The most unsympathetic, unfriendly and downright hostile group of people I have ever experienced on my many trips home to Ireland. When faced with a very unexpected trip home in March due to a family tragedy, our travel agent made last minute reservations for flights. car rental and hotel. Upon arrival to Dublin we proceeded to the car rental counter of Dan Dooley/Fox where we encountered a very harried and upset eastern European agent. From the onset she was curt and very unwelcoming. We presented our voucher with a confirmation number which quoted a price of $92.43 for the few days we were to be there. She told us that the price was going to be 359.28 Euros which is slightly more expensive. I asked for the breakdown, and fully understood the fuel charge 65.04 Euros that would be returned on returning the vehicle full, a 25 euro fee for waiving their insurance (dubious) and then the rental fee 171.17 euros, a Deliv/Coll/Misc fee of 46.70 euros and finally VAT at 44.37 euros. We were to say the least, bemused. When we questioned the charges we were informed that it was the busiest time of the year (March 11) due to St. Patrick's day and if we felt we could do better at one of other other car rental companies we should just go and do that. By this time we are exhausted, facing a 6 hour drive and in a state of shock due to the family tragedy, we just wanted to get on the road and agreed so we could get out of there. We were then advised that there would be a 3,000 (Three thousand) Euro hold put on our credit card. This turned out to be another mitigating disaster as they did not put a hold, they actually charged the card. This took 6 weeks post return to get amended and corrected. The follow up that both our travel agent and we encountered post return is best described by the adjectives used on our opening paragraph. I found myself having to return to Ireland this past week for another family tragedy and both my Travel agent and I made it a point that we would not dare utilize this agency again, and ultimately had a wonderful customer service experience with one of this company's competitors. read more

We rented from Dooley car rentals for a 4 day trip to Ireland in late 2015. After 4 days, the car broke down on the the side of the road on our way to the airport and we missed our flight back to the US. After this ordeal, when we got back home I had an additional $1600 charge on my credit card, with no call and no explanation from the company. I immediately placed a dispute with my credit card company. They attempted on multiple occasions to seek an explanation from the rental company, It took nearly a year for anyone from Dooley's to define the nature of this charge. When they finally responded they said it was due to "damage to the vehicle" and then accused me of burning out the clutch on the vehicle. Of course by that time, my credit card company informed me that they couldn't keep a dispute open that long and I paid the credit card bill. I am convinced that Dooley's lack of being forthcoming with this information was by design and an attempt to ride out the dispute period, so they wouldn't have to answer for this charge. With all due respect to their version of the facts, I have had many cars with a stick shift over the years and have never even come close to burning out a clutch. Regardless, I had no recourse because they already had my money. When I placed a call to Pat Dooley (CEO) he, of course, never returned the first 2 calls and when I caught him at his desk one day, he not only completely blew me off, but was argumentative and accusatory, as well. Should they reply to this email, they will manufacture some false reason why what they did was justified, but I would strongly recommend that you take that reply with a grain of salt. They had an opportunity to stick it to US customer who had no recourse, but to hope that they would do the right thing and either offer an adjustment or a refund, and they seized that opportunity to do so. BEWARE of this company. I'd recommend that you have your rental car needs serviced by a company that is more honorable and forthcoming. JJM read more

We rented a car from Dan Dooley in September 2016, after reading the tripadvisor articles on the ins and outs of renting a car in Ireland and great deliberation. I ended up choosing Dan Dooley because all the costs were up front on their website, it explained the Ireland insurance options clearly, so their were no surprises, the costs were competitive and they were easy to communicate with via email and do business with. The shuttle service from the airport was quick and after I waited 5 minutes and checked back with the airport desk, they had the shuttle their to pick us up and take us to our car. Checking the car out and back in was smooth. And the shuttle back to the airport was quick. The car did have some dents, but the checkout person noted them on a form and gave me a copy, so there were no hassles when I brought the car back. I filled the car up with gas about 15 miles away from the airport and the guage still said full, so there was no hassle getting my refund for the tank of gas. They told me about the electronic toll on M5 and how to pay that, so I was able to take care of that, with no hassles. And the car work fine, so no problems there either, even though it had a few 10s of thousands of miles on it. I am an American so driving on the left hand side of the road was tricky, and that is why I spent the extra money for the automatic (price runs double for an automatic at all the rental companies). We rented the GPS from Dooley, but also used the GPS in my Ipad to correlate, and also to sometimes pick different routes than the GPS. I found it easier if I missed a turn, to just go back to the spot where I missed the turn instead of letting the GPS calculate a new path, which often consisted of a giant circle. Because the tendency is to be farther over towards the shoulder of the road, I learned how to make sure I was closer to the center line, but using my rear view mirror to insure there was still space between my drivers side and the center line. If you can see space between your car and the center line through the rearview mirror you are fine. Watch the parked cars on the passenger side and on narrow roads, either parked or coming towards you. The tendency will be to move too far to the passenger side or shoulder. Also you can learn where to line up the center line and your drivers side headlight as viewed from the drivers seat, and that helps too. read more

