Car Rental Ireland

Car rental in Ireland has historically been seen to be an expensive cost of visiting Ireland on business or holidays. The car rental market in Ireland has become more competitive in the last few years with the downturn in the economy and there is quite a degree of choice in car hire in Ireland now.

 

But whether you are looking for cheap car rental at Dublin airport or in major urban centres such as Dublin, Cork or Galway you will need to shop around for a good deal.

Car rental companies in Ireland

Some of the leading car rental companies in Ireland include

• Enterprise car rental
• National car rental
• Argus car rental
• Avis
• Thrifty
• Europcar
• Hertz
• Dan Dooley car hire (20 locations across the island of Ireland)

 

Enterprise car rental have 16 locations in Ireland, most of which are in Dublin including Dublin airport. They also have locations in Galway, Athlone, Cavan and Limerick.

Enterprise has a free pick up service and a wide range of cars although if you are looking for hand controls you will need to give 2 days notice.

 

A useful website to obtain the cheapest car hire in Ireland is www.carhire3000.ie which allows you to book a car online from many of the leading car hire companies such as Budget, Europcar, Thrifty, Avis and Alamo.

 

Arguscarhire.ie offer a similar service as it allows you to book online in three easy steps and it’s search engine will allow you to search the car rental market in Ireland to help you get the best deal (no credit card fees).

Thrifty is a popular and competitive choice for car rental in Ireland with locations at Dublin city centre, Dublin, Cork, Knock, Kerry and Shannon airports as well as Cork city. Thrifty’s car hire agreement is for unlimited mileage and 24 hour rental breakdown cover.

 

Thrifty will require the production of a driving licence which must be held for at least two years and be unendorsed; you will not need an international driving permit if you are a licence holder from the USA, UK, Canada, Australian and all EU states.

 

What is included in your car rental?

Make sure to make enquiries before entering in to your car rental agreement but normally you will expect that the following will be included in your car hire agreement:

• Third party insurance
• Unlimited mileage
• Roadside assistance and/or breakdown cover
• Theft protection insurance cover
• Normally the rental rate is for a 24 hour period.

Note that there may be a surcharge for an airport location and fuel will not be included (normally you will be given a car with a full tank of fuel and you must bring it back full). Many companies charge extra for things like child seats or booster seats so make sure to enquire before hiring.

Budget car rental is one of the longest established car rental companies in Ireland and always have good deals with prices as low as €13 per day based on a week’s rental. Budget has a pretty wide geographical coverage of locations including Belfast in Northern Ireland and Waterford in the south east.

 

Argus Rent a Car is one of Ireland’s oldest independent car hire companies and as it is a family run company has excellent service with a wide range of rental locations.

 

Europcar is a leading car rental company in Ireland also and produces a handy guide to driving in Ireland and hiring a car in Ireland on it’s website at www.Europcar.ie.

 

Before hiring your car in Ireland make sure that you check the condition of the car before taking it out, all fines and tolls are the driver’s responsibility and some companies will insist on a recent utility bill when renting. You will also be charged for an extra day’s hire if you are late back so make sure you are organised and leave yourself plenty of time to organise the return of the car. Some companies will also charge extra if you return the car to a station other than the location you picked up from unless you have stipulated at the outset that you need to leave your vehicle back to a different location.

 

So the key to car rental in Ireland is to shop around, don’t be afraid to ask questions at the outset and before signing the agreement as to what is included and what is an extra and have a great trip to Ireland.