Got the Barcelona rental excess blues

HELPDESK:Answering all your motoring queries

From BO’L: I’ve been looking to rent a car for our holiday to Barcelona. However, I can’t find any mention of the excess charges on the websites. The last time I rented I only found out about them at the desk in the airport and it was too late to be arguing over the extra charge. It cost me an extra €80 for the week to reduce the excess from a ridiculous €6,000 or a more understandable €450. It’s a cost I hadn’t taken into account when comparing the prices from the various rental companies. It’s hard to see the cost in the prices on the websites.

I’ve checked the websites of some of the larger rental companies and filled in the details for a trip to Barcelona. The information on collision damage waiver does show up and in many instances the cost of the waiver is included in the list price. Admittedly, it’s not as prominent on the webpages as efforts to flog sat-nav devices and babyseats. Nevertheless, it’s an important element of the rental package and you are right to look at it carefully.

In several instances even when you take out the extra cover, the non-waiver charge you have to pay will amount to €600 or €800, even for a small car. By the time you get to the desk at the airport it may well be too late to worry about it.

When renting abroad it pays to read through the fine print of any rental deal to see what cover you have bought online so you are not charged again for largely the same cover when you arrive at the airport. Also check the sort of cover that may be included in your own car insurance policy. Finally, you should check what accident and health cover is included in your health insurance if you have such a thing. Like everything in life, the devil is in the detail and significant savings can be made by spending a few minutes going through the paperwork.

From GM: Some weeks back you published a query from a reader asking why we can’t have the actual fuel consumption on each journey shown on the trip computer. I suggest that any system go one step further and instead of showing consumption, it should let you put in the cost per litre when you refuelled and show the cost of each journey prominently on the dashboard.

It would take very little in the way of technology to do such a thing. There are a lot of motorists unfamiliar with using litres per 100km figures, who still measure fuel economy in miles-per-gallon, and who don’t find it as easy to relate it back to the costs of running their car these days. Such a change would allow users to get a clearer understanding of the money they spend every time they push down on the accelerator. Commuters would also start to realise the cost comparison of driving compared to taking public transport.

The changes to the motor tax rules clearly showed that while motorist may well care about the environment, they also strongly care about their money. Revealing the cost of each trip I suspect would not only make people consider the cost of each journey, but also the pressure they apply to the accelerator pedal with their right foot.

It’s a good idea but I wonder will car firms ever step up to the challenge? It’s certainly not beyond the bounds of technology to have the on-board trip computer do the simple calculations involved.

Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times, Tara St, Dublin 2 or e-mail motorshelp@irishtimes.com