We were in mortal fear of renting a vehicle in Ireland because of the horror stories on Yelp and Trip Advisor and a previous dreadful experience in Scotland. We read some fairly good reviews about Dan Dooley and decided to take a chance. We are so glad we did! The entire rental experience was completely worry free (driving on the left, however, on Ireland's narrow roads is an adventure.) We rented through the New Jersey Dooley office, receiving excellent service from every reservation rep we spoke with. They were very courteous and helpful answering our many questions. Be aware that insurance is COMPLICATED in Ireland and we paid extra to get all the coverage offered (mirrors, glass, tires, etc. were all covered with a 150€ deductible.) For 12 days, with full coverage and two drivers the rate was about $970, which we prepaid before the trip. There may be cheaper ways to go - but since our experience was completely worry free it was worth any extra cost. Note: the coverage codes on our rental agreement were as follows: R/T/CDW/DED/T&G with Excess Liability Waiver. The pickup at the Dublin Airport was very smooth and fast, perhaps because of the prepayment. The only hitch was the vehicle we had reserved was not available when we arrived. Of course being nervous about driving on the left, we required an automatic so we agreed to take what they had available. The car they gave us was perfect for our needs. It was a larger vehicle than reserved (upgraded at no extra charge) and they included a GPS at no extra charge as well. However, we secretly suspect we were given the "American Rig" that had already been tested on one of Ireland's beautiful but narrow walled roads. The left side was already "Americanized"- with dents, scrapes, and missing the outside mirror cover. When we pointed out the existing damage, the delightful young service person laughed and said "this is the one you probably want - you wouldn't want to worry about damaging a crisp one, now would you?" She was so right - we didn't have to worry about damaging the left side at all! The car was perfect for our needs and operated perfectly -- although we did see many people smile knowingly when they saw the damaged left side. We do have one minor complaint: the gas tank WAS NOT completely topped off as stated when we picked up the car. It was down 1/8th of a tank which we didn't realize until we filled up several days later -- not being familiar with the Renault dashboard we thought the gauge was on the full mark. When we returned the vehicle, we told the attendant about this, whose brisk response was "you should have called." They would not give us a gas credit even though we had a photograph of the gas gauge to prove what it looked like at pickup. Our recommendation: take careful photos all the way round outside AND inside and call them as soon as you notice a problem. An 8th of a tank is a fair amount, given the price of diesel in Ireland. All in all, we would highly recommend Dan Dooley at the Dublin airport. And, don't forget to ask for the "American Rig." read more

My girlfriend and I arrived at the Dublin Airport and immediately checked car with Attendant #1 (Robbie Murphy), returned our GPS and notified him of any issues we had with the vehicle. We then went upstairs to the airport, notified the Dooley attendant at their booth and proceeded into the dining area of the Airport. As we walked into the dining area, I realized I forgot my iPhone 5 in the center console of the car. I immediately ran back to the desk and spoke with the service woman from Dooley who was extremely helpful. She directed me to proceed downstairs to speak with Attendant #1 (Robbie Murphy) to regain entry into the vehicle. However, when I arrived downstairs, the car was already gone and not a single attendant for Dooley in sight. I returned upstairs where the service woman called their depot to have the vehicle checked. Service woman #1 was on the line with service woman #2 at the depot when the vehicle arrived. Service woman #1 claimed she checked the car, top to bottom and there was nothing in the vehicle. I insisted my iPhone 5 was in the vehicle exactly where I left it and requested to be brought to the depot to check for myself. I arrived at the depot after a Dooley van picked me up and was aggressively greeted by the Manager (Michael Murphy) along with Robbie Murphy and Derry Doherthy. I was informed that Robbie was not the individual that drove the vehicle back to the depot and that it was in fact Derry Doherthy. Both of these individuals claimed they had no clue where my iPhone 5 was. I was then approached by the Manager. Michael claimed that him and his staff checked the entire vehicle and there was nothing anywhere -- he even explicitly stated that he himself, checked under all the seats and crevices to confirm the phone wasn't in the vehicle. After checking the vehicle myself (even under the seats), I requested them to call the local authorities to help get to the bottom of the situation. Michael began raising his voice, becoming defensive and aggressively defending his employees authenticity. Shortly after I requested the authorities get involved, Employee #3 emerged from the back presents me with my iPhone 5 and asks, "Is this your phone?". Sure enough, it was my phone at which time I asked "Where was this?", Employee #3 then responded with, "It was under the passenger seat". I then turned to Michael and asked, "I thought you checked under the seats and in every crevice?". He immediately began raising his voice even higher and took off his coat in an aggressive manner. I brushed it off, turned to Service Woman #2 and asked for their names and that I was going to report this to the authorities. All 3 of the employees kept insisting there was no need for the authorities, which make me feel more uncomfortable about the situation. What was odd about the whole situation, was that when my iPhone 5 was returned, it was very cold (outside temperature cold) and turned off. After our two hour drive from Limerick, then immediately being driven from the Airport to the depot, if it slid under the seat and was not disturbed, it shouldn't of been as cold as it was. Secondly, why was it turned off? I know for a fact that my device was turned on due to my girlfriend taking pictures of the scenery the entire drive back from Limerick. I'm going to assume that they removed my iPhone 5 from the vehicle, stored it somewhere outside in the garage depot and turned it off to not be tracked. Once I insisted the local authorities be involved, they realized that I wasn't going to walk away from the situation and immediately returned my device. Due to this entire situation of back and forth, I ended up missing my flight back to Boston, MA and had to dish out another $1159 on two plane tickets for the following day. I'm extremely unhappy with how I was treated by the manager and Employees during this situation. When I return to Ireland, I will (at all costs) avoid using Dan Dooley again. I would suggest anyone else interested in rental vehicles during their stay in Ireland look elsewhere if they are exiting and arriving out of the Dublin Airport. http://www.dan-dooley.ie/car-rental-hire-dublin-airport.htm Manager: Michael Murphy Employee #1: Robbie Murphy Employee #2: Derry Doherthy Employee #3: No name Service Woman #1: Dublin Airport Attendant Service Woman #2: Depot Attendant read more

