car hire ...a question and a problem

aaronandterri

<font color=darkorchid>We love disney!<br><font co
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Well were flying on the 12th Dec, i just noticed that for somereason my virgin flydrive was booked with no insurance for the car~ am unsure why, virgin want 1200 ish for the 2 cars for the 3 odd weeks were out there when i asked today , how did this happen and why so expensive?

ive not done flydrive b4 just virgin atlantic flights and car hire seperatly, so i am unsure how to go, are there diffrent companied i can go to to just get rental insurance or do i need to look elsewhere for a car, i paid about another 300 over the flydrive price foreach of the cars for longer already as it only inclused the first week, i thought insurance was included no one ever mentioned it till i was on the phone today.

will it be cheaper out there?
any website to look at?

normally i pay around 400 ish for the car for 3 weeks with insurance etc, this seems expensive!

help:confused3

terri xx
 
Hi Terri
Don't leave it til you get there, they know you have to have it so you pay approx double UK prices.
There are companies that sell annual insurance but they even quote on their own websites not advisable to use with Flydrives, the rental companies will tell you its not adequate and try the hard sell, thats upto you if you want to go down that route, personally I wouldn't but some do.
Other option is rent from another company, 3 weeks with USrentacar with all inclusive cover from £321 for a basic car.
You could possibly try get Virgin to remove the extra you paid but you have to do it without them knowing you want to book cars separate, if they know that they will charge you an unpackaging fee, as they say on their website they don't sell flight only.
Unfortunately flydrives are very rarely the best option when they add the overpriced cars.
 
Thanks wayne, a few more ???

My friend who travells a lot has one of those annual car insurance hire policys that is only 109 £ and he says he uses it out there all the time no problem, why if i had one of these would it be a problem? i understand thats how virgin make the money on flydrives, but if they sold me the car with no insurance in the first place then it musnt be a condition to buy the insurance through them surely??? as long as im covered it shouldnt matter should it???


my problem with the car hire is its just not 1 car its 2 7 seaters as were travelling with parents and my grandad and all the kids , going for a little over 3.5 weeks so virgins quote for just insurance (at the last minute) was over 1000£!!, which i havent rearly got on top of the rewire we just had.

i did email dollar about it and they emailed this back.
Thank you for your e-mail.

Insurance Coverage at our U.S. Locations is strictly optional.

Please check with your Insurance or Credit Card Company to know
if your auto policy or credit card agreement extends coverage
to U.S. for damage done to the rental vehicle, damage or injury
to other people caused by you, injuries to passengers in the
rental vehicle, and theft of personal belongings left in the
rental car. Once you know this, you can make an informed decision
about the options available at time of rental.

Thank you for visiting us and have a nice day.

Terrell
Dollar.com Help Desk
 
A few people use this type of insurance, I just take the easy option, I don't want hassle when collecting or returning the car.
I posted my thought on th subject in this thread
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2312248

Car rental companies rent cars with no insurance because many Americans have their own cover, for us we have to have it, its your choice if you want the easy option and pay more or what could be a complicated option and save money.
I have taken the car back on a few occasions with scratches & bumps on, possibly there from collection, possibly picked up thru the holiday, I just return with no hassle and the agent says covered on insurance. If I didn't have their insurance then its hassle I don't want at the end of a holiday wanting to get to my flight. If you are willing to deal with that and paperwork for claims etc then it might be an option for you.

The most popular company that does this insurance says this about their own cover.
Why do you not recommend this insurance for fly-drive programmes?
Fly Drive programmes are generally structured so that the car rental company makes its money from add-ons such as insurance. For that reason, companies which participate in fly-drive programmes do not always readily accept this insurance. For example, both Dollar and Alamo will accept our insurance but will withdraw or block US$ 1,500 from your credit card for the duration of the rental when you do a fly-drive through them, using our insurance.
 


Hi,

We have used VH a couple of times, but have intentionally not taken out the additional insurances and rented a car ourselves through Hertz at substantially less than the insurance upgrade prices. However, if you do rent yourself, don't tell VH you are not picking up the hire car because as Wayne has said, you will be charged an unpacking fee.

You say you are renting 2 x 7 seaters - could you get away with one 7 seater and a basic car should people want to go their own ways on certain days? This may help to save some money. It may be better to "lose" your £300 if it will help to save you some additional money through renting your own.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top