Europcar - Republic of Ireland Arvostelua 

Given a car with a scratch on the right hand side of the wheel arch that continued onto the left hand side.

When returning the car they said that it was two scratches and that we were going to be billed for one of them. Clearly one scratch, absolute stitch up job

Pratiche commerciali aggressive da parte di una signora di circa 65 anni che era allo sportello: preventivo fatto a penna su un foglio di riciclo con alcune cifre buttate qua e là, facendo credere un prezzo finale minore di quello reale.
Controllare sempre gli importi totali prima di firmare!
In questo modo Europcar farà anche tanto soldi, ma perde sicuramente in reputazione!
Gli addetti alla consegna dell'auto invece sono stati molto cordiali.
Una spia accesa della pressione pneumatici è stata segnalata al momento del ritiro, ma liquidata dagli addetti con un "non preoccupatevi, fate finta che non ci sia". L'azienda evidentemente non tiene alla sicurezza dei propri clienti!

Edit: anche l'assistenza, contattata via mail, è un muro di gomma...

Great, affordable service. Jillian was particularly helpful in making our experience even better

Watch out for luggage scam! I was forced arbitrarily without them taking any measurements into a larger vehicle - at over double the original price at the rental desk. I had a small surfboard with me that easily fits inside a Ford Focus requested. The 'upgraded' (Dacia Jogger) car I was forced into was barely larger than the one I had requested and was a bag of nails, broken seat clip so it wouldn't fold down and shuddered on the motorway. AVOID AVOID AVOID.

Ridiculous wait for car in Dublin. Total wait time was over an hour for car. Loads of staff walking around doing seemingly nothing.

Update - have just received a call from Europcar apologising for the length of wait and offering to refund part of the hire cost, a good gesture which has acknowledged the difficulties faced and has helped to remove the frustration of the experience.

We have a van for the last month from the Navan depot. It broke down coming home from Cork on Friday evening. The guy (Scott) we've been dealing with in Navan took our call but was of no use after that. In fact, he didn't answer another call but magically tried to call us once he knew we had been given a replacement on Monday afternoon. We had to get the van home ourselves. The AA arrived the next day but could do nothing to help. Then on the Monday it took many many calls to the Cork depot (because we were back working there) to get a replacement organised. Overall, an extremely poor service and we'll be using Enterprise exclusively from now on. Good thing we didn't need a van for the weekend.

Excellent customer service & support from IVAN at the desk last Friday. Sorted car in-terminal quickly and efficiently.

Lo único bueno: el chico que nos atendió en el aeropuerto de Cork (muy majo y nos atendió genial).

Lo malo y por eso esta puntuación: pagamos el seguro extra, que nos dijeron que nos lo cubría todo...pues mentira.
Por desgracia, uno de los días, mientras conducíamos, se nos pinchó una rueda, estando a 2 horas y media de nuestro hotel.
Llamamos al teléfono de asistencia (que nos habían facilitado cuando recogimos el coche de alquiler), y la agente que nos atendió nos dijo que no podían prestarnos ninguna ayuda a esas horas (20:00h) ni en aquella localización. La solución que nos dieron: que buscásemos nosotros un servicio que nos reparase o cambiase el neumático; luego, pedir la factura que nos diesen y ya, una vez devuelto el coche al finalizar el alquiler, nos devolverían el dinero que nos hubiese costado.
Ellos no nos ayudaron a buscar ningún servicio, ni nos facilitaron ningún teléfono al que poder pedir asistencia. Todo esto teniendo en cuenta que éramos extranjeros en el país, pues estábamos de vacaciones, sin saber por lo tanto de ni ninguna empresa ni nada similar. Menos mal que unos vecinos del pueblo en el que pudimos pararnos, nos ayudaron y fueron super amables.
Nos cambiaron el neumático, pedimos la factura y seguimos el viaje sin más incidencias.

A los dos o tres días de haber devuelto el coche, mandamos un correo, pidiendo que nos devolviesen el dinero del cambio del neumático. Adjuntamos la factura y explicamos de nuevo la situación.
Bueno, pues nos dicen que nos devuelven el dinero de la rueda, pero que de la asistencia en carretera no se hacen cargo. Que eso corre de nuestra cuenta.
¿En qué cabeza cabe cobrar un seguro "que lo cubre todo", pero no incluye la asistencia en carretera? Es decir, si se te pincha una rueda, te cubren la rueda pero no que vengan a ponértela. Que alguien me lo explique, porque yo no lo entiendo.
Pero no solo esto. Te cobran ese seguro (que se paga extra, obviamente) y a las 20:00 (8 de la tarde) ya no hay asistencia. Nos dejaron en medio de la nada (a 2 horas y media en coche de nuestro hotel), teniendo que resolvernos nosotros el problema y sin que ellos se molestasen por nada.
No volveré a alquilar un coche nunca con Europcar Irlanda. Era nuestra primera vez y será sin duda la última. Una vergüenza de servicio.

