USED CAR RENTAL OVERSEAS: POSITIVE EXPERIENCE

I AM SEALING THE DEAL WITH HANNES IN TALLINN, ESTONIA



ELYSEE LOOKING OUT FROM OUR APARTMENT WINDOW AT THE 1992 FORD STATION WAGON


EXCERPTS FROM MY BOOK: MAKE THE WORLD YOUR SECOND HOME: AMAZON.COM

This entry concludes discussion about saving a lot of money on rental cars when overseas. My three such rentals, each for a period of about three months, were all positive.

We drove the Honda Accord that was rented in Slovenia (which I nicknamed “My Chariot of Hire”) on separate trips to Budapest, Vienna, and Venice, as well as frequent trips to the golf course, all around Bled, several trips to the capital, and at least three several-day excursions around Slovenia. In Australia, besides frequent trips to the grocery store, we took our trusty Kia on journeys to the capital Canberra, the Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley, and many trips to the local golf courses. In Estonia, the Mondeo was used for several excursions around the country, one extended trip to Latvia, and another by ferry to the offshore islands that lay off Estonia’s west coast.

The agent in Australia provided free service should I encounter any problem. One morning Elysee and I were preparing to play golf and I took the clubs to the car, discovering a flat tire. I contacted the agent and in fifteen minutes a worker arrived, replaced the tire, no charge, and we were on our way. Didn't even miss our tee time.

In Slovenia I informed the agent as he had asked us to, that we were making a trip out of the country to Hungary. Marko showed up at my apartment in Bled with additional papers for out of country travel travel. Good thing, too. In the Lake Balaton area of Hungary, late in the afternoon on a rainy day we were pulled over by the police. As we were not even close to Budapest the officers did not speak English, and I don't speak Hungarian, one of the most difficult languages to learn. I just handed them Marko's papers and sat back. I could see the conferring and on the radio. After twenty minutes they came to my car, handed back the papers, saluted and waved us on. T have no idea why we were pulled over. Could we have looked suspicious? Two Americans, in a 1991 Honda, with Slovenian plates, driving around remote parts of Hungary on a rainy, Friday afternoon. Anyway, Thank you Marko for looking out for us. His papers did the trick.

For the narrow streets of Tallinn, Estonia, our Ford Mondeo station wagon was a little unwieldy. But we managed. Halfway through our stay I noticed the car wasn't a "peppy" seemed to be faltering, missing a beat. I called Hannes, who exchanged the car for a few days, returning it in top notch condition. The problem was in the carburetors. Excellent, professional response. In a total of nine months of use, travelling far and wide, we never experienced a serious malfunction

Seek out a used car rental overseas and save a lot of money.

RENTAL CAR OVERSEAS-HOW TO SAVE

OUR "CHARIOT OF HIRE" OUTSIDE OUR APARTMENT IN BLED SLOVENIA.




TOASTING THE DEAL WITH MARKO FOR 1000 EURO CASH FOR 90 DAYS. HE BROUGHT THE CAR TO MY APARTMENT IN BLED FROM THE CAPITAL.


EXTRACTED FROM MY BOOK MAKE THE WORLD YOUR SECOND HOME AT AMAZON.COM

Since my costly experience in Ireland, I have rented a Kia from a small independent agency in Australia for $16 a day. In Slovenia, I rented from Marko, a very reliable, never-failed me, 1991 Honda Accord, also for about $16 a day. And in Estonia, I rented a 1992 Ford Mondeo station wagon for $17.50 a day. Compare these to $60 to 490 dollar day at the airport. All three rentals came with the necessary papers and insurance for $17.50 and a promise to repair or replace should I have a problem with the car.

How do I go about this? Basically, once I nail down the lease on where I am going to live, I work on getting the car.In each case I have mentioned, the landlord or rental agent was able to steer me in the right direction. Every country has young entrepreneurs starting up such businesses. These are not “shady” deals mind you. In each case I had a legitimate contract with a viable company and all the necessary documents should I get into an accident or be stopped by authorities.

The owners of these used-car rental fleets were delighted to make a cut rate deal because I was renting the car for a continuous 90 to 100 days. As in renting a place to live for that long a period, they were able to cut their rates by half or more because they were guaranteed a long-term lease. No down time for the car, no redoing the paperwork ten or fifteen times over the same period, and no collection problems. I paid in cash up front for the entire period, in local currency. No credit cards.

And, by waiting until I arrived to seal the deal, I could make a judgment about the dealer and examine the car, and they too could see I was reliable and would not be abusing their vehicle.

My next postings will provide some reassuring anecdotes.

SUMMER RENTAL OVERSEAS? SAVE ON A RENTAL CAR

ELYSEE WITH OUR LITTLE IRISH SCOOTER PARKED IN FRONT OF OUR SUMMER HOME RENTAL


Four of our ten summer "second home" rentals, these past ten years have been overseas. The other six, all being in North America, we drove to in our trusty 2001 Dodge Durango. Lots of room for "stuff."

