Virgin free car high (paying for extras)

[pickers1982]

I booked a virgin holiday to orlando and car hire is included(cough cough). Anyway spoke to vigin re adding a car seat and they said I should just upgrade to platinum car hire. Reckon it would be cheaper to sort extra insurance myself (online site)and just sort the car seat with we get there.
Does anyone have any experience of this?

 

[penlanspice]

You will probably find it cheaper to just book a whole new car hire with a decent company than virgins rip off prices.

 

[wayneg]

We have always found it cheaper to book our car elswhere than take the "free" car.
Get a quote of what they want to charge then post the details and we will try help you find a better deal.

 

[Elise79]

I would agree with the others but would also add to consider taking your own car seat. The seats the car hire company's supply are not the best and can usually be found stacked in a corner somewhere. Personally I would never put DD in one we always take hers with us.

 

[pickers1982]

Going to sort insurance through insurance4carhire.com. Should look at taking our own car seat, but as they are heavy it will probably take up lots of our baggage allowance

I ve found with virgin nothing has been simple!!!

 

[wayneg]

Going to sort insurance through insurance4carhire.com. Should look at taking our own car seat, but as they are heavy it will probably take up lots of our baggage allowance

I ve found with virgin nothing has been simple!!!

Although some do use this kind of insurance in the US most of us wouldn't. You arrive at the desk and say I have my own insurance they will give you a hard time saying you don't have enough cover, some even ask for upto a $1,000 deposit. My main concern would be in the event of a claim, how does it work? do you pay $25,000 for a written off car then claim back in UK? read the policy with a fine toothcomb, personally if I have an accident I want to hand over the keys and let them deal with it on their insurance without even an excess.
Not saying don't use it but read and read again to know what you are getting.

We always take a car seat if taking a child, wouldn't want to use anyone elses.

 

[Laurafoster]

We always take our car seat. I think Virgin now allow you to take your car seat and a pushchair free of charge (previously used to be one or the other).

I have a car seat bag and use the bag to put any towels etc. (nappies in our case) as car seats arent subject to the same weight restrictions as a suitcase.

The one time we did consider hiring on i was quoted $7 per day direct from alamo. Nearly $100 for a 2 week holiday.

 

[penlanspice]

Going to sort insurance through insurance4carhire.com. Should look at taking our own car seat, but as they are heavy it will probably take up lots of our baggage allowance

I ve found with virgin nothing has been simple!!!

We used this policy for about 2 years and 6 different rentals, we were never given a hard time at the counter just the usual you wont be cover for tyres etc which most rentals dont cover you for those things anyway unless you take tge top package. I do remember we had to leave a large deposit hold on our credit card each time. We didnt use it with virgin so cant comment with them, we boooked our car hires direct with the us websites and found codes through mouse savers etc, one rental I remember we had a convertible for 10 days for £60.
Only reason we stopped usibg the policy was because we couldn't find cheap car deals, if your going to use it multiple times its worth it.

 

[pickers1982]

Although some do use this kind of insurance in the US most of us wouldn't. You arrive at the desk and say I have my own insurance they will give you a hard time saying you don't have enough cover, some even ask for upto a $1,000 deposit. My main concern would be in the event of a claim, how does it work? do you pay $25,000 for a written off car then claim back in UK? read the policy with a fine toothcomb, personally if I have an accident I want to hand over the keys and let them deal with it on their insurance without even an excess. Not saying don't use it but read and read again to know what you are getting. We always take a car seat if taking a child, wouldn't want to use anyone elses.

I understand your reservations. I ve looked into reviews and they are very good. If a claim is placed that is the only downside because as you say you have to handle paperwork etc with a different insurer. They have no more reason to rip u off than a car hire company.
I'll contact virgin and our regional airline to see if the charge for taking a bay sitter( for a toddler they are pretty heavy!)

 

[Elise79]

Virgin will carry your seat free of charge regardless of size/weight. We have been taking DDs since she was baby with no issues.

Personally I would also avoid separate car hire insurance - US is the wrong place to be without the right insurance.

 

[pickers1982]

Virgin will carry your seat free of charge regardless of size/weight. We have been taking DDs since she was baby with no issues. Personally I would also avoid separate car hire insurance - US is the wrong place to be without the right insurance.

