http://www.art-dance-ekg.com Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:55:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 http://www.art-dance-ekg.com/hiring-a-car-can-be-more-expensive-than-you-bargained-for.cfm http://www.art-dance-ekg.com/hiring-a-car-can-be-more-expensive-than-you-bargained-for.cfm#comments Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:23:44 +0000 admin http://www.alipah.co.cc/hiring-a-car-can-be-more-expensive-than-you-bargained-for.html

Fortunately I only rent a car approximately four times a year, as taking a city break, the beauty of such a trip is not having to drive, find your way about or park.

 

There are however times when my wife and I have to rent a car, although our recent experiences have just been in France and Ireland.

 

Renting a car in France has always proved very straightforward apart from one occasion in 2000 renting an easyCar Mercedes in the south of France. We normally book on line , pay and know that we won’t be paying any additional charges that could come out of the blue when we go to the check in desk of the car hire company.

Following on from the incident in 2000, when we heard about Larry Dale Ursich’s company insurance4carhire being publicised one Saturday a few years ago were quick to buy the annual excess insurance policy. Since then our company jml Property Services has become an introducer agent and through various web sits in the jml Group including www.insurance4carrental.com has generated over £87,000 worth of business for them. We therefore don’t buy the product from the car hire company as it is normally more expensive that way.

We quite often visit Dublin, Ireland and if we don’t make a long drive and sea crossing, take a short flight from the greater London area. Unfortunately the rental experience is never the same as it is in France.

The impression is that although you have made your booking, paid for it there will suddenly be little extras when you go to collect a car. One of these little extras is a €28 airport charge. We have discovered that some rental companies even make this charge if you collect the car from a city centre depot and go nowhere near the airport!

Another charge is a credit card charge, admittedly only €5.29, however it would nice to have these charges included in the “estimate price” and not added on for when you go to collect the car.

Airlines had the habit of offering very cheap flights that attracted you to fly and then when you went to book found the price had trebled because of all the fees and local taxes. We consumers like to know how we stand so we can budget accordingly. You would not be very pleased going to the local supermarket or petrol station and then just before you paid told you had to pay a compulsory charge.

In late August we made a mistake with a booking on a five day rental in Dublin. The booking was made on line and we did not accept the CDW Insurance. Collision damage waiver (CDW), sometimes confusingly also called loss damage waiver (LDW), is essentially a form of insurance that may or may not come included in the rental price of a hired car. It exists to provide cover for damage that occurs to the rented vehicle itself.

It appears that if you are paying with some American credit cards they may allow you to waive this charge. The actual daily rental quoted with the CDW was not much more than with, however going through at least three car hire providers websites for comparative pricing got somewhat confusing. We paid £167.39 on line for the five days rental .

When my wife went to collect the car, she was told as we had declined the CDW we would have to pay an additional amount of £14 a day which is more than the price would have been for an inclusive daily rate, but obviously the car hire company would want an admin fee.

She was asked to pay a further £191.39 that included a full tank of petrol. (In France we have always found that the car comes with a full tank of fuel, the car hire company swipes the credit card, but does not debit it and at the end of the rental, provided the car comes back full there is no further activity on the card) We have always been charged for fuel straightaway at Dublin. 

After the car was returned full of fuel and the next credit card statement came in there was a refund of £68.80. This means that an additional amount of £122.59 was added to the rental price of £167.39 making the total rental for 5 days £289.98 ( or £57.99 per day) for the lowest price card. My wife was told she was given a free upgrade, but it looks like she had to pay for it!. When we emailed the car hire company about the charges they simply stated they were correct.

It is most important that whenever you book a car rental that you check thoroughly to see if the price is inclusive of collection, road tax, credit cards etc. Some car rental companies charge for additional drivers, some only charge for more than one additional driver. Most car hire companies charge for car hire excess insurance unless you have arranged this yourself and of course you could be paying more for roof racks and child seats.

The cheapest car rental price, may not in fact be the cheapest one by the time the add ons arrive.

There are airport fees at Dublin, it would be interesting to hear from other people if many other airports have these and which ones.

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Picturesque Tuscany, one of Italy’s twenty wine regions, is classic wine country, and the origin of some of the world’s most popular red wines. The relatively high altitude, hillside Tuscan vineyards, with high temperature fluctuations and harsh winters, provide high-quality wines.