Rip-off company. Fine print sharks. Rented 6 day compact car- at pick-up, got a beat -up car with 170,000 km on it. By the time I got all the dings documented, the rental papers had an x on every body panel marking sites of damage. Do this, or they will claim you did damage and bill you. After add-ons in the fine print at airport, car cost over $100 US per day we had it. They lied in my face about gas charges if you bring it back less than full. Said they only charge cost of gas, which they claimed was less per gallon than at stations. They wont mention that In fine print they add a $150 fill fee. ps, they charge this to your card before you drive off lot and then "refund it" at the end. My bus back to the airport was full of unhappy customers. Go with Avis or Hertz- initial daily rental may seem higher, but total cost won't be. read more

We reserved online and thought we had paid in full but when we got to the desk, we were informed that we also had to pay a very steep airport fee. We were also told that our insurance wouldn't work (it does at every other car rental) and that we had to purchase extra. Then we spent 10 minutes wandering around a garage looking for the van to take us to the cars. The car we were given had a significant dent that was not marked on their inspection forms. Had we not caught it, we would be been liable. In short, use someone else. read more

Arrived in Dublin after 15 hours of travel and told they have no cars despite our reservation! We are instructed to just wait.... Terrible

This is an entirely disreputable company. They are loosely affiliated with Fox Car Rental in the US, another disreputable company. In the case of my reservation at Dublin airport, I was refused the car I had reserved and confirmed. I was told the only car I could rent would be twice the size, and twice the expense. If I didn't like it, I could just go to another agency. Total slime company. Avoid at all cost! read more

We rented a car in November and the service was great. We were very nervous about renting a car (and driving) in Ireland, but we were in good hands with Dan Dooley. The car was clean and the MIFI rental was very reliable. It helped us be able to use our smart phones in Ireland and navigate across the country. As an added bonus we were able to bring the mifi with us when we walked around Galway and Dublin (giving us access to GPS and Yelp for restaurants / museum times). read more

I would never rent a car from Dan Dooley again. Here's the story. In advance of our Ireland trip we rented a stick shift, Compact car At the time of rental I was charged $398.00. We declined their insurance, since we had a credit card that would cover damages up to $50,000. When we arrived in Dublin, to retrieve the car, we were told, it was unwise to not pay for their insurance and that we needed to get a bigger car than the one I booked, for we certainly didn't want such a small car. They wanted to give us a brand new S.U.V. I declined, I did not want to drive a large NEW car on what I heard and read to be narrow Ireland roads. After much discussion we ended up with an automatic Ford Focus, declining their insurance and I was immediately charged another $293.28. Not looking at the original car, we had rented, before deciding to upgrade to a larger car was our 1st mistake. With the rental agreement signed and in our possession, they gave us the keys and we were on our way. There was not a soul to inspect the car with us, so our second mistake was to drive the car away without doing an inspection or taking pictures/writing down the condition it was in at time of rental. My husband fretted about this the entire rental period. Our 3rd mistake was to misplace the keys to the vehicle on a bank holiday. (They dropped out of my husbands pocket while dining, and since we walked to the restaurant, we did not notice they were missing until the next morning). When we called the Dublin airport around 9:00 a.m. to see if they had another set of keys for the car, we received little help. We were told that we had to call the Limerick office. However, since it was a bank holiday, there was no one at the office, we were told to leave a message and someone would get back to us as soon as they arrived. We waited around all morning. To this day, no one ever called. We walked back to the restaurant and found the keys, but it was after two o'clock in the afternoon. We lost over 1/2 day of our holiday. I know it was our fault that we misplaced the keys, but to not have anyone on duty to at least speak to us and discuss our options was very stressful, especially because we were to move to a different location the following day. After this, the rest of the 12 days of the rental were alright, if you ignore the fact that the gas tank gauge, would not always show the level of gas that was in the vehicle and the car hesitating every time we started it. You would turn the key and it would be dead quiet for several seconds. At every start I was expecting the starter to just not turn over. Thank goodness that never happened. The day we were to return the car , we got a flat tire about 23km from the airport. We didn't have time to get it repaired so we returned it with the spare tire in use. There was only one employee at the return center, upon our arrival and she was unnecessarily curt and rude regarding the tire and the gas level. To make a long story short we were charged not for a tire repair, but for an entirely new tire ($118.00 Euro) for a car that had 92,000 plus miles. Over-all we were charged $724.28 for the 13 day rental. By no means was this any less expensive than other car rental companies. Upon my arrival home I looked at the Dooley fleet of cars on their website and see that a compact car (which is what I originally rented) is a Ford Focus, what we were given. I know we got an automatic instead of a stick shift, but is the upgrade really worth an additional $293.28? Looking back, our 1st mistake was renting from Dooleys. The bottom line is I would not recommend Dooley's nor will I ever rent from them again. I selected them, because I was lead to believe that they were less expensive and that they had superior customer service. I did not experience this, in fact the opposite was true. read more

