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Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?

Saint Louis...
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68 posts
18 reviews
31 helpful votes
Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?
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Just curious if anyone else has had a bad experience with Dan Dooley rentals (especially the one out of Shannon Airport)?

We recently rented a car from there for a week. We paid full coverage for the vehicle. Basically they gave us a car that someone had wrecked the back wheel rims on and they tried to patch the tires with a tube! My husband, who is pretty good with fixing cars, etc. couldn't believe any mechanic would knowingly fix bent rims with a tube (a mechanic in Killarney actually told us this is illegal in Ireland!). Anyway, we made it to Killarney and then one of our tires went flat (thank God, it didn't break down in the countryside, i guess). We called AA, it was Saturday night and the guy said he really couldn't do anything for us since he had no rims, there would be nothing open on Sunday to help us, and he feared we would have a hard time getting the rims replaced anywhere we went due to the fact that the rental car is not a common one in ireland and that sort of item would be hard to find!! So, there went our plans for the Ring of Kerry the next day since we didn't have a working car to drive (we had a donut but we couldn't drive the Ring with that and no spare tire!). Dan Dooley's did not have an 800 number we could call and we did not have a calling card. We finally bought a calling card the next day but turns out the gas station misunderstood what we were asking for and instead gave us a number that would put minutes on a cell phone (which we did not have). When we finally were able to get ahold of Dan Dooleys at Shannon that night we were pretty angry (that was after speaking with the mechanic who told us about the tubes being illegal). My husband requested a new car be brought to us (we paid full coverage and no one could help us!) and the lady told us she would call us the next morning. Well, the next morning she tells us we are on our own and if we don't like it, we can take it up with the head office (shes says its the drivers responsibility to fix any tire problems and they would reimburse us, which we would have gladly done but tires were pretty much unfixable). We drive to another well known mechanic in the area who actually calls the two largest Mercedes (the type of rental car we have) dealerships in Ireland--Tralee and Dublin. NEITHER of them have rims and both said we would have to order them from out of the country to get them!!! Can you believe this??

Anyway, that is when we call the head office in Limerick for Dan Dooley and explain our situation. The lady had us drive to Kerry Airport and we received a new car there but the hassle and time wasted trying to fix the problem was absoluetly ridiculous! We are going to take it up with their corporate office and Aer Lingus now that we are home and complain.

The bad thing is, there is really no way we could have seen the damage on the rims unless they remove the hubcaps which are clamped on to the wheels with some plastic tie thingy (you'd actually have to cut that off with scissors or something to see under the hubcap). We never would have demanded to check that anyway since we trusted Dan Dooley's to give us an efficient car. Once the hubcaps were removed; however, you could visibly see that the rims had been bent--thats how bad the damage was!

Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has a horror story or if we were just really unlucky!

Thanks,

Renae

Whitney, Texas
Destination Expert
for Ireland
Level Contributor
39,390 posts
44 reviews
80 helpful votes
1. Re: Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?
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renae, you aren't the first to get this kind of treatment from dan dooley....in 2003 i rented from them, and friends of mine from maryland rented from them....

both cars had damage not listed on the sheet they use when you take the car.....my friends car had a dent in the rear bumper the size of a softball.....she pointed it out to the person there and they said "no bother we know it's there"....well my friend, who is usually so sweet, said very indignantly that she was aware of it too and wanted it on the sheet....hehehe...this fella looked at her and said very rudely "well if you don't trust my word"?????...and she then very sweetly said, of course i trust your word, but the folks that own this company won't trust mine when i come back and it isn't listed on the check out sheet.....

both cars had scratches, and missing hubcaps....we had them list that too....then our car after 2 days had a blow out....so we stopped at a tire shop as that would leave us with no spare tire....i had them call dooley and explain the situation....the tire was nearly tread-less and just wasn't safe to have even been on the road....they told the man at the tire store to have us pay for the tire and they would reimburse us....thank goodness he had dealt with lots of rental cars because he asked the person he was making the deal with for her name....sure enough when we got back they wanted me to absorb that cost....i was soooooo angry....i said absolutely not, that a rental car should have tires that would last more than 2 days....in fact they must be good enough to last the entire term of the rental.....if it had been a flat i would have fixed, have done so in the past....but these are tires they know won't last, and they continue to collect from everyone that drives the car until it can't be ignored and has to be repaired.....or until someone is foolish enough to pay them for replacing something on their car that was defective to begin with....

i never use them now and if anyone asks, i encourage them to try someone else.....rental cars have increased 200%, and the agencies try to make you pay for anything they can get away with even though your didn't damage it.....you just have to watch everything on the car very carefully so you don't get caught in this trap......