When I returned the vehicle at the Dublin airport, the Europcar check-in agent found--with the help of her special light--a short and very-narrow strip along a raised line on the back bumper where the top layer of paint appeared to have been been lightly rubbed off or covered by a light-gray film. She recorded it as a "scratch" with a length of "5 cm", assessed "damage" in the amount of 320.80 EUR, and bullied me into signing an "Accident Report Form". Before the inspection, I looked the car over and took pictures of it just in case something might happen but was very happy and relieved to have had another problem-free rental. There had been no accident or anything remotely close to any kind of damage-causing incident during the 36 hours that we had the car. My wife and I were, thus, completely shocked by the inspection--both the verdict of "damage" itself, as well as the extent of the assessed penalty. Immediately upon my return home, I wrote to appeal. After a week of waiting for their response (which was promised "within 2-3 business days"), I decided to call and was eventually able to reach a manager, but they adamantly refused to make any change. In my 10 years of frequent car hire experience, I have never had one this bad. I have decided to never rent from this company again.

Rented a Compact Toyota Corolla from Dublin Airport in Dec 2025. Check-out documented multiple front bumper damages: Left (15cm scratch), Central (5-15cm scuff), Right (4cm scuff). Returned vehicle 10 Jan 2026; Europcar later claimed “new 15cm scratches on right front bumper” beyond pre-existing damage and charged €446.08 in total.

Timeline of poor handling:
- 10 Jan: Damage email ignored the check-out notes and processed €446.08 from my €2000 excess.
- First invoice: vague €1 “damage compensation” only.
- 90 minutes later: second invoice added the full €445.08 as unexplained charges.
- Emails continued with contradictory reports, switching between right and left bumper damage, with no reg. plate photos proving the vehicle and Economy rates applied to a Compact rental.
- 13 Jan: Europcar said the case was upheld despite the evidence I sent.
- 19 Jan: A partial €65.34 refund was made after they accepted the vehicle category had been charged incorrectly.

Update:
After further escalation, Europcar later processed the remaining €380.74 in their system on 21 Jan, but the money was not received in my account when they said it would be. I had to keep chasing them for proof of refund processing, and when they failed to provide proper evidence, I eventually raised a chargeback through my bank. The refund only became fully effective after that.

I found the whole process stressful and time-consuming. The issue was not just the charge itself, but the repeated contradictions, slow handling, and the need to fight for basic proof and clarity.

Lessons for other renters:
1. Photograph everything at pickup and return, including timestamps and the full reg. plate.
2. Ask immediately for check-out and damage-out photos if anything is disputed.
3. Compare every charge against the contract and damage matrix, and do not accept verbal explanations alone.
4. Escalate early if the company is stonewalling or the refund does not actually arrive.

Europcar’s process seems to encourage charging first and resolving later. That is exhausting for customers and should be improved.

Absolute thieves. Beware, make sure that you take plenty of photos and record any problems before you leave their premises, these shysters will make up any old crap to try and squeeze money out of you !

Europa Car Dublin provided me with a replacement car through Audi Assist when my own car broke down. I paid a €100 deposit, which I was told was standard.

When the car was delivered to my workplace, the driver specifically advised me to take photos because they are known for accusing customers of causing damage. That alone should have been a warning. Unfortunately, it was the day before Christmas Eve, my own car had just been towed, and I just wanted to get home. I deeply regret not taking photos.

I had the car for one week and drove approximately 300km, all motorway driving.

Two weeks after returning the car, my €100 deposit had still not been refunded. I then discovered that Europa Car had taken an additional €107 from my account without any authorisation.

I later found an email (in my junk folder) with photos of an alleged “pot mark” on a tyre, which they claimed I caused. They charged me for a brand-new tyre. The photos they sent were dated a week after I returned the car and were taken in a different location to where the car was returned.

I contacted them numerous times by email. Each time I was redirected to another department. No one ever replied properly or called me back.

I absolutely did not damage a tyre — I would have known. This feels like nothing more than a money-grab.

Absolute bandits. DO NOT use this company.

As a veteran travel critic who's crisscrossed Ireland's winding roads more times than I can count, exposing the good, the bad, and the downright egregious in the rental car industry, I must issue a stark warning about Europcar Ireland: this company's operations are a masterclass in incompetence, deception, and customer disregard that no traveler should endure. My recent experience renting from their Dublin Airport branch was nothing short of a fiasco, riddled with unacceptable lapses that turned what should have been a seamless road trip into a nightmare of frustration, financial waste, and unnecessary stress. If you're planning a trip to Ireland, heed this: avoid Europcar at all costs—their dishonesty permeates every level, and the risks far outweigh any perceived savings.

The ordeal began at pickup, where the desk agent reviewed my pre-purchased Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) insurance—coverage that exceeded the vehicle's value by a wide margin—and inexplicably dismissed it as insufficient. He claimed it only applied to "excess damage" and not "baseline" protection, a baffling and illogical distinction that flew in the face of standard industry practices. Worse, he outright refused to release the car unless I purchased their in-house CDW, effectively strong-arming me into an unnecessary upsell. This coercive tactic isn't just poor service; it's predatory and sets a tone of mistrust from the outset.

