Multiply that by 1,000's of cars being returned = BIG $$$$$$$$. sounds like something on The Sopranos... I can see Tony and Paulie Walnuts and Johnny Sack having renting a car with cash a good laugh over it. In the States you bring it back full and that's the end of it. Also in The States , one rents cars with automatic transmissions. I can't imagine someone opting renting a car with cash for a stick shift. so let's add this all up. petrol at $8.50 a gallon, driving on the opposite side of the road from which I'm used to,same with driving on the opposite side of the car,shifting gears , shifting gears with my left hand,expensive insurance that doesn't cover the most likely things like tires ,windows,interior,mirrors, undercarriage,roof,. a huge deductible if the insurance does decide to pay credit cards that don't cover insurance in the Republic of Ireland (gee, I wonder why?). So Bob my question to you?/ WHY? I would think that there would be more people who simply would not want to go through renting a car with cash all those loops. how does an industry like that make it? are there that many idiots who support it and rent cars anyway?
Standard cars are the norm over there, and last longer. If a majority of locals drive standard, it would make sense that the pool of cars available for rental would reflect that, since in all likelyhood when the cars are 'done' being rented they would be sold locally.
Sometimes, you just have to accept that this is the way it is. Comparing how things are done back home is just one way to add frustration to a trip. Sometimes things are better over there ,sometimes not.
I live in the U.K., and have never understood the business of U.S. credit cards providing free car hire insurance. From reading other people's postings, it seems to me that it is not always the bargain that users think, and that rates from U.S. car hire companies are higher than rates from European ones, even when the European rates include full insurance with low CDW.
But perhaps the real reason for all that Irish emigration to the promised land was not the famine, or the vicious British occupation, but frustration at driving on narrow roads (on the wrong side of the road as well!) and paying over the odds for car hire.
We began this 'conversation' with your request for FACTS, vis a vis, Car Hire. You've now raised the ante, by asking for my OPINION: "So Bob my question to you?/ WHY? I would think that there would be more people who simply would not want to go through all those loops. renting a car with cash how does an industry like that make it? are there that many idiots who support it and rent cars anyway?"
My credentials can be seen by 'Clicking' on my screen name, but in brief: I first visited Ireland in April of 1999 and have returned EVERY year since. I was most recently renting a car with cash there from 29 March-5 April (my 13th visit) and am booked to return for two weeks this June.
On every one of those trips, I have rented a car and self-driven. On my up-coming trip, I have tentatively reserved renting a car with cash a Ford Focus from Dan Dooley for pickup, in Shannon, on 12 June and return, in Dublin, on 26 June. Qouted price is:
4) I ALWAYS rent a manual transmission car. Automatics ARE rarities. They are NOT as fuel efficient, more expensive to operate, maintain and repair and are HEAVILY taxed, as 'Luxury' items. This makes SENSE and I don't quibble about it -- After all, Ireland is an island with NO fuel resources of its own -- ALL motor fuels must be IMPORTED and therefor contribute to trade imbalances. The US would do well to EMULATE them, in my opinion.
All the above was said in order to let you know 'Where I'm Coming From' -- as it were. Like anyone, I prefer NOT to pay any more than I HAVE to and I'm NOT opposed to, 'Saving a Buck', whenever I can. Like MOST travelers, MY vacation funding is finite. If I can save $300 on my car hire, that 'Frees Up' $300 for a longer stay, better meals or possibly, fancier lodgings ...
I have MANY complaints about Car Hire in Ireland -- but, MOST have to do with a lack of transparency renting a car with cash and accountability, rather than the Rates charged. That is why I ALWAYS advocate renting a car and why I will CONTINUE to do so -- even if they charge $1000 per week. They just need to convince me that I really am paying the 'Gowing Rate', rather than just trying to squeeze me for a few dollars more!
CAN you SEE Ireland from the seat of a train (or bus)? Yes -- and thousands of people DO -- ensconced within a 'Bubble' of a couple of dozen others from their home land, in a Big-Bus version renting a car with cash of 'If this is Tuesday, this MUST be Killarney'.
But I am of the opinion that you can NOT EXPERIENCE Ireland, in such a fashion. To REALLY experience renting a car with cash the country and its people, you need to walk the streets, drive the highways AND byways and you CAN'T do that from a train or bus --
Please renting a car with cash disregard my April 28 post. I just received a World MasterCard (5466)that I was told would have the insurance. renting a car with cash After I got the card I talked to MasterCard and found out the my Bank of America World MasterCard does NOT have insurance in Ireland. So