pricing and payment options with IdeaMerge
Please click here for an explanation of our excellent pricing and payment options.
reservation and booking
In accord with the automobile rental industry standard,
reservations may be made for a vendor's particular vehicle category
(what we might call a vendor's "group") only, not for a specific vehicle.
Which is to say,
although 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, the vehicle model
(and layout) you get might not be identical to what is indicated by said
information.
In the very unlikely event that
a vehicle in the reserved category is not available upon the pick-up date, the
rental company reserves the right to substitute a comparable or larger vehicle
with the same equipment and the capacity to accommodate the number persons you have delineated (in terms of, say, adults and children) as being in your party. In this 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 the vendor you select does have availability in the
particular vehicle category you select.
After you place a complete online reservation request with IdeaMerge (i.e. including your credit card details), IdeaMerge will straightaway query the vendor.
If a vehicle in the selected vehicle category of that selected vendor is indeed have available, we will immediately book the rental with that vendor 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).
All the vehicles available for pick-up in Spain have a manual transmission.
Generally the minimum rental duration for our Spain rentals is 7 days.
cancellation
We require the aforementioned downpayment and prepaid balance because the vendor
imposes a schedule of considerable cancellations fees. Necessarily reflecting that schedule of fees,
our cancellation policy is as follows:
breakdown cover, and insurance
First off, the fleet of vehicles is modern and continually upgraded,
the average age of a vehicle normally being about 6 months.
Moreover, all the vehicles do include membership in the German automobile
club, the ADAC, which membership entitles the vehicle
operator to 24/7 service from the network of national automobile clubs throughout
Europe. (Which is to say, renters possess the equivalent of membership in the
AAA, AA, CAC, RAC, etc.) In addition, all the vehicles are covered by an
international guarantee such that any mechanical failure they may happen
to suffer will be repaired — free of cost to the renter — by
a member of the (very wide-ranging) Volkswagon service network.
And 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 many cases limited
hotel stays and replacement car rentals are covered.
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).
changes
A. Authorization required. Once a rental is booked, any request to change any part of the booking,
such as adding or eliminating accessories or changing the dates, must be authorized by the rental company in advance.
Do not expect to make changes when you pick up the vehicle.
B. Cost. The vendor may charge a modest change fee.
C. Cancellation Fee for Shortening. If you request to shorten your rental duration, you must pay a cancellation fee
on the days that you eliminate. For example, if you reduce the number of rental days by moving the pick-up date closer
to the return date, or the return date closer to the pick-up date, or both closer to each other, you must pay a
cancellation fee on the days you eliminate. The general cancellation fee schedule for this vendor applies.
D. Cancellation Fee for Shift of Rental. If a change involves a shift of both the pick-up date and return
date away from of their original dates, or of pick-up or return location away from the original location, it may be
considered by the vendor a full or partial cancellation rather than a mere change. The general cancellation fee
schedule for this vendor applies.
E. Early Return. There is no refund for early return of the vehicle.
age and license
The minimum age limit for renters and other drivers of the rental vehicles
is only 25 years, and there is no maximum
age limit. However, said drivers must have possessed a valid
domestic driving license for at least three years prior to the pick-up date.
Of course said license must be in the driver's possession upon the
pick-up occasion; moreover its nationality must match that of the
licensee's passport.
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.
Regardless, 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 during the online reservation process).
Many Singapore drivers licenses, for instance, limit the license holder to vehicles rated only 3000 kg or less.
Generally 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 Spain (and Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Portugal).
Such license is not valid unless accompanied by the holder's domestic license.
There is no charge for additional drivers.
Pets are usually allowed. Please describe the type and characteristics of the pet before or upon
placing a booking. The relevant permission will then be obtained by IdeaMerge from the vendor.
Of course the client should return the vehicle free of pet hair and smells.
geographic limitations
The included insurance is effective throughout the entirety of Europe —
Western and Eastern, and the UK and Ireland — except for Russia,
other former members of the USSR, and any regions experiencing general and
violent political crisis.
The vehicles are not allowed to enter
Africa — especially Morocco.
Otherwise 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
The vendor will charge an
EUR600 security deposit
to the customer's Visa or MasterCard credit card
when the customer picks up the vehicle.
The card holder must be present upon said pick-up occasion and be one of the persons signing the vendor's
rental contract on that occasion.
(However, the credit card can be different than the card that was used to pay IdeaMerge for the rental.)
Debit cards, cash or travelers checks are not accepted for the security deposit; only Visa or MasterCard
credit cards are accepted, and
the charge cannot be split between credit cards.
The security deposit — 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.
The actual pick-up and return locations are open
Monday–Friday, 10am–2pm and 4pm–8pm (7pm November–March).
On Saturdays during
April–October the depots are open 11:30am–1:30pm;
during the rest of the year the depots are closed on Saturdays.
If pick-up is booked for the initial, 10am–2pm time window and return is booked for the
later, 4pm–8pm (7pm November–March) time window, the vendor
charges one extra night.
Moreover, if the vendor is obliged to specially open a depot to service a client
— i.e. outside the normal hours of operation, including
the necessary time for transfer to/from the airport or other location —
the vendor will apply an extra charge: EUR100 if such special service
is completed less than 1.5 hours outside said normal time of operation,
EUR200 if such service is completed that day but more than 1.5 hours outside of
a normal time of operation.
Furthermore, the customer who returns a vehicle late assumes
responsibility for claims made by the subsequent renter against the rental
company due to a consequent delay in their actual pick-up time.
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.
Clients may park one private vehicle (per rental) at the pick-up
depot free of charge for the duration of the rental.
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.
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. Vehicles returned in an unclean condition will be
subject to a modest cleaning fee.
All our Spain rentals include unlimited kilometers.
The headquarters in Madrid can be reached at the following numbers:
tel. (+34) 0913 29 07 67, fax 0913 29 48 43. The Barcelona depot can be
reached at (+34) 093 637 33 58 or (+34) 093 844 55 20. And the Malaga depot can be reached
at (+34) 0952 17 69 89.
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