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Any special IdeaMerge discount we apply is applied to the entire, tax-inclusive rate. (Thus we effectively discount the tax as well.) And we do not require you to pay in full earlier than normal to receive this discount.

Our motorhome and campervan rental rates (apart from any special IdeaMerge discount) and policies match those of our vendor and therefore the rates are calculated in Euros (EUR). This means we do not inflate our rates to cover ourselves against the threat of our home currency, the US Dollar (USD), declining versus the EUR.

Moreover, we do not impose a credit card transaction fee. And we do not truncate the exchange rate (which is another way companies can favor themselves). Furthermore, we use the minimal retail exchange rate — alias the "credit card" exchange rate (as published on www.oanda.com) — to change from the vendor's currency into our currency (USD) for actual charging. Finally we present all this math in the detailed confirmation voucher that we e-mail to you soon after booking the rental. … In these and other ways we carefully save our clients from suffering hidden costs.

reservation & downpayment

The various images, model numbers and vehicle specifications presented throughout the IdeaMerge motorhome rental pages — especially on the vehicle-specification pages — are carefully selected to accurately and precisely indicate the vehicle that you will get. IdeaMerge and McRent are especially good about putting you into the particular vehicle model you choose. However, in accord with the automobile rental industry standard, IdeaMerge and especially McRent reserve the right to substitute another vehicle from the same category, what we might call the same vehicle "group". Those categories/groups are titled by McRent as follows: Compact Standard, Compact Plus, Family Standard, Family Plus, Family Luxury, Comfort Standard, Comfort Plus, Premium Plus, and Premium Luxury. If the particular McRent vehicle model you order is indeed available for your rental location and dates, IdeaMerge will book that exact vehicle for you. If that model is not available, IdeaMerge will book the most similar model available within that same McRent vehicle category (i.e. group) for your rental location and dates. If there is no vehicle available within that category, IdeaMerge will inform you of the particular best alternatives but will not book one of those for you unless you instruct us to. If upon the pick-up occasion the booked vehicle is not available (e.g. because of malfunction, accident or such), McRent, in accord with the auto rental industry standard, reserves the right to substitute a comparable or larger vehicle (i.e. perhaps from a different category) with the same equipment and the capacity to accommodate the number of persons you have delineated (in terms of, say, adults and children) as being in your party. In that case there will be no additional charge for a larger vehicle; however, the higher ancillary costs associated with a larger vehicle — such as ferry charges, tolls, and fueling costs — are to be borne by the customer.

Of course IdeaMerge will not charge your credit card unless there is indeed availability for your chosen rental parameters, as explained above. After you place a complete online reservation request with IdeaMerge (i.e. including your credit card details), IdeaMerge will straightaway query McRent. If McRent does indeed have availability for your chosen rental parameters, IdeaMerge will immediately book the rental and charge your card — binding you per the cancellation policy noted below. Either way, we will then inform you as soon as possible, often within an hour but most certainly within 24 hours (or perhaps 48 hours if you enter the reservation request on a Friday or Saturday, since the booking facilities of some vendors are closed on weekends).

IdeaMerge charges a 20 percent downpayment upon booking a customer's reservation request. One-half of this downpayment is refundable until 8 weeks prior to the pick-up date. Within that 8-week threshold, the downpayment is not refundable.

balance

IMPORTANT: The balance is charged or due a full 60 days prior to the pick-up date. (If a reservation is placed within that time window, the whole amount will be charged or due straightaway.) We require such an early prepayment because our choice vendor imposes considerable cancellations fees starting at the said 8-week threshold. Necessarily reflecting that schedule of fees, IdeaMerge's cancellation policy is as follows ...

cancellation fees

  • Cancellation 8 weeks or more prior to pick-up date: 10 percent of rental amount.
  • Cancellation 56 to 16 days prior to pick-up date: 50 percent of rental amount.
  • Cancellation 15 days to 1 day prior to pick-up date: 80 percent of rental amount.
  • Cancellation no-show on the pick-up date: 100 percent of rental amount.
  • changes