The vineyards of Tuscany’s four main wine districts are buzzing with activity during La Vendemmia, the autumn grape harvest. The weather at this time of year is just perfect for touring the back roads of Chianti, Carmignano, Montalcino and Montepulciano. And you can dine at many of the wineries, cafes or small restaurants and taste delicious cheeses, olives and breads, while sampling the wines.

Carmignano, on the slopes of Mount Albano, just to the west of Florence, has a history of more than 2,500 years of wine production. Here wines are made with a blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Cabernet and Sauvignon grapes, including Barco Reale di Carmignano, the Carmignano Rosato, and the Carmignano Rosso di Riserva.

There are Carmignano wines for all budgets. For lovers of many wine styles, vineyards to visit include: Tentua di Capezzana Ambra, Artimino, Castelvecchio, Fattoria il Poggiolo, Le Farnete, Piaggia and Il Poggiolo. Be sure to visit the Museum of Grapevine to learn about the district’s history and its wines.

Take a trip to Chianti, nestled in the hills south of Florence, where you can tour not only fabulous vineyards, but you can also have a look through the many old farmhouses, abbeys, villas, and castles found throughout the district. Just outside San Donato is Casa Emma, and near Volpaia, a lovely old hill town, is Castello Di Volpaia, with its stone buildings filled with winery equipment. Prime wine estates include Gallo Nero wines.

Chianti is a very dry red wine, with a concentrated fruit character, made mostly from the local black Sangiovese grapes, mixed with the white Trebbiano grapes. They are brought together to give Chianti wines their famous dry, full-bodied character. Visit one of the many vineyards offering cellar door tastings, and save on retail prices when you purchase the wine at its source. Wines from the Chianti subdistrict of Classico, have the symbol of a black rooster on the label.

One of Italy’s most famous appellations, Brunello di Montalcino, comes from southern Tuscany, produced from the Sangiovese vines around the historic town of Montalcino. Many wineries here blend other grapes, principally Cabernet Sauvignon, but also Canaiolo and Ciliegiolo, with the Sangiovese grapes to produce some of the best Tuscan wines and wines that the region is known for.

Finally, be sure to visit Montepulciano, an ancient walled hilltop town in southeast Tuscany, and try the signature wine of Montepulciano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, one of Tuscany’s classic red wines. Aged for a minimum of four years, these richly fruited wines are long-lived. Also made here is Vin Santo, a Sherry-like dessert wine made from dried white grapes, more often Trebbiano and Malvasia. The best and, naturally, the most costly is Vin Santo, made in Montepulciano and produced by Avignonesi.

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Limousines have become the power packed style statement these days. When you want class, luxury and opulence and a power packed entry which can turn heads, a limo is the answer. Limo Rentals are expensive, hence most people use them to mark special occasions like marriage, honey moon etc. Indeed, a white or a jet back limo complete with a uniformed chauffeur is sure to make you to a cynosure of all eyes.

Since a limo rental service is costly you need to take care of some things so that you have a great experience with your rented limo.

*When your limousine arrives late:? There may be times when your limo is late due to some reason. That may cause you to miss the event or you may even have to rent another vehicle to make it in time. This problem normally occurs due to a lack of communication between the two parties. Hence, to avoid such a scenario, you should always call the limo and inquire about their whereabouts before time. You can even work out a plan with the rental agency. Call and remind the agency a couple of times before the main day. You can give them a call a couple of days before the main event, then on the eve of the main event and then on the day the event is going to take place.

*When you get the wrong limo: You had booked a particular model of the limousine and you get the wrong model at the 11th hour. It can really be stressful! Then you need to make calls for replacement or just make do with whatever you get. In order to avoid this problem, you need to make sure that you go to the right kind of rental agency. Call them up before the appointed day and inquire about the vehicle they are sending you.

*Bad Customer Service: Not everyone can run a great limo rental agency. Hence, if you haven’t done your home work properly then you may get a limo with the customer service of a station wagon! To avoid such a scenario, you need to do your research well before hand and rent the limo from a great rental shop with good credentials.

*Your limo stalls on the way: Limos are machines after all! They may break down or develop some other problems. In such cases you will need to call the agency for a replacement vehicle. However, the delivery time is dependent on the company’s professionalism and expertise. Hence to avoid such a situation, you need to make sure that you hire a limousine from a good agency with a proven track record.

*When the Chauffeur is not polite: A limousine chauffeur needs to be polite, friendly and professional. Veteran limousine rental agencies make special efforts to train their chauffeurs to be polite and professional at all times. Hence you need to do your homework and hire your limo only from seasoned players.

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