The car hire business is in a cul-de-sac of its own making. We all remember how Dixons never made mu

For a four-day trip to Ireland later this month, my rental car – a four-door Ford Fiesta – will cost me £56. That's £14 a day. I have followed all the steps in our guide to car hire, and my guess is that the firm, one of the big companies, will not make a penny. big bus tours in london england It will probably make a loss. I should be pleased with myself. In truth, the only reason I'm driving away with a bargain is that other holidaymakers are, quite frankly, being conned.
The car hire business is in a cul-de-sac of its own making. We all remember how Dixons never made much money selling big bus tours in london england electronics, but from pushing pricey warranties instead. We all know the banks never made money selling personal loans at 6% interest, but from strong-arming buyers into taking out payment protection insurance , which (for a while) made gigantic profits.
And I think we all know that running a business renting out new cars for £14 a day from a costly airport location is not going to make you any money. What is also certain is, that when I arrive in Dublin, I will be subjected to the usual amateur dramatics at the car hire counter.
Last time the polyester-uniformed saleswoman almost dementedly pushed the "super collision damage waiver" deal, which would have cost more than the car hire itself. Didn't I know how dangerous the roads in Ireland are, how I might easily have a scrape and end up with a bill for £800 to cover the excess? When I flourished my independent cover (see step 3 in today's guide) she turned nasty. She said it wasn't "accepted" in Ireland (utter nonsense). And if I didn't buy the super CDW, she'd have to pre-authorise thousands of pounds off my credit card. Another lie, but a good one to frighten people at the start of a holiday when they know they'll need their card.
I would rather not have to buy independent cover for CDW. I'd rather not see people in front of me at the car hire counter big bus tours in london england paying big bus tours in london england through the nose for over-sold insurance. But while the business is selling its underlying product at, or below, cost, it is going to continue, and perhaps get worse. They still have some tricks to learn from the low-cost airline business. An extra charge for using the radio? A £20 fee for placing bags in the car boot?
This is a global issue...It hurtz even in the Caribbean! I was there for my holidays a couple of weeks ago and hired a car. A particular car rental company wanted 19 GBP Sterling per day for Loss Damage Waiver or LDW as it is called in the Carbbean. It would have increased the cost of my rental by 65%. Stunned, but smart like you and showed them my independent cover I purchased from iCarhireinsurance
Great post Patrick, always enjoy the angles you find in your pieces. I think the business models are getting a little confused and the powers of competition have muddied the waters a bit and led to bad practices in only a few companies, that are fostered by the need to make an extra £ because of this under charging for their core product.
To me, this makes it all the more crucial to have excess cover. Ive got one that covers me for the whole year and allows multiple trips (the perfect excuse!). It really is just a confidence issue for me (as well as the financial economy's). I understand the need from the car hire firms, to charge more for other products to try and recoup some extra revenue however at the same time I dont like being overly encouraged into something, that will cost me more than elsewhere, only because they have confused their own business models, its not the customers fault.
I bought mine from a company called Questor insurance (www.questor-insurance.co.uk) and was really pleased with the whole process. They seem to offer a pretty comprehensive product, including Mis-fuelling (always a worry for me); and car jacking all included as for free in their basic cover. Thought they deserved a mention also
My first tip - when shopping for car hire, make sure you know the exact excesses for theft and damage in advance and balance the cost of the car with the excess fees. Many won't tell you or give you a range, I give these a wide berth - if it was good news they would tell you. Auto-Europe tell you before buying which is really useful. Second, don't assume that just because it's e.g. with Europcar it'll be the same, different brokers sign different deals and get different excesses - a quote I got from Easyjet recently for a Europcar Punto had an excess of E1500 but sourcing the same car through AutoEurope still Europcar got me an excess of E250. This desrisks the hard sell proposition and makes it less of an incentive to milk that scratch for all it is worth. Third, take out excess protection in advance but refuse to get drawn into conversations about it at the counter, don't feel you have to justify big bus tours in london england your purchase decision, just reiterate the maximum excess on the contract should be what it says on your booking form (this is why knowing it in advance helps). Fourth, report big bus tours in london england all scratches etc. before you leave and ignore protestations that small marks are wear and tear etc. write it all on that little picture and make them initial big bus tours in london england (sour faced Hertz woman at Inverness please note). I almost always get given a contract to sign saying no damage big bus tours in london england and almost never find this to be true. Fifth, if you're on "return full" for petrol, take a quick photo of the dashboard as you check the car back in showing the final kilometres and petrol tank needle big bus tours in london england so avoiding petrol disputes. Sixth whilst on holiday take a photocopy / good photo of your contract with their initials for any prenotified damage as some companies take the slip from you at the end of the hire so if there's a dispute you've got nothing at your disposal and (thank you Nationwide for sorting this for me) you can't rely on the car hire company (Europcar) to produce any documentation or evidence once they've got their hands on your cash. Seventh and finally - in the US where upselling is tiring especially after a long flight just simply say - I'm very tired and I will let you have one more chance at upselling and then I want to start my holiday. It usually stops the pressure in its tracks. Sorry for length of post but hope it helps someone.
Just forgot one - my top prize on pathetic extras went to Easyjet's car hire through Europcar at Rome Ciampino big bus tours in london england where at the end of the rental a charge of 3 euros appeared on the invoice as "extras" (despite the orange one's proclamation that there are no hidden extras with their car rental). When I queried this in italian I was told it was for rental of the yellow reflective jacket which is mandatory by law in case of accident, supplied by the car manufacturer on purchase so as much a part of the car as the steering wheel, and can be picked up anyway for a euro in the local market. The counter assistant smiled a warm smile, rolled her eyes and that was enough to understand the business big bus tours in london england economics of car hire.