Car hire deposit question

[scooters]

how the hell do car hire deposits work - get this:

 

Ok – we’re off to Spain fro 2 weeks on Saturday. Last month I booked car hire with Europcar - £550 for 2 weeks worth of Berlingo family fun….

 

Anyway – today I though I had better check to make sure all was ok and get this – Europcar want a £800 deposit (£700 excess and £100 fuel) at Barcelona!!!!

 

Issue is the card I use for this sort of thing has a £1k limit.

 

However, I recall having hired cars in Spain in the past with smaller places and had no excess contracts which I take to mean they don’t take a deposit off you (at least this is what I recall with companies like Sol Mar and Hiper)

 

So a quick trip to fastcarhire.co.uk and I have booked the same vehicle with Victoria car hire (a local Barcelona place) for £519 – same vehicle and on a no excess policy which means I pay a deposit for the petrol and give them my credit card details.

 

Fingers crossed!

[oldford]

When you present your card at the start of hire they get an authorisation on the card for the maximum amount that the rental could come to. This will comprise of the hire charges and whatever insurances you decide to take, a set amount to cover the cost of a full tank of fuel at the refuelling prices that they charge and the insurance excess amount.

 

If you return the car, on time, with a full tank of fuel and without any extra damage (you should agree the condition of the car with them when you collect and ensure that it is noted on their vehicle check form), they will then close the rental agreement which will produce an invoice, the final figure on this invoice is then charged against your card. Alternatively you may be able to settle the invoice in cash and not have anything charged against your card.

 

With regard to damage, car rental companies will have fixed costs for some items such as wheel trims and tyres (these fixed costs will likely be greater than what you could buy these items for), but may well charge the full excess for any amount of bodywork damage. This excess will be charged regardless of blame, as the car is in your custody you are responsible however the damage may have happened.

[Mr Lobster]

When you present your card at the start of hire they get an authorisation on the card

Some actually take the money off the car rather than pre authorise it.

 

With regard to damage, car rental companies will have fixed costs for some items such as wheel trims and tyres (these fixed costs will likely be greater than what you could buy these items for), but may well charge the full excess for any amount of bodywork damage. This excess will be charged regardless of blame, as the car is in your custody you are responsible however the damage may have happened.

A lot do, some - notably the one I have recently left - don't If you damage the car, even a minor amount of damage can add up considerably. They can / will charge for 'loss of use' so if you scrape a bumper and it takes them a week to get it fixed, thats you paying for the extra weeks charge.

 

Most of the majors sell an excess waiver / reduction policy for an extra few quid a day. Its normally very well worth taking.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I don't have a credit card. The last time I rented a vehicle, they took £750 off my debit card and refunded it minus the cost of rental.

 

Sure prevented me from stealing that £15k van.

[Richard]

Did you steal another one then?

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I'd have to steal a credit card first.

[Father Ted]

There is a lot to be said for buying a banger and chucking it away after-wards.

I did this last time my car was off the road being fixorated after a shunt following a much earlier experience with car hire.

 

Bought a fiesta taxed and tested for £145, sold it 3 weeks later for £140.

[Tayne]

.

[Father Ted]

Nahhh, buy a Maestro and drive it over there in a mahoosive Autoshite Family Holiday Road Trip.

[Mr Lobster]

Bit more complicated in Spain though.

Nah, fly out there, buy a SEAT Ronda / Malaga and drive it home. Become an Autoshite legend.

[scooters]

- issue sorted - not without a load of stress and hassle - the cake-and-arse company I went to for the Berlingo were lying bastards - they didn't have one in stock and offered to upgrad me at my expense to a minibus!

 

anyway got back in touch with Argus and they have sorted me out a 5 door golf through National/Atera for 450 Euros - good news is if I buy the 12 Euro a day excess cover there is no deposit held on my card - which was my main issue in the 1st place - TBH I have no problem paying the super insurance as IMHE these companies go out of their way to fleece you anyway!

[Mr Lobster]

these companies go out of their way to fleece you anyway!

Yes. They do. I speak from experience

[Volksy]

We get all our work cars from Enterprise, our local branch is actually very helpful, I managed to get a rate of £16 a day for a Focus/Megane/Astra, with no mileage charges. So should be picking up my summer car next week from them. They did mention a Kia Cee'd as a possibility, and even said "They're just like a Golf"

 

The look I gave the girl behind the counter upon offering me a Kia, led to her saying "But we'll get you something else if you wish"

[Tayne]

.

[Claypole]

-1 for Enterprise.

 

Guy who collected me was a cock, thought he was some kind of wheeler dealer by telling me a load of wrong info about the Corrados I had at the time.

 

Woman in charge of office started giving me the 3rd degree about a car crash I'd been in before I said "WTF are you going on about"... turned out to be some other poor unfortunate they were expecting.

 

If I'd had a crash in my own car and was there hiring a car then wtf has it to do with them.

 

And their inspection process is a farce, expecting the customer to grovel about on the floor checking for any damage before signing. to me THEY check it when it comes back from the previous hirer and then notify you before of any damage.

 

I'd just goto the local no messing van place and hire a van in future.

[Mr Lobster]

They did mention a Kia Cee'd as a possibility, and even said "They're just like a Golf"

 

Cee'ds are actually ok, surprisingly similar to a Golf...