Things deteriorated further once I hit the road. No sooner had I turned on the ignition for the first time than an alert flashed for a low battery in the key fob—a clear sign of negligent pre-rental maintenance. Sure enough, the battery died completely within the first 24 hours, leaving me stranded and scrambling for a replacement amid my itinerary. For a company that prides itself on reliability, handing over a vehicle in such a subpar state is inexcusable and speaks volumes about their lack of quality control.

The return process was the crowning insult. Arriving during normal business hours at the designated Europcar facility, I found the fence closed and locked tight—while every other rental company nearby was fully operational and accepting returns. I'd specifically inquired about this during pickup, confirming my return time and receiving assurances that there would be no issues. Yet there I was, one of three frantic Europcar customers desperately improvising solutions to avoid missing international flights. This blatant operational failure isn't a minor oversight; it's a reckless abandonment of responsibility that could have had dire consequences.

In the midst of this chaos, I called their customer service line for urgent assistance, only to be left on hold for a grueling 18 minutes with no one ever answering. This not only exacerbated the situation but also saddled me with a hefty international calling bill—a final, infuriating cherry on top of an already disastrous experience.

Seeking resolution afterward, I reached out directly to Europcar, only to encounter gaslighting on a whole new level. They claimed I hadn't provided the proper paperwork at pickup to waive their CDW (which I promptly corrected with evidence), then flatly stated that refunds for such insurance are against their Terms and Conditions—conveniently ignoring the coercive circumstances. To add insult to injury, within 30 minutes of their email response, they flagged my initial Google review as "fake," attempting to silence legitimate criticism. This isn't customer care; it's a calculated effort to evade accountability and discredit unhappy clients.

In an industry where trust is paramount, Europcar Ireland's pattern of dishonesty, from aggressive upselling to operational negligence and post-rental deflection, is utterly unacceptable. Travelers deserve better—far better. Do not rent from this company; they are dishonest at every level, and your dream Irish adventure is worth protecting from such pitfalls. Instead, opt for reputable alternatives with proven track records. Rating: 1/5—avoid at all costs.

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Update Jan 14, 2026:
I still haven't gotten any positive response from Europcar in terms of accountability or resolution - only run around. In response to me submitting the proper paperwork for my CDW coverage, they stated it's not in their Terms & Conditions to issue refunds on CDW purchases. I couldn't find anything in the T&C along these lines so I asked them to provide that information, and I still haven't gotten a reply.

I reached out to Booking.com to try and escalate my issues, and unprompted - they offered me a refund on my CDW, going above and beyond any of my expectations. Europcar could take notes and learn from them...unfortunately I doubt they ever will.

Over all very bad company booked my car with booking .com got to the desk they said my booking is not there .
But what they could do is upgrade me with europecar rentals .so the 167 euro I paid booking. Com was on my credit card .plus the slick sales con of the sum of 198 euros from Europecar came to a wopping 365 so that came to 121 for each day that was a great deal for me thank you so much europecar for 3 days travel well done europe car slick sales trick there .but I travel to dublin airport ireland every 2 to 3 months every year. drive down to mayo check my house so u made a fast slick sale but in the long run you loose as I will not be renting from carhire europecars or any of your sister companies...in the near future from writing this review I hope I help some other sucker 2.

Hired car from cork airport and Now over a week and deposit still not refunded; Can’t speak to anyone and says send email but email not valid WTF i have never had this with any other car hire company and hire cars regularly!!

I had been using Europcar in Dublin for over ten years and my generally consistent experience has been positive. I live in Dublin but don't own a car and I rent cars to drive west to go surfing and visit family. I've never used the airport office I always use the city centre office, now at Spencer Dock and it seems by now some of the long standing staff know me. While years ago staff would try to upsell me and sell me the higher insurance cover even new staff don't do this anymore - I think there must be something on account that says to them don't bother, he won't bite. But more positively I always find the often very busy staff to be positive and courteous and efficient. I'm sorry to read all the negative experiences though I'm not sure if any relate to the city centre office.

One of the worst company to hire car with. They took the entire booking amount from me without giving the car. I spoke to them for about 3 hours straight standing in the airport and they just did not give any resolution. Never ever book a car even if they offer for free. And more surprisingly they did not even offer me a refund. So now they took my money and did not even give the car. Never ever book from them

Avoid these like the plague. They bill for damage and have no proof it was not already on the car. They are arrogant with zero customer service. Still holding my deposit against credit card 4 weeks since return of vehicle and having already hit my card for damage that I did not cause. No way of contacting by phone, there is your first red flag, direct everything to email and then do not respond

Be aware!!!!!!
I have very bad experience, i booked Merc car from Amsterdam airport, they took agreed money from my credit card,
When i return the car came back home after 2 days they refund that agreed amount and took new amount with extra €60 , and i been told i request for upgrade the car which i never did,
Now they refused to refund my €60 back

Please please stay away from these scammer

I want to update my previous review where I felt I was scammed by Europcar over my rental rates for a car. After some correspondence between myself and the Europcar customer service desk I have now received an apology from them which I fully accept and they have settled the matter to my satisfaction. Although it is late I congratulate them on doing the right thing in the end.