Hello,
We are US citizens with a 2.5 month house sit coming up this summer in rural Ireland and we need to provide our own transportation. We thought it would be easy enough to lease at a lesser rate than renting. However, we have run up against citizenship rules, need to have a bank account in country and a work visa, and the lease time is too short and any vehicles need to be available for the long term folks. Basic rental rates are cost prohibitive.
We have alerted the homeowner so we can continue to strategize options.
I was wondering if anyone else has come up against this issue and found a way to solve it.
Thank you
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If you do end up having to rent, try Celtic Legend. They are fantastic. We used them for a car in Scotland and even though it was an Arnold Clark rental the rates and inclusions were much better than direct to AC, and the people are super nice and helpful. Maybe they have special rates for long term rentals?
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It doesn’t look like Celtic Legend operates in Ireland, unfortunately.
Just wondering why you have to provide your own transportation. Are you going to be looking after a dog/dogs because, if so, I would think the owners ought to help out as no doubt you’ll be transporting them as well as yourselves.
I know it’s a bit late to say but this should have been part of your conversation and agreed with the home owners before you accepted the sit. Hindsight is wonderful of course.
Usually you can’t transport dogs in rental cars, not sure about lease cars. Plus leasing is usually a 6 month or more agreement although I heard of a company that does it for less. Since the pandemic there has also been a shortage of cars, which doesn’t help matters.
I’m so sorry that it’s proving difficult for you and hope you get sorted.
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Thanks for sharing in the forum so others can learn from your experience. I hope you’ll post what options are presented and a solution!
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Have you tried GoCar?
Thank you for your response. I agree it would be best for the owners to help with the transportation as it is needed to care for the animals. Their car situation at the time of booking was a challenge as it is registered elsewhere. I have reached out to them and they are working on a solution from their end. I have not been able to find an affordable solution otherwise. Thank you
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Thank you for the GoCar tip. While that will not work for a long term rural housesit, I see that being handy on other adventures of short duration.
Yes, that’s what I thought, short term rentals. You might not need a car every day?
We have come up against this too! Sooo expensive in UK but luckily our Northern Ireland sit is only a week and we’ll do 3 nights in Belfast before picking up car. For the rest we went through Celtic Legends as it’s all inclusive. Had booked CalMac ferries and most of the hertz, sixt, Avis etc said no ferries 
what’s the use of going to Scotland 
and not doing the outer Hebrides during puffin season??
Good luck with your search, expensive but necessary for us.
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Haven’t sat in Ireland yet, but it has become a real challenge in the UK - especially for longer sits. When I started sitting in the UK - 2019, folks were able to add me to their insurance for a few weeks at a reasonable price. But no more, either because of policy changes or because I’m over 70.
Several folks have shared the cost of the car rental with me - some more generously then others - and I’ve been able to get some good prices by renting from Enterprise in a ‘suburban’ location or from Sixt renting from Stansted or Luton.
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Have you tried Budget? They offer better rates for longer hires. Their faqs seem to imply that they are suitable for overseas visitors. Where in Ireland will you be?
Monthly Car Leasing FAQ ( Frequently Asked Questions) | Budget Leasing
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Thank you for the tips!
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Thanks for the tips. We have a UK sit right before Ireland that requires us to have a car.
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I will check Budget for the UK sit we have prior to Ireland. We will be in Swanlinbar, a very rural area of Ireland, an hour from Sligo and 2 hours from Dublin. Not may options around there.
For cost and insurance reasons, we often return rental cars every few weeks when in Europe. I can’t remember the details of why we ended up doing this, I think our insurance only covers a rental up to a month. But we often find better deals when they are weekly, sometimes a hassle to go exchange cars but we also get to try out different ones, and occasionally we call and they don’t make us come in
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Good to know. Thank you
Our England house sit is going to add us to their insurance. The Ireland house sit is going to buy an additional car they can license in Ireland and add us to the insurance. They are really trying to make this work for us. Even offering to make the 4 hour round trip drive to the airport to collect us. So for now, it seems to be working out for us.
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This is good news. There are some great home owners
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