I will be needing a rental car in Ireland for 10 days. I will be picking up and returning rental car from Dublin airport. There will be 4 of us traveling and all will have a bag. I will need an automatic car.

I am seeking advice on rental car suggestions.

Mainly I need to know what insurance I will need to be fully covered.

Please help.

Thanks,

EG

Irish roads for the most part are rather narrow, even some of the main trunk roads. Also you will be driving on the other side of the road. (Not hard to get used to) but more importantly you will be driving from the other side of the car. (Harder to adjust to than the above.) And lastly, you will be using your LEFT hand to shift gears unless you rent the more expensive automatic version (highly recommended), (I don't know about you but I can hardly open a door with my left hand let alone shift gears.)

Anyway, the point of this is to say you will have greater opportunity to incur boo boo's to the vehicle than you are used to. Thus consider being well insured as money well spent.

Great country to explore though, just travel with care. (We did not have issues in Ireland with our RV but a Welsh road sat up and bit us a little.)

When we rented a car in Ireland, we picked up a car that was far from pristine. It had a number of dents and scratches. We made careful note of them with the rental agency (You could certainly photograph them) before we drove off. I know this is usual good practice for renting, but its especially important in Ireland. It would be pretty easy for even a good driver to accumulate some minor damage. As mentioned, the roads are very narrow in rural areas, plus they are often bordered with hedgerows which cover stone walls. Cars frequently scrape up against those walls when sharing the space with an oncoming car.

That said, we LOVED driving around in Ireland. It was great. Don't let these warning scare you off! I'd do it again in a minute.

I'm attaching two photos - taken near Ballinskelligs in Co. Kerry (Iveragh Peninsula) The people in the photos give you some idea of the scale. Yes, they are narrow!

Linda

And this one -
Linda

E.G. The car you rent in Ireland will come all packaged up with insurance. But there will be certain things not covered unless you ask for them (or they are pressed upon you at the desk). This is will be a daily rate payment to cover what they call the Excess and different cars, different companies, come with different rates of excess - a sum of money- that you have to pay in the event of an accident or damage to the car (could be 500 Euros, could be 1500 Euros, depending on type of car). In order to make sure you don't have this worry you may elect to pay out a sum which generally runs between 4 and 7 Euros per day (from memory of last car hire - do check this with individuals).

However, none of the rental agencies I have come across will cover you for damage to windscreen or tyres or underside of the car (easy to do on Irish potholed tracks). I think this is extremely unfair so I went looking for another way on my foray into car hire in Sicily recently. I discovered that for HALF the price of the excess cover that was demanded for a 2 week hire, I could buy an annual multi-trip policy for one driver from an insurance broker. Not only does it cover the normal excess figure but it also covers for the tyres, windscreen etc. scenario as well as theft and a few other useful things like the cost of the car going back to the wrong place if the driver was ill or something. I hope that you might be able to find something similar in your home country that would cover you for rentals abroad as it seems a more sensible option.

Most of the rental agencies, if not all, in Dublin give you the car with a tank full of petrol (do check the gauge carefully before you leave as sometimes they are less than full and they need to be told...) and then you should try to bring it back full. Otherwise you run the risk of them filling it up at a 'special' price which seems to bear no relation to the pump price of a tankful, and charging it to you. I am not saying this has ever happened to me in Dublin but it has, elsewhere in Europe so be wary and try to fill up to the brim in the last 20 miles or so.

Hello E.G.
We are visiting southern Ireland for about 10 days during June and had a similar problem to you and after much internet checking decided to hire a car from Budget Ireland. Worldwide they are a very reputable company and were quite competitive on pricing but you will pay a reasonably high premium for an automatic.

Try the www.budget.ie website. It will answer most of your questions.

However, you will need to address the insurance question. This may depend on your country of origin and your overall "Travel Insurance" package.

The Ireland insurance coverage is a big one. Most US credit cards do not extend insurance coverage to car hire in Ireland due to the high claims demands. It's probably worth it to call your card company, see what they advise. I take an additional insurance rider with my Starwoods Amex card for $29 each time I travel, but even it doesn't cover Ireland.I think some Master Cards may offer that coverage but if you take any additional coverage at the rental site, you may waive your right to credit card coverage. The airport rental desk may also request a copy of your card coverage or request that you phone your card's customer service for authorization.
I have yet to find a US company which will provide car rental travel insurance for Ireland (or Australia or South Africa or Turkey) and have used, as Felicity mentions, a UK company but it was a super hassle the one time I had to collect. The good thing about taking out coverage that is not on your credit card or is an additional policy is that it doesn't go first to your home car rental coverage before the credit card company ponies up.
Generally what I look for is a search for "all-inclusive" coverage which is in addition to the country's compulsory coverage. ] All-Inclusive in Dublin has been good for us as has been Argus. Even with all inclusive you may have to decide whether you want to add windscreen and tire coverage (I still balk at that even after a blowout in Scotland) and may still have to put a substantial CDW deductible deposit on your credit card (Budget Ireland, as do most companies, charges a hefty daily rate for reducing this deductible and that usually includes a hefty VAT).
Insurance is where these companies make their money and there is no place better to do business for them than by offering you an enticingly low internet rate and then hitting you hard at the airport rental counter while it's 2:30 am your time and you're reeling from jet lag. It's worth a call directly to the local company desk you are hiring from to make sure that you are getting what you think you are getting in terms of coverage. "I have been quoted this price, what exactly does that cover, what doesn't it cover (ask about extra driver fees and airport surcharge) and what can I expect before I receive the keys?"

Good for you for doing your homework ahead of time, locking in a good price and making sure the coverage is fair and there are no surprises.