Car hire is simple and cheap abroad, isn't it? Let Patrick Logue straighten you out about the costly details . . .
Always read the small print, the adage goes. Fact is, most of us don't, and just sign on the dotted line regardless.
You may have just signed over your house to the local dogs and cats refuge, but hell, you've saved a good five minutes. Small print is boring and tedious, but ignore it at your peril.
With the holiday season in full swing, motorists planning on hiring cars abroad would do well to read every last detail of what exactly they are undertaking before signing the contract and driving off with the family on the wrong side of the road.
An activity as mundane as hiring a car on holidays amounts to entering into a legal contract with the company that owns the car. You are legally bound to adhere to all the rules laid out in the minute writing above your signature.
The contract can put you in the position of having to pay for a lost hubcap (no big deal) or a dent on the side of the car (more painful). But it could also put you in the frame for shelling out thousands of euro to replace or repair a car if you are not properly insured (flippin' heck!).
Car hire firms usually include third-party insurance in rental agreements, exempting you from liability for other people who are hurt or have their vehicles damaged if you happen to crash. But anything beyond this is often optional, leaving you exposed to a hefty bill if you crash or fall victim to theft on holidays.
One of the best-known international car hire firms, Hertz, warns customers they are responsible for damage to their vehicles up to full value, if they decline Collision Damage Waiver (CDW). This could mean paying anything up to €50,000 or more, depending on what the value of the repair or replacement of the car happens to be.
Even if you do opt for this form of insurance, you remain liable for damage up to a certain amount, usually under €1,000. In other words, if damage amounts to €2,000 you are still liable to about €1,000 of this. It's all written in the contract but may come as a nasty surprise if you didn't take the trouble to read the small print.
"It's possible to rent a car without purchasing collision damage waiver and theft protection," a spokeswoman for Hertz Europe told Motors. "If the customer chooses not to buy these products, the customer will be personally liable for any damage to or theft of the vehicle.
"With regard to third-party insurance, all our rates include third-party insurance protection, with the exception of some corporate rentals in the UK," she added.
Rental companies also offer comprehensive policies, called Super CDW in the case of Hertz, which exempt you from all liability for replacement or repair of a crashed car. "Super CDW is optional and can be purchased on collection of your rental vehicle," the spokeswoman adds. "It will exempt the renter from liability in the event of damage."
CDW usually costs about €15 per day, while Super CDW up to another €10 per day. But CDWs do not protect you if some light-fingered person likes the look of the car you've hired and relieves you of it.
Besides the inconvenience and losing all you have inside the car, you are responsible for replacing it, if you haven't bought the optional insurance to cover that eventuality. Theft protection is usually about €6 a day, while personal accident and personal effects coverage comes at about €5 a day.
All in all you may end up spending an extra €30 to €40 a day to be fully protected against collision, theft and injury.
Even those with fully comprehensive policies at home, which allow them to drive other cars, may not be fully covered for driving a hire car. "These usually cover you only for third party and most companies would operate that way," explains Alan McGilton of Hibernian Insurance.
A small number of insurers will offer fully comprehensive cover for driving other cars, he says, including hire cars, so you should check this before travelling.
Insurance is a necessary and costly evil, but it's just one of the many additional charges hire car firms impose. You can expect to be charged a service or handling charge, extra for a baby seat, extra if you drop the car somewhere other than the pick-up point - and, of course, you must return your car with a full tank although mileage is usually unlimited.
These charges vary from company to company and from country to country. For example, another major international company, Avis, charges €50 per rental for a child's seat in Ireland, €25 per rental in Russia, €32 in Austria, €36.15 in Italy, and €3.50 per day in Greece. Child seats should always be ordered in advance.
The Internet provides a large list of big and small companies. A quick search will yield scores of firms you may not have heard of, but which may offer more competitive rates.