I will never rent from Dan Dooley again and if you have any sense neither will you. My family and I rented a car from Dan Dooley for ten days while in Dublin. The car was great. The problem is there corporate management and fees. I only purchased basic insurance coverage. This was a calculated risk. As many of you who have rented a car in Ireland know the government has created an insurance scam. No credit cards are allowed to be used for basic insurance coverage. Our car was keyed and when I returned it I was told that the fees would be approximately 300 euros. When I returned home I received a bill for 1100 euro for a scratch that could have been buffed out with one of those magic creams. When I called to file a complaint and get to the bottom of this, I received an excel spreadsheet with a few numbers out on it for show. The "work" was estimated in house with no other options for repair. On top of it, when we rented the car it had 5 scratches and major dents. I inquired to have some proof of work done and was referred to the CEO @ pat@dooleycarrentals.com. No response was given and I have filed a grievance with my credit card. The likelihood is that this will go nowhere. I am not mad at having to pay something, I didn't get full coverage and wouldn't need to if the Irish government weren't so corrupt. I am upset with the overcharge and gauging, lack of response and overall shaft I got. Rent at you own risk Americans. I go twice a year and never, ever will again. read more

I had a HORRIBLE experience with Dooley and will not be using them again. Picked up and dropped off at Dublin Airport. First off, I purchased 3rd party excess waiver insurances and was told at the counter that I would still have to have the $2000E hold put on my card because Dooley does not accept 3rd party insurance (even though it was the same company Dooley uses for their insurance!) So I paid again for excess waiver insurance. We took the shuttle to pick up our car, everything went fairly smoothly, and I was given a car and left the airport; I began smelling something burning immediately but thought it was nearby road construction. We continued out of the airport, and after the first turn I realized it was the car that was burning, not the road construction. We pulled off and called Dooley. They sent a minibus driver to get us, we followed him back to the airport. Once there, everyone immediately assumed I'd burned out the clutch, despite me assuring that I know how to drive manual and own one myself. They were very dismissive, "Oh, we hear that all the time. You must've burned it out because it was fine when we brought it out to you." After arguing for a LONG time, I finally convinced the agents not to charge me for a burned out clutch. The woman at the desk was very rude and condescending. Finally, she agreed to give me another car and strongly encouraged me to switch to an automatic and pay the approx 100 Euro upgrade fee. They stated that if I took another manual and burned out that clutch too, then they'd charge me for repairs on both cars. Because I was afraid I would be charged again regardless of the state of the cars, I agreed. But then I was informed that switching cars voided my Excess Waiver and I'd have to pay for Excess Waiver (again) or a $2000E hold would be put on my card. I then asked if I stayed with Manual if my prior excess waiver would still apply. They said yes, so I decided to stick with manual. I was basically ridiculed for this decision, with both the desk worker and the men who brought out the car warning me repeatedly that I'd be charged for both clutches if I ruined this one as well. I told them I understood the risk and would take the manual. They got the car for me, and said something like, "The boss himself had to give up this car so there would be one available for you." They acted like I should have been grateful for all of the trouble they were going to. I took the car, spent a week driving it around Ireland, and didn't burn out the clutch. Basically, I was double charged, given a bad car, bullied into upgrading, and when I changed my mind, I was ridiculed and treated very badly. I'm sure it depends on which location you get and who is helping you, but I had a horrible experience with them and do NOT recommend them! read more

Beware of Dan Dooley car hire @ the Dublin airport! They took my prepaid $320us that was given to them by my vacation tour company.. and then charged me an additional $728us for a 6 day car hire of a minivan that smelled like puke and had 90,000 kilometers on it.. THIEVES! Just for good measure, I signed in to their website and got a bid for a 'like' minivan $664us !! they have received well over $1060us from us for a 6 day hire.. Their claims as to a 'NO HIDDEN FEES GAURANTEE' is ridiculous... BEWARE OF DAN DOOLEY CAR HIRE! read more

I have used car hire companies all over the world and I have now found the very worst. In fact, not just the worst car hire company I have ever used, but also some of the worst customer service that I have ever experienced from any company anywhere! I rented our car in Dublin, from Dan Dooleys in Dublin airport. Our main issues (listed in no particular order): 1. Despite booking with a Canadian travel visa which covers car hire insurance we got the 'hard sell' for extra CDW insurance. When we didn't take it out we were charged 25Euro for keeping the booking as it was when we made it! 2. The collection desk is miles from where you collect the car (especially an issue when you have to make several trips back and forth to clear up their issues!) 3. The car had 100,000km on it. Not an issue in itself, but it was covered in bumps, dents and scratches, which were not covered on the damage report we were made to sign at the collection desk before we saw the car, necessitating another trip back to the collections desk to report 18 separate dents on the car that weren't covered on the report (we ignored the scratches as there were too many to count). 4. I had pre-paid for a full tank of fuel, so we could just bring the car back empty after the hire. When we got to the car the tank was only 3/4 full. 5. They do not answer their phones, meaning yet another trip to the collections desk. 6. We knew we were going to be pressed for time returning the car, so we booked and pre-paid for an out of office return so that we could just drop off the keys at the collections desk. Despite the fact we had paid for this we were not allowed to do it and were made to drive all the way back out of the airport to the returns depot. Meaning we had to run to make the flight. Throughout all of these issue we had to deal with the unhelpful and frankly rude attitude of all of the staff. There is a special kind of person that can tell you, 'I am not going to tell you my name as you will only use it to make a complaint about what I have just said to you!'. Yes that was the reason I wanted your name and it is the reason I asked your colleague at the depot who was working on the collections desk, Anita! There is absolutely no scenario when I would ever use Dan Dooleys to hire a car again. I would happily pay twice as much to walk instead. If it were possible to give minus stars I definitely would, but as I can't I merely suggest that you do not use Dan Dooleys at any costs. read more