Thanks unfortunately we have to transfer from the Channel Islands and their baggage allowance is less generous than virgin. Both buggy and car seat will count in a 20 kg allowance

50/50 on the car insurance at the moment. It's a legit site just taking advantage of the fact car high companies take the £&?! As you have no choice at there desk. Out of 640 reviews 99% were positive

 

[wayneg]

50/50 on the car insurance at the moment. It's a legit site just taking advantage of the fact car high companies take the £&?! As you have no choice at there desk. Out of 640 reviews 99% were positive

Definitely a legit site and 25% cashback here http://www.quidco.com/insurance4carhire-com/

Personally I don't believe car hire companies are too bad, a car costs from under £100/week incl all insurances. Our last one in October was with Hertz, cost us £137 for 9 nights SUV incl insurance. Always get fully inclusive insurance included in your rental, never leave it til you get to the desk, they have you tied.

As I said before, my main concern is in the event of a claim, how does it work? with the car hire companies own cover you just hand back the car even if you dent or scratch, no paperwork, no money to pay. With a UK policy just check you don't have to pay a fortune out if you have to claim.

 

[Elise79]

Ok I have had a read of the FAQs on http://insurance4carhire.com/faq.aspx and if you have any sort of damage you have to pay and then claim it back.

If you purchase an Insurance4carhire excess insurance policy, decline the car rental company’s excess at the counter. It is not necessary to show the policy to the car rental company. Should you have an accident or damage your car in any way the charges for any damage to the vehicle will be made to your credit card by the car rental company. When you return from the trip you contact Jubilee Service Solutions Limited and you claim for reimbursement.

I would not want to be doing that as it could be thousands.

Unless you are taking the allocate size car (which knowing VH will be small) you will be better off renting seperatly as the upgrade costs aren't cheap either.

Post the dates/car size and we can give you an idea of prices.

 

[pickers1982]

I admit the car hire companies insurance is much more convenient and but just had a look on hertz. Basic car hire is £290, whereas insurance is less than a third of that.

In the event of the claim whilst ideally I wouldn't want to pay and claim back later a circa £200 saving is pretty attractive! I see it as not different to taking out travel insurance and how you could be short term out of pocket there.

If the difference wasn't so big I'd go for the car companies definitely. Virgin holidays are confusing me as they keep talking about platinum packages etc when all I want it full insurance.

 

[penlanspice]

I admit the car hire companies insurance is much more convenient and but just had a look on hertz. Basic car hire is £290, whereas insurance is less than a third of that.

In the event of the claim whilst ideally I wouldn't want to pay and claim back later a circa £200 saving is pretty attractive! I see it as not different to taking out travel insurance and how you could be short term out of pocket there.

If the difference wasn't so big I'd go for the car companies definitely. Virgin holidays are confusing me as they keep talking about platinum packages etc when all I want it full insurance.

Virgin offer inclusive insurance which will include all your insurance.
Platinum will get you the insurance, extra drivers, tank of gas, this cover also gets a free car seat which you said you needed. (sorry can't help on costs of the car seat as I don't have any little ones)

How much do virgin want for the insurance?

Have you checked a comparison site for car hire?

As I said previously we used this policy many times without any problems, there are things to be aware of like if you do damage the car you will have to pay and claim back in the uk, another thing to think about is if the car is damaged and they take it out of service to fix it you are liable for the loss of revenue and I don't believe insurance4carhire will cover you for that, also you pay the admin fee.

 

[wayneg]

I admit the car hire companies insurance is much more convenient and but just had a look on hertz. Basic car hire is £290, whereas insurance is less than a third of that.

As Tracy posted "Post the dates/car size and we can give you an idea of prices."

We might be able to find a far better deal if we all look.

At the end of the day though yes you will pay a higher price compared to insurance only, to me its worth paying, to others not.

 

[pickers1982]

Virgin want 276 just to upgrade the insurance!

Why can things never be simple!

 

[Elise79]

Virgin want 276 just to upgrade the insurance! Why can things never be simple!

What type of car and what dates?

 

[pickers1982]

31 st jan to the 14 th if feb. Needed and returned late afternoon.

After the most basic car

 

[wayneg]

31 st jan to the 14 th if feb. Needed and returned late afternoon.

After the most basic car

Then the £290 you saw with Hertz was before using the sale code that is available, the price for those dates using the code is £246 less 8% Quidco = £226

Cheapest I see is with Netflights/Alamo £204 less 5% Quidco = £194

Possibly cheaper elsewhere but I am just rushing to get out of the door and go away for a couple of nights, maybe someone else will see better.