    Any change to a booking — especially of the rental duration, and whether requested before, during or after the pick-up — is subject to authorization by the rental company. Do not expect to be able to make such changes upon the pick-up occasion.
  • An EUR21 change fee applies to a general modification of a reservation that has already been confirmed.
  • Insofar as a change amounts essentially to a complete shift of dates or an early return of the vehicle, it may be considered by the vendor a full or partial cancellation rather than a mere change.
  • No refunds are granted for early return of a vehicle.
  • breakdown cover, and insurance

    For starters, the fleet of vehicles is modern and frequently upgraded, the average age of a vehicle normally being about 6 months. Clients are supported by the 24/7 Fiat emergency service toll-free hotline at tel. 00800 3428 1111. In addition, all the vehicles are covered by an international guarantee such that certain mechanical failure they may happen to suffer will be repaired — free of cost to the renter — by a member of the (very wide-ranging) Fiat service network. Also, more than 300 Dethleffs dealers throughout Europe are enlisted to service the vehicle. As for possible malfunction of living facilities, such would be addressed — again, free of cost to the renter — by the appropriate distribution and service personnel, located throughout Europe. See our "Insurance, etc." page for details concerning the included insurance.

    The motorhome rental agreement is a contract between the customer and the vendor and of course involves the customer in certain responsibilities relative to the vehicle. These responsibilities are analogous but far from identical to those typically associated with a car rental. Motorhome rental customers typically bear more such responsibilities than do car rental customers. The nature of the motorhome rental industry is such that replacement motorhomes are usually not guaranteed (although in many cases a replacement motorhome may be effected), as is the case with this vendor and virtually every motorhome rental company. Instead timely service of the rental motorhome is guaranteed and in this case so are limited hotel stays (5 nights) and replacement car rentals. The customer remains responsible for returning the motorhome to the rental depot, as contracted, unless relieved of this responsibility by the rental company (i.e. the vendor).

    extension or early return

    Any extension of the rental duration (whether requested before or after the pick-up) requires prior authorization by the rental company. Refunds are not offered for early return of the rental vehicle.

    age and license

    The minimum age limit for renters and other drivers is 25 years, and there is no maximum age limit. However, said drivers must have possessed a valid drivers license for at least two years prior to the pick-up date. If the vehicle is rated as having a "total permissible weight" of greater than 3500 kg (i.e. 3.5 metric tons), the driver must be at least 25 years of age and have held a valid license for at least three years prior to the pick-up date. Drivers must of course possess a valid drivers license relative to the weight of the vehicle. Most domestic licenses suffice for operation of the vehicles presented on the IdeaMerge Website, for most of the vehicles are rated at 3500 kg or less. Relative to vehicles exceeding this threshold, our online software will usually elaborate — but you the driver or drivers are obliged to check your licenses and the vehicle's specs page in this important respect (the latter by clicking on the vehicle image on the "Rates & Reservations" page or during the online reservation process). Also see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver's_license and, say, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Driving_Licence_codes.

    Regarding the vehicles rated at over 3500 kg (i.e. 3.50 metric tons): Almost all typical (i.e. class C) USA drivers licenses, for example, suffice in this respect. (In fact such licenses usually cover vehicles up to 13,000 kg.) The same is true of, say, typical "old" British licenses (i.e. class B issued prior to 1 January 1997). But the typical new "European Union drivers license" (i.e. class B) limits its holder to vehicles of 3500 kg or less; and as such, a holder of an EU license must possess a class C license to operate in Europe one of the European motorhomes which are rated at over 3500 kg.

    On the pick-up occasion the vendor will not release a rental vehicle to a party unless a driver among them is licensed to operate such vehicle. IdeaMerge is not responsible if such licensed driver is not present to operate the vehicle upon the pick-up occasion and throughout the duration of the rental. No refunds will be extended to the client if such absence precludes the actual use of the rental.

