car hire for line siding

[Gordon]

slightly off topic (perhaps) but relevant to railway line siding. I'm planning a part train/part hire car linesiding trip in Switzerland in September

Has anyone had experience of car hire in western Europe since the UK DVLA changed the rules about counterpart driving licences?

TIA

 

[theageofthetra]

Have never been asked for anything other than the photocard and have rented hundreds of cars around the world. What I would highly recommend these days is to take out an annual car hire excess policy (easily available online for under £35) There is now an almost epidemic problem in Europe of rental companies trying everything to get you to take out their own rip off excess cover upon arrival at the counter & if you don't (& the staff lose commission) even the slightest non fault scratch is being charged upon return. This includes the 'big names' not just some local dodgy suppliers.

 

[anme]

Agree with theageofthetra's post. I regularly hire cars in Europe and elsewhere and have never been asked for the DVLA's new online document. As far as I know, most countries do not have the concept of "points", so it's not something they consider when hiring out a car.

Also agree with taking out your own annual excess policy. The hard sell of the company's own policy doesn't happen every time, but it's fairly common.

 

[farci]

My photocard has always been sufficient.

I agree with the idea of your own excess insurance as stated by other posters. However, in return for avoiding paying £12/day or equivalent, you will then have to put down a deposit against damage which can be substantial and is getting bigger.

Recently I was asked by a major car hire company to block the equivalent of £800 on my card for the duration of the rental. A wise precaution is to take a second credit card for that purpose

 

[theageofthetra]

Good advice re the excess. Recent rentals in Aus & NZ have resulted in over £1000 being blocked out- however it must always be the credit card of the lead renter, you can't say put it on your partners card so make sure your limit is high enough.

 

[ASharpe]

I too have had very large blocks put on my credit card - it depends on the company.

Off topic but - I've only once been asked for an international driving permit - it was a non chain rental company in Virginia.

And unless you know you will be really stretched for time don't ever bother with prepay fuel.

 

[rf_ioliver]

slightly off topic (perhaps) but relevant to railway line siding. I'm planning a part train/part hire car linesiding trip in Switzerland in September

Has anyone had experience of car hire in western Europe since the UK DVLA changed the rules about counterpart driving licences?

TIA

As far as I have heard from UK friends who have rented cars, at least in Finland, you just need your license. However there is sometimes an obsession for taking rules to extreme levels here so YMMV...

There is no points system in place, just on-the-spot fines which for speeding can be excessive as they're based on your income.

t.

Ian

 

[EssexGonzo]

Like every one else who has commented, I've never been asked for the DVLA access code since it's introduction but I'd recommend you go armed with one anyway. It takes minutes to generate and is free.

And another +1 for the annual car hire excess policy. It's comforting not having to worry about a small ding costing you a huge excess.

 

[radamfi]

Did any car hire firm outside the UK ever have any interest in the counterpart licence? I wouldn't be surprised if anyone outside the UK wants to see the DVLA access code. I've hired a couple of times in the UK since the demise of the counterpart licence and no one asked for my access code.

Has anyone here claimed back excess using their excess insurance?

 

[farci]

Has anyone here claimed back excess using their excess insurance?

Yes, twice. On both occasions it was straightforward using my provider's claims service and done online

 

[theageofthetra]

Yes have claimed back twice on excess insurance. Very simple to do and I actually got the money back before the credit card bill was due! In both cases it was for a very minor scratch caused by someone elses parking which a few years ago would never have been noticed or charged. The whole business model for rentals is breaking down so that headline prices, particularly in tourist resorts off peak, are unsustainable. I rented a decent car for 5 days this March out of Palma for £25 all in. That is just ridiculous!

 

[Hadders]

My 1988 issued paper license has always been okay when hiring cars in Europe. I've not hired one since the new system came in though.

 

[47802]

Yes have claimed back twice on excess insurance. Very simple to do and I actually got the money back before the credit card bill was due! In both cases it was for a very minor scratch caused by someone elses parking which a few years ago would never have been noticed or charged. The whole business model for rentals is breaking down so that headline prices, particularly in tourist resorts off peak, are unsustainable. I rented a decent car for 5 days this March out of Palma for £25 all in. That is just ridiculous!

Well that is good advice I didn't even know you could get insurance to cover Hire Car excess, In the past ive just paid the extra for the zero excess when abroad as I didn't want the hassle especially as some of the French cars I have hired it would have taken a week to note down all the dints and scratches. But looking recently at European Car Hire the zero excess seems to have gone up, and more not doing unlimited kilometres either.

As for new Licence rules don't see why it should be a problem, just take a printout of your driving info from the website just in case, and as many people have said you probably wont be asked for it anyway.

 

[rf_ioliver]

My 1988 issued paper license has always been okay when hiring cars in Europe. I've not hired one since the new system came in though.

Changed my paper version (without photo) a few years ago to a Finnish license. Previous visit to the UK meant that I needed to bring a *Finnish utility bill* with my address on it to prove my identity....pretty impressive for a country that does everything electronically...

Surreal to say the least...

t.

Ian

 

[radamfi]

The whole business model for rentals is breaking down so that headline prices, particularly in tourist resorts off peak, are unsustainable. I rented a decent car for 5 days this March out of Palma for £25 all in. That is just ridiculous!

Spain has always been quite cheap for car hire but not that cheap! I have even managed to rent a car at Gatwick from one of the main players, on airport, for £25 for 3 days at 3 days notice. The insurance to cover the excess offered by the car hire firm would have more than doubled that price though.

 

[farci]

The only other caution I would add is think carefully about cheap headline deals where you are given a quarter-tank (or simillar) at commencement of the rental and you must bring it back filled exactly to that amount.

It's a scam as it is almost impossible to judge how much to refill before return. Where is that petrol station close to the airport anyway :? ? On return the rental company will argue when all you want to do is get to check-in so you end up paying them €3.50/L to refill after you.

A good tool is Holiday Autos site where you can set filters for all this malarkey. Tip: if you still can't find the right deal, phone them up and bargain a little

 

[theageofthetra]

Yes good advice- always use a car rental search engine which allows you to select 'comes full, return full' I ignore any which don't. Also even if you don't have a paid for Sat Nav App e.g Copilot on your smartphone you can download large areas for offline use on Google Maps these days- e.g the whole of Majorca before you leave home. Also bookmark any places you want to visit, hotel etc including a garage near the airport for filling up on return.