Note :this review is for the Shannon office. Be very careful if you decide to use Dan Dooley Car Hire - especially if you are visiting Ireland from the US. At pickup the car I was given was in terrible condition - the exterior was dented and scraped and the interior was dirty and had garbage rolling around in the back seat floor area. As I started to take photos and mark up the damage sheet , the person checking the car out told me that I would have to do really very significant damage to incur any claims since the car was already in such poor condition. I confirmed that he would be there on my return and would remember. When I returned the car they tried to charge me $200 for a new tire because they claimed I took a chunk out of the tire because I wasn't familiar with driving on the right. I reminded the check-out guy what he had said and he said he remembered but he didn't mean damage to the tires. Another employee told me that I was the third person that this had happened to that morning ( it was very early in the morning). The desk person was very rude and told me to call head office if I had complaints. I refused to sign the credit card slip - they put the charge through anyway. When I returned home I called Dan Dooley several times. They insisted that I had caused the damage and claimed the car had been detailed before I picked it up ( Detailed ? They didn't find the water bottles rolling around in the back or mark up the additional dents or scratches on the damage sheet .) I fought the charge through my credit card company and won a full refund. Take my advice - Find another car rental company , Dan Dooley is out to gouge American tourists and uses that fact that you are stressed trying to make a flight to get you to accept an additional $200 fee. Terrible experience. read more

Really the worst! See an earlier review where they try to scam a couple with experience driving a car with a standard transmission. We just picked up the car and less than 5 minutes to of the airport we smelled burned rubber. I thought it was from outside. We both have a manual car at home and over 20 years experience driving a standard. We get to Dublin and the smell is worse so we call. The woman who spoke with us blamed us for ruining the clutch and wanted to charge us 700 Euros + 2K. I told her there is no way we did this in 5 minutes. Just started our vacation and trying to sort this out read more

We wish we had seen these reviews before, we arrived at Dublin airport early am and we're 2nd in line at Dooley Rental. It took over an hour to finish the paper work and we too had to put $3,000 hold on our credit card that was the only way to retrieve the car. We rented two different cars and one of the cars was not available or similar. They did upgrade at no added cost but used more diesel. Also they charge you upfront for the gas when you return it, so return it empty. Now here is the worst part, during our travels we were pulled over by the police because the "tax" sticker on the car had expired back in June 2016 and it's October, they could have towed the car but they let us go. The car itself had dents scrapes and missing pieces on the mirror, it was dark when we picked up the car and they assured us everything was noted on damages therefore no need to be concerned. When we returned the car and told them about the tax sticker on the car and the police pulling us over they said oh we'll be sure to take this out of inventory. Do yourself a favor don't rent from this group. read more

Catastrophic from start to end. Booked through an agent, given an inactive phone number to call upon landing - so couldn't find the desk as I wsa not told it was Dooley's car hire. Wrong car waiting for me. Car broke down on 3rd day, waited 18 hours for someone to call me back after telling them. Said phone call involved telling me to call the AA, which I could have done straight away if whoever answered the phone had said so. Almost refused to give me a refund despite ruining 2 days of our christmas holiday, one star is for finally agreeing to give me that back otherwise it would be 0 if I could. read more

Yes, the rates may be cheap compared to Australia but so was accommodation and everything else, all relative, I was sus when my card was charged Euro80 for a tank of petrol on pick up,..never to be refunded,.. the car only held Euro56, if I brought it back full, (noone mentioned you could fill up back at the airport dropoff! )I don't think any of their cars would take Euro80 to fill.I paid for a GPS which in the 6 days could not get itself out of Dublin airport, tried over the first 3 days and gave up, they said they woiuld "look in to that". The service at the airport on pickup was pretty slack, "here's the keys, it's down there".Paid for two lots of toll on advice from desk who omitted to ask which way we were going, didn't need the toll either. I have heard of many people warning about any hire car company in Ireland unfortunately. read more

Recently rented a car from Dan Dooley which was fine except for the fact that my credit card was subsequently over charged. Called DD to resolve the issue, informing them that my booking form from Car Rental Search Engine confirmed no extra charges. Despite the fact that I emailed this info to DD and called to discuss the problem I was informed by the Customer Services lady that her manager (who didn't even have the decency to speak to me in person on the phone) instructed no refund to me made available. Am currently pursuing the issue with my bank. Sorry Dan Dooley but I will never do business with you again due to your dishonest and underhand ways. read more

Because of some negative experiences over a few years of renting cars at Dublin Airport and after a particularly horrendous experience with Budget car rental at Dublin Airport last October, (and hearing similar horror stories from friends regarding other rental companies at Dublin Airport) , I was reluctant to use any rental company for my trip 3 weeks ago. However, as a car was absolutely necessary we checked on-line and found the car rental company with the most favorable reviews for Dublin Airport was a company I had never heard of, Dan Dooley Car Rentals! We called their North American number and got great service and information from a lady named Attracta, and after questioning her regarding their policy on collision damage waiver (CDW) insurance, which I'm covered for on my credit card, and being assured that they would accept a letter from my CC company confirming the coverage in Ireland. She also told me that a 3000 Euro hold would be put on my CC re: CDW insurance. This was in complete contrast to my experience at Budget last October when, because I wasn't purchasing their CDW insurance. they actually debited my CC with 3,000 Euros in dollar funds. At no time was I informed that this was going to happen (I wrongly assumed it was a 'hold') and found later in very small print in their terms and conditions that debiting and charging the funds in your local currency is their regular practice. By the time the money was credited to my CC a/c it cost me over $300 Cdn. extra because of exchange rates and charges My trans-atlantic flight to Dublin experienced a 5 hour delay and at the Dan Dooley desk, they told me they were aware of the delay and that my car was waiting. I told them I had a letter from my CC re: CDW insurance coverage and was told "no problem, you don't even have to show the letter to us, your word is good enough". All charges were explained in detail and the whole process took minutes. The shuttle bus driver was waiting and gave me a warm Irish welcome and took me directly to my car. Again, a total contrast to my experience at Budget when, after the shuttle bus ride, we had to wait 90 minutes in their office for the car to be available and their excuse for the delay was "well, we're very busy"! I can honestly say that from start to finish, my experience with Dan Dooley Car Rentals was one of the BEST car rental experiences I have ever had and their customer service is second to none. I've already told various friends who are planning trips to Ireland to book with them and their reaction is always "who is Dan Dooley"? However all of them have asked for the website and are going to book with Dooley. Dan Dooley, you've got a fan for life and we will always be booking with you on future trips. Thanks for restoring my faith in car rental at Dublin Airport. John Courtney read more