    See our "Resources" page for a discussion of the international driving permit, which is required of certain drivers in by certain countries.

    There is no charge for additional drivers.

    wintertires

    Depending on your dates and on whether you indicate that you plan to travel in a mountainous region, but not depending on whether you order the snow chains, the vendor may determine that your vehicle needs their special wintertires. Because these tires are relatively expensive and because they likely would have to be specially added to the vehicle, the vendor charges 75 Euros total for their application of such tires, this in addition to the possible snow chain charge(s). The IdeaMerge software does not work this 75 Euros cost into the otherwise total cost it computes.

    geographic limitations

    Entry to the following countries is allowed without authorization from McRent as of 1 January 2008: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands (i.e. Holland), Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland). Authorization from McRent — i.e. to be signed in the rental station upon the pick-up occasion only — is required for entry to the following countries: Albania, Algeria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Moldova, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine. Entry to the following countries (among others, of course) is forbidden: Israel, Iraq, Iran. The domain of the insurance and hence the lists presented in this paragraph are of course subject to change without notice.

    You are welcome to transport your rented vehicle by ferry and/or the Channel Tunnel.

    Again, see our "Insurance, etc." page for more details concerning the included insurance.

    pick-up and return

    An EUR1500 security deposit will be charged to the customer's credit card when the customer picks up the vehicle. This amount — minus the cost of damages (which cost is limited only by the relevant, per-occurrence insurance deductibles) and traffic or parking tickets — will be credited to the customer's card within a month after the customer returns the vehicle.

    A thorough explanation and demonstration of the rental vehicle will be provided upon pick-up. This orientation, together with completion of the relevant paperwork, requires approximately one hour.

    The vehicle will be delivered with an ample amount of motor fuel in the tank; you should try to return it with this same amount, lest you be charged for the refueling (including a labor cost of EUR25). The water tank, propane tanks, and toilet chemical repository will be full; but you will not be charged if they are returned less than full. The interior and exterior will be clean, and the toilet tank will be empty of waste. Likewise the vehicle should be returned clean inside. (The rental company will clean the outside.) Vehicles returned in an unclean condition will be subject to the cleaning fee ranging from at least EUR50. If the chemical toilet must be emptied by the rental company, a further EUR50 fee will be charged. If the wastewater tank must be emptied by the rental company, a further EUR50 fee will be charged.

    Smoking is not allowed in any part of the vehicle.

    Only with special permission from the vendor are dogs or other pets allowed in the vehicles. If such permission is indeed granted, the client should return the vehicle thoroughly cleaned of pet hair and odors lest the vendor levy a special cleaning fee.

    The rental includes unlimited kilometers.

    Pick-up (or return) at the McRent Portugal location noted above is not possible directly at airports, city centers (i.e. downtowns) or rail stations. However, McRent does offer optional shuttle transfer to and/or from the rental depot, for EUR 75 each way. The rental depot is open for standard pick-up Mon-Sat, 4 pm to 6 pm (i.e. afternoons; closed Sundays); there is no surcharge for Saturday pick-up. The depot is open for standard return Mon-Sat, 10 am to 12 noon (i.e. mornings; closed Sundays); there is no surcharge for Saturday return.

    A non-standard pick-up time entails an extra night's worth of cost. The same is true of a non-standard return time. (The vendor accounts for cost according to standard pick-up and return times so that most vehicles can be prepared during regular business hours and delivered to a client on the same day that the vehicle is returned by the previous client. Thus the vendor doesn't lose out on renting that vehicle for that night.)

    A thorough explanation and demonstration of the rental vehicle will be provided upon pick-up. This orientation, together with completion of the relevant paperwork, requires approximately one hour.

    You are welcome to transport your rented vehicle by ferry and/or the Channel Tunnel.

    Again, see our "Insurance" page for more details concerning the included insurance.

    Generally the minimum rental duration for our Portugal rentals is 7 days.