Maryland
Destination Expert
for Las Vegas, Washington DC, County Donegal, Western Ireland
Level Contributor
80,406 posts
49 reviews
112 helpful votes
2. Re: Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?
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They're a large company, I'm sure some people have had better experiences with them and some have had worse, just like airlines, hotel chains, etc.

My experiences with them have all been positive, no problems.

Syracuse, New York
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1 post
3 reviews
3 helpful votes
3. Re: Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?
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We were also poorly treated by Dan Dooley people at Shannon Airport. We picked up the car in Dublin city centre. One woman with 6 people waiting . Took 45 minutes to get the car, I was late and didn't check the car completely, what a mistake. when we turned the car in they said that I had caused the scratch near the rear wheelwell. I didn't cause any damage, but was forced to pay the deductable, 100euros for a scratch that would be fixed with touch up paint if at all. I wonder how many people before me have paid for that same scratch, quite a scam.

Highland, Wisconsin
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105 posts
38 reviews
18 helpful votes
4. Re: Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?
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Hi,

Well, I'm happy to report that we had absolutely no problems with our car from Dan Dooley. We picked up at the Dublin airport and returned to Shannon airport. There was a very light scratch down the side of the car when we picked it up, but my hubby said not to worry about it. Nothing was said about the car or the light scratch when we dropped it off.

So no horror story here thank goodness. I'm sorry to hear that some of you had such unpleasant, downright awful experiences! We rented from EuropCar last time and didn't have any problems with them either. (Other than the lady at the counter when we rented the car - she was rather unpleasant. Made sure we knew it was a brand new car with NO dents or scratches. Fortunately, we took it back in the same condition!)

Jean

Dublin, Ireland
Level Contributor
698 posts
46 reviews
116 helpful votes
5. Re: Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?
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Hi Renae

This is not good.Two buckled wheels on the rear of the car… obviously the person who took the car in from the last hirer didn’t bother to check the vehicle.

I hope you took photosof the damage.

Please let us know how you get on with the hire company

I hope you have some nicer memories of your visit to Ireland

Southern Maryland
Level Contributor
33 posts
21 reviews
40 helpful votes
6. Re: Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?
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We rented from Dan Dooley in March and had two problems.

We had a flat while driving on the Dingle Peninsula. We changed the tire, no problem and continued on our way to our B&B in Killarney. Next day in Killarney, we found out that the tire had to be replaced, it was un-fixable. Tried contacting Dan Dooley, but could not get thru. So went ahead and paid for a new tire (115 euros), figuring I'd try to get them to cover it later. Later in week when we turned the car in, they said since they didn't authorize repairs, they would not cover expense of new tire even though we had a signed receipt and note about damage to tire. Repair shop said we were lucky to have made it as far on that tire as we did. We also had complete, full coverage.

We had made arrangements to pick up car in Shannon, drop off on a Sunday in Dublin, City Center. When we tried to drop off vehicle, we found out their website made a mistake by letting us drop off on Sunday in the city, since that office is closed. We had to drive out to the airport. Then we had to fight with them to cover our cabfare back to the city. They finally gave us only 15 euros for cabfare, which didn't cover the fare.

On the positive side, they did upgrade our vehicle from manual shift to automatic at no charge. Not sure if I'd use them again or not.

Cavan
Level Contributor
4,542 posts
78 reviews
60 helpful votes
7. Re: Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?
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Not the kind of service that you would expect from a large car hire company, but nevertheless typlifies the level of arrogance that unfortunately some smug Irish companies get away with through taking advantage of tourists. One reason perhaps that I would personnaly reccommend Hertz or Avis car hire because they are worldwide and have a policy of customer care that follows through with complaints.