we got the manual fluence. our headlights did not work so we could only drive during the day. the remote's batteries were almost dead so it would not really lock if when we needed it to. they charge a 60 euro gas fee when it takes no where near that to fill it up. will not come back here again slow service and they tried to get us killed with their headlight problem. Go somewhere else please. read more

After talking with friends who had experiences with Dan Dooley, and reading online reviews, I opted to go with Dooley as they seemed like the best option for car rentals in Ireland. While the car pickup process was smooth and easy, the rest of our experience with Dooley was not. We unfortunately got in a car accident in Kilkenny the second day of our trip, and was assured by a Dooley representative in Dublin that they would send a car out to us the following day. I called up Dooley the next morning and they again said they would find a vehicle for us. Three hours later, we received a call from them that they could not provide us a car and they recommended that we go with another company (which we did, which incurred costs for another 8-day car rental reservation). After dealing with the incident report paperwork with Dooley back in Dublin with representatives in person, they assured me both in person and with people I spoke with on the phone that I would receive a refund for the remainder of the car rental reservation for which we did not have the car. They said to follow up with them 10 business days after if I had not received any refund. Since 10 days passed with no word or refund from Dooley, I followed up with them via phone and email several times and have still not received any email responses or a refund. It has now been well over a month since I was in Ireland and I have not received any word from Dooley. While it sounds like Dooley may be a good car rental if there are no problems, I was appalled by their lack of customer service and support in responding to this issue following a car accident. read more

Dan Dooley rental came as a package deal when making my vacation in Ireland. Pickup was at Dublin airport. 5 people in front of me and it took 45 min to finally get to the (csr) customer service rep. While waiting in line, a few people prior to me showed signs of aggravation from the service they received, yet I didn't think anything of it. When my turn came to deal with the csr, everything seemed to go as planned. The fuel bill was paid with visa(in case I didn't return the car with a full tank, which would be refunded). Since I declined Dooleys insurance, she said that a $4000 hold would be put on my visa, which irritated me a little because I have never experienced that high of a hold with any other rental car company. My card declined right after she put the hold onto my visa. Since it was 5am in Dublin, my credit card csr department didn't open til 8am EST. She wouldn't even allow me to call using her companies phone they had at the desk due to international charges which I find disgraceful considering the price i'm paying for their rental cars. To try and get on the road we used my girlfriends visa and had to pay $10 extra a day to add her on as an extra driver. Afterwards, she said she needed to charge the $4000 hold onto her card, but instead of putting the hold on it, she charged her card $4000. After the csr refunded my girlfriend her money back, now her card was declined for the hold. Now here we are with no credit cards for use, no supervisor at Dooley for further assistance and the csr wouldn't even offer an apology for the inconveniences she created. The only way to finally get a vehicle after 4hrs of aggravation from them was to pay them 300 euros for the absolute minimal insurance they offered. Within those 4hrs, i had to go to a pay phone at least 3 times to try and call the US visa and family members for help and every time returning to the line, there were other customers who we overheard having similar difficulties. After finally getting a hold of visa in our hotel that evening, we were informed that because visa thought our cards were used fraudulently, that they will be reactivated in 4 days for normal use. After returning to the US, I sent an email stating our difficulties to their management department, yet they seemed uninterested in concerns and struggles we had at the rental car agency. The attention to detail in the responses to my questions in the email I sent had inconsistent and unrelated answers and nothing was offered for our inconveniences. Dan Dooley rental agencies customer service is atrocious and as far as my experience goes and what I've seen, the operation is a SCAM to its customers. read more

My wife and I traveled to Ireland last May with a great value (cheap) package that included air fare and car rental so I had no choice about the car rental company. I did some searching online and found some pretty scary reviews about Dan Dooley cars so was apprehensive. I need not have worried. The car was an almost new Corolla in great condition, conveniently located in the airport parking garage. It gave us no problems at all. I bought their CDW insurance but was a little concerned when a stone wall backed into me and did some damage. The only checking when we returned the car was the odometer and gas gauge - nothing about the damage. The only problem we had was that the return of the car was NOT where we were told it would be (and where our rented GPS was set for) so we had a bit of panic at the airport trying to follow the signs amid the Dublin Airport road construction. I'd rent from them again any time - especially now that I know where to return the car. ;-) read more