But what should you do if renting for the summer overseas? You will need a car. In the four overseas countries where we rented for the summer: Ireland, Australia, Slovenia and Estonia we rented a car. Our experience and learning came from our first awakening experience having rented a car for three months from a top-of-the-line agency at the Airport in Ireland. Below is an extract from my book, Make The World Your Second.

I learned the hard way how to solve the problem of expensive rental cars. On our first extended summer abroad, in Ireland, I arranged for a rental car from Hertz.
By corporate habit, I might add. Big, big mistake! The little mini-mite that took me all over Ireland for three months ended up costing about $4,000, or around $45a day. It would likely be double that today. I gritted my teeth, paid the bill, learned my lesson, and became determined to find a better way.

I recently priced a rental car at the airport in Tallinn, Estonia. For the smallest car, a Renault, it would cost me $70 day. The cost of the car would have exceeded the cost of my rental. But by then I had learned how to reduce my daily rental cost to only $16 a day. How? That will be in the next posting.

SUMMER RENTAL AT LOWER COST

BOOTHBAY RENTAL. WE HAD THE FIRST TWO FLOORS. THAT'S ELYSEE WELCOMING YOU.



THE VIEW OF BOOTHBAY HARBOR TOWARDS THE FOOTBRIDGE FROM OUR DECK




THE VIEW FROM OUR ANNAPOLIS CONDO OVER THE SWIMMING POOL AND DOCKS OF THE YACHT CLUB


In 2008 we rented a wonderful, water view, two bedroom condo on Spa Creek in Annapolis, Maryland for 98 days at a cost of $65 per day. That is well below what this rental's daily cost is if rented for several weeks a time.
In 2009 I rented for $100 a day for 100 days. This was for a lovely two bedroom waterfront unit in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The price is more than a 60% reduction on the weekly rate. Here is an opportunity to mention the impact of the
length of the lease.

In terms of cost, the longer the lease the lower the daily cost. Many places, that are advertised as high as $6,000 a month can be leased for half that amount if taken for a longer term. You can usually get the owner to give a substantial discount if you take a place for three months or an entire season be it winter or summer. The longer lease is of such convenience to them. Think about it.

Only having to deal with one tenant all season! That’s a bonanza for most owners. You’re offering a guaranteed full-season occupancy; no vacancies, no weekenders, and, in our case, no kids or pets— just my wife and myself. Don’t let the
advertised offering price turn you away. Most agents and owners are not expecting a full season rental from a single client. Conversely, this bargaining leverage decreases as the period of the lease shortens.

SUMMER RENTAL COST CONSIDERATIONS

OUR SECOND HOME FOR THE SUMMER OF 2010


I believe that in most cases the cost advantages of the lifestyle I am suggesting far outweigh the costs involved in owning a second home. Not only are capital costs lower, but so are recurring costs, emotional costs, cost of your time, and cost versus benefit, though I admit the last is very subjective.

Nevertheless, I am prepared to make a case that the benefits of renting for several months outweighs the alternative of owning a second home or spending the same amount of money on other travel options such as short-lived cruises and tours.

I have rented apartments with a sauna, a Turkish steam bath, an outdoor terraced garden, and in Mexico a beachfront firepit. These were not your roadside cabins with a hot plate. I have spent as little as $67 dollars a day for a full floor, brand-new two-bedroom apartment with an Italian-designed kitchen and batin the Slovenian alps, to a high of $83 a day for a two bedroom house with a separate loft for an office, an interior garden, fireplace and off-street parking in very expensive Carmel, California. That house in Carmel would sell on today’s market for about $1.5 to $2.0 million.

The picture is of last year's rental, in beautiful Camden, Maine, in town, walk to everything, 2br 2 ba. for for 100 days for $7,000. OK folks, that's $70 a day; turnkey, including internet, flat screen TV, fully equiped kitchen and furnished.

More on cost and savings next.

Our First Summer Rental-Kinsale Ireland

Our townhouse. First floor was storage for the Boland's News-shop, we had the top two floors



The Bolands built the town house adjacent to their news-shop and they lived above in the spacious apartment on the two upper floors.


When my wife and I retired to Florida in December 2000, we had already decided not to be there in the summer. Hot, humid, lots of flying objects, with most people hunkered down beside an air conditioner; that was not our idea of a vigorous retirement. A few years before we had experimented with seasonal rentals, taking a month vacation in Carmel California. For us, taking a month off was a big deal, but we were getting ready to pull the plug, anyway. We liked our experience in Carmel, and after some discussion decided that Ireland would be the destination for our first summer away from Florida. How we ended up in Kinsale, Country Cork is part of the lessons learned on our first "cruise" so to speak. Suffice to say we came up smelling like roses, or shamrocks. This is a picture of our first summertime rental. A new townhouse, across from the quay, providing us with two floors of in town living, parking space for the car, walk to everything, all new furnishings, and landlords, The Bolands who became close friends. Our experience in Ireland set the bar high for future years, while forming in our minds what our criteria for the next ten years of rentals would be.