Belmar, New Jersey
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2 posts
10 reviews
8 helpful votes
8. Re: Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?
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I have been to Ireland several times it always meets all my expectations. Every single time that we have returned we have gone with different car rental companies due to competitive deals. We have used Irish Car Rentals, Budget, Europecar, and Dollar (out of all of them Irish Car Rentals is highly recommended). However, this past trip we decided to use Dan Dooley Car Rentals. What a mistake! Upon arriving at the desk to sign in, we were surprised by an additional 1500EU charge that needed to be held on our credit card for possible damages. Since most car rentals already have a daily fee put into their rates, we immediately started doubting our choice. Ireland is a place where the roads are like sidewalks and its easy to have some damages. The only other option was paying an 18EU charge daily, which worked out close to 200EU for our stay. Obviously most people rather pay the 200EU than 1500EU, if there was a problem. Had we known this originally the rate would have been just as or less comparable to other car rentals.

Now the story of our car... We had signed up for a compact, small car. Most other rentals would give you new Opals, VW Polo's, and etc. We were beyond surprised when the car valet pulled up our 2003 Renault Laguna. Not saying that the make was a bad car but the car was BEAT UP. A jalopy of all jalopies. We had paid for the newer advertised models! The fog light missing, the bumper cracked and scratched, and the car was dented all over. It also had 57,000 miles on it! This is a rental? The interior looked is if someone sprinkled coffee stains throughout. We wanted to run to the desk and demand a refund but we told ourselves that maybe we were spoiled from our previous rental experiences.

However, this was not the case! We drove down to the Beara Pennisula and immediately I felt the car shifting harder than usual. I was wary but continued the drive. After stopping for gas and restarted the car, I realized the maintenance light was flashing. This remained on for the remainder of the trip. The next day on our way to the Healy Pass we drove an incline and the car made a hard jerk forward and the "auto transmission" indicator lit up on the dash. The car's transmission had slipped! I couldn't believe it, they rent this type of car out!?

I immediately called Dan Dooley and spoke with a customer service rep who told me they were very busy and that someone could not come and exchange the car for us. We were already 4 hours down on the coast and to drive up for THEM was extremely poor customer service. I chalked it up and told myself that maybe it was a one time occurrence. However, it wasn't. The transmission slipped at least 3-4 more times. Even the town locals remarked how they had never seen such an old car rental still on the road and agreed that we were taken advantage of. It got to the point where we just stopped using the car and walked most places. We were upset and called Dan Dooley back and spoke with Pat Dooley. Pat Dooley assured us that something would be done for us and we would be taken care of upon arrival at the airport car return. He had also remarked that the reason we were given such an older car was because they had not received their 2007 shipment and that they were incredibly busy at the time.

We arrived the following morning and nobody knew what I was talking about when I said that we had spoken to Pat and that something would be done for us. They called Pat Dooley himself and he wasn't available. I was furious! Again I felt I was being taken advantage of. I thought Irish trickery like this only involved little men dressed in all green! I was told to follow up after the bank holiday when I got home. I did so and of course Dan Dooley had claimed they couldn't find the problem that I had spoken of. Also, the maintenance light was due to a simple oil change and that he was sorry I had such a negative experience with his company. I swore to him I would never use them again and of course he promised "he would personally take care of me and make sure this never happened again". I told him that I felt I was not "taken care of" my entire visit by his company and I would decline his offer.

So, please, if you have made it this far in my post, DO NOT USE Dan Dooley Car Rental. There are so many other reputable car rentals and for the extra 100EU its worth getting a newer car with no damages, that is in good condition. I think Dan Dooley should change their name to Dan DooLITTLE.

Southern Maryland
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33 posts
21 reviews
40 helpful votes
9. Re: Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?
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Well, after reading KristenPilk's experience, now I know I won't be using them again when we return next spring.

Hard to understand why a company doesn't take care of the customers they've managed to attract. You usually only get one chance to have them return.

Gainesville, Georgia
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49 posts
28 reviews
20 helpful votes
10. Re: Anyone else have problems with a rental from Dan Dooleys?
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Just as a point of interest, I was listening today to a highly respected, nationally known consumer reporter on the radio. He was commenting about how companies were beginning to feel the pinch from consumer review sites and mentioned Trip Advisor by name, as a website that more and more travelers were turning to to get advice for their travel plans. He warned that shabby companies were being "found out" by people all over the world and that they better "mind their manners"! Perhaps Dan Dooley should take heed!

Hooray for Trip Advisor and hooray for all my fellow travelers who help make my travel easier and a whole lot more fun!

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