Like others, we had concerns about renting and driving in Ireland. Decided on Dooley because of competitive rates and positive reviews. Received excellent customer service from Jim and Atracta in the NY/NJ office. Also great service from Gloria and all others we came into contact with at the Dublin Airport counter and pickup lot.. We rented a fairly new Ford Fiesta that was pretty basic but clean and ready to go. Drove about 1,000 miles with no mechanical issues and thankfully no encounters with stone walls, sheep or cattle. Glad I got a small car. Gloria at the pickup counter gave me great instructions on the toll roads and how to pay online or at gas stations and other markets. Took about a day to get used to driving on the left with a right side drive. Luckily the 1st day was on the big highway from Dublin to Galway so got some familiarity with the car and the roads. As for insurance, you can now use your Chase Sapphire Card for rental coverage in Ireland. We got a letter from Chase that we presented when we picked the car up. Dooley put a deposit on the card that was refunded when we returned the car in good shape. All in all a very positive experience and I would not hesitate to rent from Dan Dooley again. read more

We arrived after a red eye flight from JFK to Shannon Airport, exhausted and truly concerned about left sided driving because a family member just had a serious head on collision while doing so. We had every intention of simplifying our trip by renting a navigator, but the clerk assured us that we didn't need one - that the roads were simple (LIE) and that they were well marked (ANOTHER BIG BIG LIE). She also sent us out not only without a navigator, but also without a map of any sort. Yes, we figured out how to download a free downloadable navigator, but it was far from optimal. This thoughtless act needlessly complicated our 10 day tour around the whole country and also endangered us when we struggled to figure out our route with a navigator that would get lost at the worst possible times. If you at Dan Dooley read this, please tell your clerks to never ever talk a customer out of a navigator. There is a reason navigators are so popular. They save lives. read more

I would urge anyone thinking of using Dan Dooley Car Rentals (DDCR) in Ireland to reconsider. As per several online reviews you will find that their vehicles are old with high mileage on the clock. But their customer service usually gets reasonable reviews right? Not in my case. I live overseas and rent vehicles several times a year in Ireland when visiting on both business and leisure time. I have rented several vehicles with several different companies and feel relatively well versed to speak about rental car companies. I won't go into massive detail on my issues but here is a synopsis from my most recent rental and my first time with DDCR: 1. Three-year old car (2009 model - rented in 2012); 2. 124,000 kms on the clock; 3. Inside dirty and rattled due to age of vehicle; 4. Car had a flat tire. After I complained, Pat Dooley personally offered to assist in my next rental which is upcoming in June. Redemption for DDCR I thought! Not so. After much to-ing and fro-ing over emails his "best" offer was a 6.4% discount on the rate I could have booked that day online. Not good enough. As a colleague of mine had already booked with DDCR three weeks previously I asked to be given his rate which was 6 euro cheaper per day than mine. Here is the response verbatim from Pat Dooley CEO of Dooley Car Rentals: "Sorry it is too cheap and that period is filling up fast. Maybe next time. Best, Pat". Sorry Pat, there will not be a next time. Nor will there be for the many dozens of people I am going to tell about your customer service or lack thereof. UPDATE: If I had accepted the so-called "offer" I received from Dan Dooley Car Rental it would have been E54 more expensive than the quote I am currently looking at on their website (but will not be booking for obvious reasons). I'm not sure what DDCR thinks they are doing but whatever it is, it's at the expense of the paying customer. read more

We rented a car in Dublin recently...the car was not washed and not terribly clean inside...but the real deal was that there was damage to the finish on the car which we noted...we were brow beaten into purchasing super expensive insurance which our credit card company would cover anyway...so we dropped the car off in Shannon...were given a clean bill of health...then an hour later we received a call saying the finished and we would be charged the deductible to cover the damage...this car had been damaged long before and they took advantage of our insurance to have it repaired...covered their oversight with a previous customer who actually incurred the damage...the fact that we picked it up in Dublin where they don't seem too concerned about details and returned it in Shannon where they are...who knows how many others have been scammed like this...be very careful if you rent from them...we are in dispute now...just the principle... read more

We arrived home today after driving around Ireland for a week. We rented a car from Dan Dooley thinking it would be a good thing to patronize a family-run Irish company. We were wrong. We will never rent a car from Dan Dooley again. When we checked in for our car at the Dublin Airport we purchased Super CDW insurance and we were charged for a full tank of gas. No problem we agreed to that. I signed the credit card slip as usually thinking it was a standard authorization. Later that night I actually read what was printed on the credit card receipt. It says, "Cardholder has chosen to pay in USD..... Plus 3.5 percent international conversion margin.....I recognize that I was given a choice of payment currencies and that I could have paid in euros.....My choice is final. Transactions can also be conducted in euros. The currency conversion service is provided to the merchant by Fexco". I was NEVER offered the choice to pay in euros. I was automatically charged a higher rate in US dollars. This is an upcharge by the Dan Dooley company charges their unsuspecting customers. This is unethical. BEWARE. In addition, we had some mechanical difficulties with our car. We called Dan Dooley at Dublin Airport and spoke to John (who would not give us his last name). John was extremely rude to us. He said he could replace our current car but our entire agreement would be voided. We would have to pay a higher rate and all the insurance we paid for would be voided. Are you kidding me? NEVER AGAIN. Next time I rent from Avis where I am a preferred driver. read more

