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I am in the process of hiring a car in the uk. What a nightmare! I got a brill auote from one company who it turns out were a booking agant for national car hire, who at the end of the booking process slipped in a 10 pound booking fee, making their offer more expensive than any other!

I am now looking at hertz , they have given me a price which includes CDW, but then further down there is the option of purchasing 'super CDW, why would I need to buy extra cdw if it is already included? does this cdw include small things such as the paint getting scratched by another car parking too close and opening their door on my car?

any sound advice welcome.

I think you'll find Super CDW is the same as Excess Waiver,opas.

Basically,if you buy CDW you'll be covered for all damage over about 1000 quid if you have a prang,regardless of whose fault it is. You can reduce that to Zero if you buy the Super CDW.

If you rent cars with any degree of regularity,it may be worth considering these people;

www.insurance4carhire.com

as they work out a lot cheaper than the car hire firms.

Even for a 1 week rental I was cheaper to insure separately than take super CDW from the hire company. Plus, if you look at the small print you might find that the hire firm's extra cover still does not include tyres, windscreen or the underside of the car and still includes an excess although much reduced from the £1000 sort of thing John mentions.

I bought from http://www.questor-insurance.co.uk which covers the excess and tyres, windscreen and underside.

If you are hiring more that once in a year, an annual policy could be the best.

Looks a good product,Colin. As with all these things,the devil is in the detail,and you only really know how good when you have to make a claim. To that end,have you ever had to make one,as touch wood,I've never actually had to do so with insurance4carhire ?

As you say, more than a fortnight's hire and you might as will buy an annual policy !

I have used insurance4CarHire for 4 years and have claimed 3 times, 2 bodywork damage and one tyre

On each occasion they have paid up with no hassle at all. In my first year they paid out over £1,000.

Excess waiver normally costs more for a week than a years insurance.

If you are a member of the AA and use Hertz you can have a second driver on the car at no extra cost.

I joined the AA just for this, again a years membership is less than a week's 2nd driver cost.

I am a regular car hirer and I always use Hertz, I just find them so much easier than any others I have tried

Hi,

I have always rented from Hertz in Girona, 3 up-grades to date ! I have the annual excess cover from Insurance4car hire, great peace of mind. All drivers, up to 4 I think, are included provided they are on the rental agreement.

BT

Hi

I've also used Insurance4car hire.... although never had to make a claim. I pay £49 a year. When I first got this insurance it worked out much cheaper than a weeks super CDW at Hertz.

Thanks to John ,Ryanm and colin, I have taken out an anual policy, I decided on insurance4carhire ..............seeing as Ryanm had claimed a few times on their policy and seeing as I have been a little accident prone over the past twelve months

In order to protect my good name and driving skills, I must point out that it is Allan who has made claims and NOT myself!

ryanm63 wrote:In order to protect my good name and driving skills, I must point out that it is Allan who has made claims and NOT myself!

I only bent their new €60,000 Merc to test out insurance4Carhire on behalf of the rest of you!

What a gallant man!

ryanm63 wrote:In order to protect my good name and driving skills, I must point out that it is Allan who has made claims and NOT myself!

I stand corrected;

This is repeating what has already been said before, but just in case anyone is in any doubt. The annual Insurace4carhire policy is an excellent product for people who regularly hire cars for their holidays.

We have taken out the policy for several years now but had to make our first claim after the March holiday. Brand new Hertz motor had divots taken out of it in both Ceret Intermarche and Perpignan Auchan car parks – why do people do that?

Phoned up Insurace4carhire office on return home, they emailed claim form. Filled in form , scanned it and all the requested documents and emailed it to them.

The amount we were charged by Hertz for the damage was in our bank account within 3 days of submitting the claim. Fantastic service.

Your car is not french unless you have the obligatory "divots". Seriously though I think all these stores, in order to cram in as many cars as possible, make the parking spaces too small. Ok in the day of the small car but now with all the 4 x 4 and camper vans these dings are happening. One day at Lidl in Elne I had to stand outside for about 20 mins until the owner of a car next to mine finished her shopping and moved. She was parked so close to my drivers door a stick insect wouldnt have got in. There was a little more room (but not much) on the passenger side but due to the shape of both myself and the inside of my car I could not get my leg over the gear stick!!

Sue wrote:. One day at Lidl in Elne I had to stand outside for about 20 mins until the owner of a car next to mine finished her shopping and moved. She was parked so close to my drivers door a stick insect wouldnt have got in.

It happens to me all the time,Sue. Most recently in Intermarché Car Park in Céret this week.

Some of it is down to stupid and lazy parking. But car park designers in France are stuck in some kind of time warp in that they assume that everyone still drives Citroen 2CV, Renault 4 size cars and the parking bays are measured to fit them.