This guide explains how car rental works in Ireland, but the information provided is applicable to car rental services worldwide. Among the items explained is CDW insurance, SDW insurance and the various optional extras that will be offered when you rent you car. Information is also provided about the main car rental brands operating in Ireland, particularly at the three main airports in Ireland. The guide finishes with a tips and advice section which will be of use to everybody who either has rented a car or is planning to rent a car in the future.

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Car Rental in Ireland Guide
Car Hire in Ireland Explained
While a lot of people who travel to Ireland don’t venture
beyond the city limits, there are hundreds of reasons in
Ireland to rent a car – but the ability to explore Ireland at your
leisure is probably the best reasons. In saying that, Ireland
has a bad reputation when it comes to car rental services,
and this either puts people off or leads to situations where
people feel they have been ill treated by the various car
rental companies.
This article will attempt to explain how car rental works
around the world, and give you the information before you
travel of what to expect when you arrive at the car rental
counter.
Car Rental Companies - Contact
Information
Car Rental Companies Phone Numbers
Avis 1890 22 33 55
CARHIRE.ie 1800 515 800
Enterprise 1890 227 999
Europcar 1800 948 855
Dan Dooly +353 62 53103
Hertz +353 1 676 7476
Irish Car Rentals.com +353 61 206 088
The car rental companies listed above are the main car
rental companies in Ireland. A number of companies operate
more than one brand.
Car Rental Brands at Irish Airports
Dublin Airport Cork Airport Shannon Airport
Hertz Hertz Avis
Europcar Europcar Dan Dooley
Budget Budget Europcar
Dan Dooley Dan Dooley Hertz
Enterprise Enterprise
CARHIRE.ie
SIXT
Dublin Airport is by far the busiest car rental collection point
in Ireland. In Terminal 1, the car rental desks are located in
the arrivals hall, while in Terminal 2 the desks are located
beside the access point to all other forms of transport, and
on the way to the taxi and bus terminals.
Dublin Airport car hire is attractive to people for a number
of reasons:
• As all car rental brands are present, the car rental
market is extremely competitive, and customers can
get multiple prices before making a decision.
• Dublin Airport is the most important gateway to Ireland,
with over 19million people flying through the airport in
2012
• The airport is extremely well connected to the major
road network, located just off the M50 and the M1
motorways
• Dublin Airport is located just north of Dublin City, and is
extremely well connected to Dublin City Centre which
is a major draw for tourists

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Car Rental Insurance
CDW Insurance
All car rentals in Ireland come with basic insurance which
is required by law to rent a car. This insurance is typically
called collision damage waiver (CDW) and will cover you for
damage to the car with an excess.
An excess is a security deposit you leave behind when you
rent the car in the form of a hold on your credit card. The
excess amounts vary depending on the size of the car you
rent, but will start at around €1200. This means, should you
damage the car, the maximum liability you will have is €1200
with the car rental company being responsible for the rest of
the value of the car.
Should you have the misfortune to damage the car while
on rent, the entire amount of the excess will be retained
by the car rental company until the damage is fixed. If the
damage is less than the excess, you will then be refunded
the difference.
If you return the car undamaged, the hold will be released
immediately. However, be aware that the bank can take
a number of days to release this back into your account.
If you do not have sufficient credit on your credit card for
the security deposit, you will have to purchase additional
insurance, called super damage wavier (SDW) which will
reduce your excess to between €0 and €200.
Excess insurance from third party providers doesn’t remove
the requirement for the excess to be placed on your credit
card. Excess insurance merely means, should you damage
the car, you will be able to reclaim the cost of the damage
against the insurance policy.
SDW Insurance
SDW insurance is an optional cover you can chose to
purchase or not when you pick up your car. This insurance
will reduce your excess liability right down to between €0
and €200 depending on the company. This means, the
security deposit you leave is much lower, and your liability
is greatly reduced. Obviously there is a cost associated
with purchasing this additional insurance. To a great extent,
whether you purchase it or not are down to your aversion to
risk and the availability of funds in your credit card to cover
the excess amount.
Additional Charges
Car rental companies in Ireland have always received a bad
reputation for not including all charges when you purchase
the rental. Although, these will be listed as unpaid and made
clear to customers during the booking process that the fees
are due once you come to pick up the car, confusion still
reigns.
However, a number of car rental companies are making an
effort to have fully inclusive pricing, most notably Irish Car
Rentals.com which uses this as its key value proposition for
customers. Also, the premium brands such as Europcar and
Hertz will not have additional charges not included in the
rate when you book. Recently, www.CARHIRE.ie has also
gone fully inclusive although it doesn’t include the credit card
admin fee in its rates. Thrifty and Budget.ie both charge a
premium location fee, or location surcharge when you rent
with them.
Toll Roads
Dublin has one automatic toll road, the M50 which is the ring
road around Dublin. People who drive this route are liable to
pay a toll for using the road. However, car rental companies
are made pay for each time a car passes over the toll road,
meaning you the driver will not have to worry about paying.
Fuel Policies
Given the rising cost of fuel in Ireland, the fuel policies of
the car rental companies have come in for some stick. Some
companies insist on all car rentals over a two day duration
coming with a full tank of fuel with no refunds should the car
be returned half full.
However, Europcar, Irish Car Rentals.com and CARHIRE.ie
allow customers to decide what option they would like. There
are two main options:
1. Buy a full tank of fuel with the car at fuel prices that are
lower than market rate, and return empty
2. Be given a full tank of fuel and be asked to return it full.
If the car is not returned full, fuel is charged at above
the market rate
In terms of fuel policy, these companies are definitely worth
checking out.
Tips and Advice
1. Be careful that you put the right fuel into your car. If
petrol is put into a diesel engine, the car will cease to
work almost immediately and will require a tow to the
nearest garage and the engine to be cleaned.
2. If you are only used to driving automatics, think twice
about learning how to drive a manual car during a

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car rental. Damage to clutches by people not used to
driving manual cars can be severe and costly to repair.
3. Car rental companies in Ireland in the main only accept
credit cards. Debit cards are not the same as credit
cards as a security deposit cannot be placed on them.
4. Pay close attention to the car before you depart the car
rental depot and ensure all damage is noted.
Disclaimer
All effort is taken to ensure the information provided
is accurate. However, before deciding which car rental
produce to purchase, please verify all information provided.
Last updated on August 15, 2013 - All Rights Reserved