We booked through Expedia and were quoted $AUD186.09 base price plus taxes and fees of $AUD56.69 for a total of USD$142.37 " which includes all mandatory taxes and fees " ! Be very aware if you get a foreign woman who rattles through everything at a million miles an hour ! We declined their extra insurance as we had $AUD5000.00 rental vehicle insurance . We did pay upfront for fuel 68 euros ( it took a max of 32 euros to fill it , we found out on our travels) . Halfway through our trip checking out the bill from them , we were being charge 8 euros a day for insurance , plus we had been charged all up $AUD506.00 ! On the credit card slip it was printed we had declined paying in euros - we were given no choice and would have paid in the local currency to save bank charges ! We queried these charges when we returned the car and were shrugged off with "you signed the credit card slip " !! This is the first time we have used Dan Dooley and certainly the last ! read more

Picking up the car was fine. The guy we dealt with was very friendly and helpful. We rented a mpv for a family holiday in clare. On day two the window broke in the van and I called Dublin who told me to call Shannon dept. Helena there was extremely helpful and called back when she said she would. She got us sorted with a new car. Then we got a phone call from Helena with the cost.... What a slap in the face. No one from the head dept rang us it again was Helena. I called head office and got brushed off by the owner/manager and a guy called Gerry. (Who said he would call me back) of course we were going to pay for it although we had insurance glass was not covered.... This company took the full fee from my credit card without permission no one called to say this would happen. My card was declined in a restaurant as a result which was mortifying. I will be telling everyone about our experience and will never use dooleys again read more

We had a terrible experience with Dan Dooley car rental. We pre-paid our rental ($1500 USD) and picked up our car after arriving at Dublin airport from the U.S. The car was a standard (stick shift). My husband's regular car at home is a standard, and he has 20 years' experience driving standard. As we were leaving the car rental lot, he noticed the gears slipping. The problems continued and, five minutes after leaving the rental lot, the clutch on our car gave out entirely. This was terribly dangerous as we were entering a highway at the time, with three small kids in the back of the car and no shoulder on the road. Fortunately, some truck drivers helped push us to the side of the road. We thought Dan Dooley would be apologetic about giving us a damaged vehicle but no! They insisted that WE had damaged the clutch and charged $2500 to our credit card. It is not possible to burn out a clutch in five minutes' driving, even with an inexperienced driver, never mind one with 20 years of driving standard! They would not give us a new car unless we signed off on the charge, which we refused to do (they charged us anyway, because we had pre-authorized a hold) and so we ended up having to go to a different car rental company for our car. The total damage for five minutes in a Dan Dooley car? $4000 USD! Not to mention the terrible danger to ourselves and our kids. Now disputing the charges with our credit car company. I will never rent from this company again! read more

Avoid Dan Dooley, Bait and Switch and strong arm tactics when it comes to insurance. I reserved a car from Dan Dooley online and in my quote I added insurance, wi-fi and gps. With the quote I received the Dan Dooley price guarantee of "NO HIDDEN FEES" which I was excited about because no one wants to pick up the car and have to pay more. Here is where the bait and switch comes along with the strong arm tactics. The car was delivered to my hotel in Dublin where I was informed that the insurance I purchased was subject to a 1900.00 Euro excess (deductible) and in order to rent the car I had to either put a 1900.00 Euro hold on my credit card or pay for additional insurance which in my case was about 125.00 Euro more. ( bait and switch: quote poor insurance and switch to better insurance at the car pick up, or else (strong arm tactic) pay a large deposit.)When I later called Dan Dooley to complain about this additional fee I was told that this fee is in the terms and conditions of the rental agreement which I agreed to when getting the quote. I believe that adding additional fees in the terms and conditions is the very definition of "HIDDEN FEES". Do your homework when getting a quote from Dan Dooley and know that there are "HIDDEN FEES" in the terms and conditions and your rental is going to cost more than the "NO HIDDEN FEES" quote you are given. The insurance is nothing more than a bait and switch scheme that is unfair. Get a car elsewhere!! read more

We were not impressed with Dan Dooley at all. Picking up the car in Shannon, everything went super well. The only part I didn't like is they asked me to go ahead and sign the waiver for the dents without letting me look at the car first. Maybe that's how all car renters are though...not sure. When I did say I'd rather look at the car first obviously, they got a little rude about it. A few days into the trip we had a wreck in a parking lot involving only a wall (stupidest wreck ever) and ended up tearing the bumper off. The car was still drivable, but we did not trust taking it on down the road to get to the hotel. So we were an hour out of Dublin where are hotel was. We called the 800# and no one picked up. The restaurant where we wrecked at called Dan Dooley as well, but still no pick up, so we left a voicemail. The restaurant even complained about how awful their service was. It was around 7pm at this time. So we hopped a bus to Dublin with our suitcases and the keys. Around 830pm we got a call back from John who worked at Dooley. He asked for some more details and if we were still at the car as well as where they keys were. He said since we were not at the car, it would have to wait until the morning. Yeah John, we're just going to wait in the dark alone for your slack ass to make a call again. John became increasingly rude throughout the call and I asked for his last name, but he would not give it(there's your sign). The next morning in Dublin, we called Dooley telling them the situation again, they needed the keys asap. So I asked if they could send us a car or suggestions on how to get to the airport to give them the keys, no help. We had to hop another bus. We get to the airport and hand over they keys as well as made some signatures. Luckily, I went with the Super CDW insurance, so we were only liable for 100 euros. We told him how John never picked up the phone and when he did he was hard to deal with, they just laughed and said, "That sounds like John". Wtf? I guess it wouldn't be too funny if they were in a foreign country stranded in the middle of nowhere and the car rental company wouldn't pick up the phone. There are significantly cheaper rentals than Dan Dooley and the service is terrible. I will never recommend Dan Dooley. It amazes me that John in Dublin with Dan Dooley has a job. read more