    If return occurs after the reserved return time, a charge of EUR26 (up to the daily rate) will be levied for each extra such hour; and the customer will assume responsibility for claims made against the rental company by subsequent renters due to delay. Again, any extension of the rental duration requires prior authorization by the rental company; and no refunds are offered for early return of the rental vehicle.

    Upon or after the return occasion, the vendor will charge to the client all traffic fines (including parking tickets) which the rental vehicle received during the rental. Upon returning the vehicle the client should report to the vendor any such fines the client is aware of; but generally the client is responsible for paying such a fine, even if the entity levying the fine reports it neither to client nor to vendor until after the return occasion (relevant statutes of limitation notwithstanding).

    in the event of an accident

    After an accident, fire, damage caused by theft, or damage caused by colliding with wildlife, the renter must inform the local police and the rental company. The client should inform the rental company in this respect no later than the end of the business day immediately following the day of the accident. In this case, call the rental depot (dropping the country code and the leading zero if calling from within Portugal) and perhaps also McRent's Germany headquarters (listed immediately below). You could also call the 24/7 Fiat emergency service toll-free hotline at tel. 00800 3428 1111.

    The rental company's headquarters in Munich, Germany, can be reached at the following numbers: tel. (+49) 07562 987 850 or 0800 0627 368, fax 07562 987 214. (Drop the country code and the leading zero if calling from within Germany.)

    In all cases of damage, the renter should as described above inform the rental company by phone and submit a detailed written report, including a sketch of the accident situation(s). The accident report must include the license numbers of the vehicles involved, the names and addresses of the persons involved (including any witnesses), and it must be signed by both parties.

    If the renter expects that an immediate repair is necessary and that the cost of the repair will exceed EUR150, or if the vehicle is not fully roadworthy as a result of the accident, the renter must immediately inform the rental company of this (or these) fact(s) in order to obtain permission for the repair.

    a slight disclaimer

    IdeaMerge takes special care in representing our vendors (i.e. the actual rental companies, the suppliers) so to maximally benefit our clients (renters, hirers, customers, tenants). Thus we present such information using various careful emphases and an overall style which is decidedly complementary to the legalistic style that necessarily constrains the terms and conditions presented by our vendors. The information on the IdeaMerge Website is merely designed to assist our clients. Yet in asking IdeaMerge to make a booking for you, you agree to the relevant cancellation policy presented to you by IdeaMerge. In accord with the auto rental industry standard, you will be obliged upon the rental pick-up occasion to sign a contract directly with the vendor and to thereby agree to their terms and conditions. Thus the terms and conditions of the vendor supersede the information presented by IdeaMerge. Likewise in accord with the auto rental industry standard, the vendor’s terms and conditions are subject to change without notice prior to the rental pick-up occasion. Such modifications to a vendor's terms and conditions as these apply to a booking are rare, and when they do occur they are usually very minor. The vendor nonetheless reserves the right to make such modifications without informing the client. In practice, however, if a modification to the vendor's terms and conditions is likely to be consequential for a client, the vendor typically informs IdeaMerge about it and we in turn endeavor to inform the client. In contrast to terms and conditions, the rental rates and various mandatory and optional prices are, like the cancellation policy, officially agreed to by you and IdeaMerge when you ask IdeaMerge to make a booking for you; in this sense they are not subject to change. If applicable, certain fees and taxes imposed by governments and charged by the vendor upon the pick-up or return occasion (rather than upfront by IdeaMerge) are of course subject to change. For similar reasons, insurance coverages are also subject to change — although such a change affecting a booking is truly rare.

    mcrent's terms and conditions

    Click here for McRent Portugal's terms and conditions in English.

    Click here for McRent Portugals's terms and conditions in Portuguese.

    warning

    Although motor travel in Europe is not generally considered prohibitively dangerous, there are, of course, associated risks — including death. For quantitative measures of these risks, please see the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT) http://www.asirt.org.