Nova Car Hire 

The whole booking process is designed to mislead and trick the customer into paying extortionate add on fees when collecting the vehicle. Quoted price on the website is nothing like the actual price when collecting the car. Our €88 quote turned into €377 for a three day car hire and were directed to their lengthy small print terms and conditions on every complaint.

Absolute disgrace of a company who blatantly mislead the customer and pressure them into paying these extortionate add on fees on collection as they know the customer will have little or no alternative option but to pay it.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY

I just received the following email from this company:

"After processing this booking with xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx your request came back as unavailable due to a complete stop sell at this location. This means that due to high demand during this period the car rental company cannot offer us any vehicles. Unfortunately, we cannot offer you an alternative vehicle as the companies we deal with at this location are all fully booked."

This is just 8 hours before I am due to pick up my vehicle. I had called them earlier this morning to chase (again) my booking confirmation as I hadn't received this. Although I had received a booking reference this is NOT a booking confirmation. Their booking reference email states that "The vast majority of bookings are confirmed within 4 hours, but it can take between 1 - 2 working days"

Basically it appears as though the way that Nova work is that they rent you a vehicle that they cannot confirm then try to negotiate the rate with the rental company. If the rental company says no then Nova will cancel your reservation. Basically that leaves you with zero peace of mind, and in my case a very expensive rental from an alternative company for a smaller vehicle. Never again.

I have used Nova about 15 times in the last two years booking from the UK, mostly in Northern Ireland but twice in France. I have had a couple of minor glitches which were readily resolved by the hirecar company (Budget in both cases, brilliant). I find they get good rates every time, can't complain. I arrange my own excess insurance cover, why would you ever want to buy it from any hirecar company! I find the website easy enough, just keep your eyes open as with any online purchase. My only grumble is the absence of a UK Customer Service telephone number, when I did need some help I had to call on an International tariff to Ireland. I recommend them to friends and family.

Paid for car hire to Ireland. Had to book twice after they rejected my bookings even though I received confirmation emails. Landed at the airport and Budget had no record of my booking. Also paid for insurance that was worthless. Terrible

We had such a bad experience with Nova Car Hire, the quote that you receive is NEVER accurate. They always have hidden charges behind their "Terms and Conditions", which is not fair. They don't play fair! Once we had to pay we had to pay extra fees that were not stated on the initial Invoice. Avoid using Nova Car, go to a trustful company. They just want to rip you off!!

Once Nova Car Hire had our deposit they really couldn't care less.

Delays with the French train service meant we just missed our pick up slot. Rental company refused to give us a car (despite the one we booked clearly sitting outside their office) and said we would need to book all over again (and wait two days for it to turn up!).

We ended up having to make a new (last minute) booking with another rental company in order not to be stranded.

Nova Car Hire agent we spoke to on the phone at the time said to call on our return and expect a refund of our deposit at least... however, once back they have just stonewalled and basically told us to get lost, they're going to keep the deposit anyway.

Avoid Nova Car Hire. If you have any issues whatsoever they will wash their hands of you. Once they have your cash, they couldn't give a stuff about you or whether you ever even get a car or not.

TIP: book direct with the rental company they show on their search results - it will be cheaper and you're less likely to get ripped off like we were.

AVOID NOVA CAR HIRE!!!

On booking a hire car from Nova we were given the "Total Rental Cost" of £59 and emailed this to confirm. When we arrived at the company to collect the car we were charged an additional £40 for "out of office hours collection". We had no idea this would be the case, so were shown page 23 subsection 13 or whatever of the small print terms and conditions. We were then charged in advance £80 for the tank of fuel (which wasn't even full) and told to bring the car back empty. Bearing in mind we were staying local and could only use about a half of it, no refund was offered for the remaining fuel. I have complained to Nova who have told me that this was all shown in the terms and conditions. So our 3 day £59 car hire ended up costing us £170!! Disgusted.

NO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY unless you are prepared to spend hours of your life reading small print only to discover that its cheaper elsewhere.

Now for the car: It pulled slightly to the left on acceleration, speared off alarmingly to the right on braking. The handbrake wouldn't hold it on all but the gentleist hills. The remote didn't work, it stunk of cigarette smoke and at any speed above 60mph vibrated so violently it made my vision blurr. (The lady had said when I collected it that it wasn't going to be used for much longer, but it was certainly unroadworthy and bordering on dangerous)

Trust me, go with one of the big companies. I've used Budget before and found them to be excellent with no silly terms and conditions. This is the last time I try to save a few quid by going with some pathetic mickey mouse company.

You were warned!! I just wish I had been.

