Car rental advice please.

[shep]

Its a few years since I was in Carvoeiro, but am returning this summer for some r&r. I do remember that there was a difference in renting cars in Portugal than any other country, where you had to pay some extra insurance at the counter or give them your credit card details, and if you had an accident , they would deduct the costs. (is this the excess that people mention?)
I went onto Algravedriver this morning and put in details to rent a car from 22/6 to 6/7 (Fiesta model) and it came back with a cost of 517euro (including 30euro for late delivery , as both flight are after 10pm presumably). The costs do not cover damage to wheels, glass, etc which are the things most likely to happen).

I then tried a company called Arguscarhire.ie, which searchhes the rental sites and comes back with options. They return the hire of the same model Car (fiesta) for the same dates for 210euro. They then give the option of "Mondial insurance" which covers everything, including tyres, glass etc for 84euro. That gives me a total of 294euro as opposed to 517euro. Am I missing something here that I should be looking out for or can there really be that difference in price?

[jamielyon4]

Its certainly possible we have the same car as yours for 4 weeks july/Aug for 550 euro all in...we use Economycarhire.com...also have a look at collecting at Faro rather than CVO delivery price tumbles again...

[laserblazer]

Send an email to webmaster@carvoeiro.com and give Steen the details on the two quotes. He will explain why the prices differ so much.

[shep]

Send an email to webmaster@carvoeiro.com and give Steen the details on the two quotes. He will explain why the prices differ so much.

Thanks, I have sent an email with the details. I will be interested to see why there is such a huge price difference.

[widge]

Be careful to make sure that the insurance cover is what you think it is.

Simple question to hire co. is if I scratch the car irrespective of how it occurs .........who pays at the point of returning the car?

[joeysoap]

Be careful to make sure that the insurance cover is what you think it is.

Simple question to hire co. is if I scratch the car irrespective of how it occurs .........who pays at the point of returning the car?

if there was no scratch on it when collected and scratched when returned then I think the hirer is responsible. Friend of mind enquired of TR what constituated a 'claim' on his credit card and I also enquired on a following visit and we both got the same answer ' Don't break the paint' . I took that to mean that a minor scratch was not really all that big a deal to them. Have to say they give the car a very cursory (if even) glance on return (so far anyway) With best deal I often 'posted' they keys in the letter box of their van and never had any problem. I do have yearly insurance with Atlas Direct - just in case. cost is around £40 per annum, includes tyres, locks etc etc

[mur]

I buy annual car rental insurance, cost €47, from Mondial.
I spent my holiday in Italy last year and got a ding on my rental car. I reported the incident to the local police. Upon presenting the car to Hertz they charged my credit card and filled out an Incident form, of which they gave me a copy. I reported the incident to Mondial and they sent on a list of items to be submitted to claim the payment back. I have to say the people at Mondial were very courteous and paid my claim within a month.

If you are in the unfortunate position where your car is even slightly damaged, report it to the local police and get the report from them. without it you are wasting your time trying to make a claim. You will also need the report from the car rental people.

Anyway I am back to Carvoeiro again this year for the fourth time in five years and really looking forward to it.
Happy holidaying,
Mur.

[alf1956]

Hello there could you please give me more details on the annual insurance that you purchase ay 47 euros as It sounds like it would be something that would benefit me as I hire cars approx ten times per year.does it save you from buying the full excess cover .

[joeysoap]

Hello there could you please give me more details on the annual insurance that you purchase ay 47 euros as It sounds like it would be something that would benefit me as I hire cars approx ten times per year.does it save you from buying the full excess cover .

https://www.atlasdirect.co.uk/cr_getquote.asp?


http://www.carhire-excess-insurance.com ... rtner=null

http://www.carhireexcess.com/

the last of the above advertises they use Monial as their underwriters but the link would suggest otherwise.

[mur]

I use http://www.carhireexcess.com/ also.
It is €47.50 for a renewal or €50 (£40) for new business.
The policy covers the excess payment.

[logicbob]

I use http://www.insurance4carhire.com

We had a claim last year for a tyre, and they settled in two weeks.

[EMM]

When I collected my car last week I was told that some of the car companies are increasing the excess on their insurance policies and will not take a credit card until they have checked that the card has sufficient credit on it to cover not just the hire but also the excess and for those with own insurance a " reasonable " amount to cover potential damages.
Apparently there have been cases when the car company having taken a paper slip ( not electronic check ) on presentation of their bill following damage to the car has discovered that the customer did not have sufficient credit to cover the costs.

[alf1956]

thank you for all the great info.when you get the insurance is it valid with all the hire companies at the airport or has anyone experienced any problems with some companies not accepting it?&does it save you leaving your credit card details for the 700/900 euros that the hire companies ask for unless you take out extra insurance with them .sorry if i am asking "obvious "questions but i just want to clarify it all before i buy the insurance as it seems a great thing

[joeysoap]

thank you for all the great info.when you get the insurance is it valid with all the hire companies at the airport or has anyone experienced any problems with some companies not accepting it?&does it save you leaving your credit card details for the 700/900 euros that the hire companies ask for unless you take out extra insurance with them .sorry if i am asking "obvious "questions but i just want to clarify it all before i buy the insurance as it seems a great thing

(most) of the car hire companies will try and push their insurance, up to €5 per day and maybe even more (afaik TR are the cheapest at €2 per day but not covering tyres etc)
Either way they take an impress of you credit card and if you are unfortunate enought to have a tip, or someone breaks into the car they charge you the excess - varies but say around €750. You will have to get a police report and also a statement from the hire company showing they have charged you the excess. When you return home you make the claim to the insurance company. At least that is my understanding of how the system works.