There are a dozen companies you could hire a car from in Ireland. Most of them are franchises of international chains, or aggregators selling you someone else’s fleet. We are neither. Here is what actually makes us different, and where we are not the right choice.
We meet you at arrivals — and it costs nothing extra
The standard airport car hire experience is a shuttle bus to an off-site compound, a queue at a desk, and an upsell conversation before you get your keys. It routinely takes an hour.
We do it differently. Give us your flight number when you book, and a member of our team meets you in the arrivals hall with your name on a board. Paperwork is handled there, and you are walked to your vehicle. For most people it takes minutes.
This is not a paid upgrade. Meet and greet is how we operate, included on every booking at every airport we serve. When you compare our rate against a cheaper headline price from an off-airport depot, factor in the shuttle and the hour it costs you.
No charge for crossing the border
Most rental companies add a fee — or refuse cover entirely — if you take the car between the Republic and Northern Ireland. We do not. Cross-border travel is fully insured at no additional cost, in either direction.
If your trip takes in the Causeway Coast and Kerry, or you are flying into Dublin and out of Belfast, that matters. We operate on both sides of the border, so a one-way rental across it is a normal booking rather than a special arrangement.
Irish-owned, and you deal with us directly
Value Car Rental is wholly Irish-owned and operated. We are not a franchise of an international brand, and we are not an aggregator reselling another company’s cars.
The practical difference is accountability. The person who answers the phone works for the company that owns the vehicle. If something goes wrong mid-rental, you are not caught between a booking platform and a local operator who each say it is the other’s problem.
We have been doing this since 2010, for corporate accounts, local authorities and private clients across the island.
Every vehicle is automatic
Our entire fleet is automatic and right-hand drive. That is deliberate rather than incidental — it suits visitors adjusting to driving on the left, and it removes one thing to think about on unfamiliar roads.
It also means the larger vehicles are genuinely easy to drive. Our 9 seater is an automatic Ford Tourneo Custom that sits within the standard category B licence — no minibus licence required. The 7 seater is a Skoda Kodiaq with three proper rows rather than token fold-up seats.
Full insurance as standard
Insurance is included rather than presented as an optional extra at handover. The excess is €350 and it is stated upfront.
We mention this because the alternative is common: a low headline rate, then a significant insurance conversation at the desk when you are tired and have a queue behind you. The price we quote is the price.
We might not be the cheapest — but you get what you pay for
An aggregator will sometimes beat us on the headline rate. What they cannot offer is a person waiting for you in arrivals who works for the company that owns the car.
Every booking is handled by our own team, and that is the whole point. We know your flight number, we know if you are delayed, and we know whether you need the bigger vehicle before you ask. If your plans change mid-trip, you ring us and we sort it — not a call centre in another country working from a script.
Compare like with like, too. A rate that excludes insurance, adds a cross-border fee, and starts with a shuttle bus is a different product from ours, not a cheaper version of it.
One thing worth knowing: we run a smaller fleet than the multinationals, and nine seaters in particular book out on weekends and bank holidays. If your dates are fixed, book early rather than waiting.
Where to start
Most people arriving by air collect at Dublin Airport, Shannon or Cork. We also cover Mullingar for the midlands and both Belfast airports, and we can deliver a vehicle to a hotel or address anywhere in Ireland if you would rather not collect at the airport.
For stays of a month or more, long term hire works out considerably cheaper than a standard rental. And if you would rather not drive at all, we run chauffeur services from Dublin Airport.
See all our locations to check availability, or call the office if you want to talk through which vehicle suits your group. We would rather advise you down a size than have you arrive to a boot that will not close.