Their website is easy to use, gives you plenty of options and they quoted the best price that was quite a bit lower than others on the net. The great thing about Nova, though, is their Customer Service. Prompt, helpful and friendly, very rare these days. They even helped with questions I had after the hire. I ended up with AutoEuropa for the rental and they were fantastic too. The car I was given did not have adequate trunk space and they went out of their way to replace the car so we could be on our way. Highly highly recommended, and I certainly will use them again.

Recently I rented a car for 14 days at Dublin Airport from BUDGET CARS through NOVA CAR HIRE (Booking Number BIE000161587) and will NEVER be using NOVA CAR HIRE again.

On arrival at the BUDGET CARS' desk in Dublin Airport, I was informed that the so-called comprehensive insurance, which NOVA CAR HIRE provides through a third party, has several exceptions – notably: 1. I was not covered should an accident be my fault. 2. Should anything happen while the car was parked in a hotel car park, I was not covered unless I was actually in the car.

I paid an extra comprehensive insurance to BUDGET Cars, so that I did not risk paying up to 1000 Euros should anything happen to the car during the rental period.

I am most certainly not satisfied with NOVA CAR HIRE and will NEVER be using NOVA CAR HIRE again.

Furthermore - writing a review on NOVA CARE HIRE'S own review page (link provided kindly by NOVA CAR HIRE in a follow-up mail) proved impossible, as the page redirects to a blank page within seconds of entering the site.

Sincerely,
John Buckley McQuaid

I can not recommend Nova Car or their insurance Insurance4CarHire (or third party car hire / insurance in general). When we got to the car rental company, we were strongly advised to take out their own insurance, otherwise we would have to leave the deposit of 1200 euros. All in all we ended up paying 20% more for car rental, additional driver, satellite navigation and insurance. My advice is to book the same place as you pick up the car.

I made the original booking through Nova, it seemed to be going well until they told me the car rental agency would get hold of me within the next 48hrs, which they didn't.... unsure as to who the blame will lie with that, but at the end of the day, I was unsure as to whether or not my booking had actually been made, so therefore went to the actual car hire website and booked again, only to discover that my original booking had been processed and had unfortunately double booked with the car hire agency who were fantastic. (FIRST)

So glad to be able to encourage other visitors to Ireland and the UK to contact Nova Car Hire for great prices and a trouble free experience

Excellent all round service. Easy to deal with, car in excellent condition, good value for money.

wasted R400 on insurance sold nova not accepted by eurocar

Report on the recent car hire experience at LHR
Overall this was very good but with a couple of concerns that certainly were not an issue on this trip.
The driver of the car-hire shuttle bus was courteous and helpful. Always a good start for the trip. As usual they tried to upgrade the car at the desk and sell me additional insurance. I explained that I already had the insurance through you and he looked at the policy and agreed. I declined the upgrade as I wanted a small car and when I got to the line I had the choice of several models. I selected a VW Polo. It had a ding in the door and so I made sure it was identified, along with several other items and the check-out gate. I probably was a bit of a pain but the guard took it well enough.
The trip went well. We spent part of the time in Cornwall so a small car was advisable. Got about 10 miles per liter.
We returned to LHR with just over a quarter tank of fuel for a change (I usually end up giving them far more) and drew up to the return lane that’s now covered in case of rain and an attendant appeared, took the mileage and gave me a receipt. No fuss. No hassle. Wonderful.
Overall a very good rental experience.
Now my concerns: It wasn’t a problem this time but if I did damage the car I would have to file paperwork as I was insured through a third party and I hate paperwork.
Secondly I am worried that you may not wish to rent me a car due to my age. I recognize that I will have to stop at some time but I feel fine now and my trips to the UK mean a lot to me. Your table goes to 85 and if I am fit I assume I can go for another five years, But what after then?
Best Regards Ken Johnston

TO ALL MY FRIENDS OUT THERE IF YOU EVER GO TO ITALY I WOULD HONESTLY RECOMEND YOU TO HIRE A CAR FROM NOVA

Had car hired - ended up getting a different model and much older than expected. Had difficultity making contact from airport to be collected. Driver was quite rude on both collection and drop off.

Cheap car hire - easy booking.

I was in search of a car all the other rental companies were charging about $160 more! Then I stumbled upon Nova car rental company which was cheaper but showed that it had cars in New York even though it's in the UK! So I tried it and it was legit! It all worked out and I saved a lot of money! I will definitely rent from Nova again!

We were met at the airport and driven the short distance, baggage and all. Paperwork completed and on the road within 15 minutes of being collected. Given advice about fuel, tolls and what was worth seeing.

Very impressed and would absolutely book again!