Yeovillian tramp

.....going back to vist the fam in May,and was wondering if anyone knows a good,affordable car rental company??So far found one online that wants 140.00 for 9 days.Going to be picking it up and dropping off at Heathrow.Thanx for any help....

Jerseygirl

2 yrs ago we rented a car on line, can't remember the company's name but it wasn't one of the large ones. When we went to collect the car at Manchester airport they wanted extra payment to cover insurance. We had checked before leaving that insurance was covered by our Mastercard but the rental company would not except this. Can't remember the exact amount but it was quite significant so we went to Avis and actually managed to get the car for less. In my opinion its best to stick to the large well known companies like Hertz or Avis. I have heard stories about smaller rental companies taking money from credit cards after the renter has returned home, for damage, petrol etc. Very difficult to fight this claim when you are 1,000's of miles away.

redlobster

Try www.bluewheels.com
I went home last July, and arranged to pick up a car at Gatwick.. I had a Corsa Automatic, and it cost 190 pounds inc...All I had to pay extra was to top up the tank on return. I had it for 9 days.
I thought they were great and will use them again..It was easy to use there web site.
Redlobster

Patrick Hasler

We have just spent 12 days back there. We rented from Avis (as we always do) we booked through yahoo and got a really good deal. A Peugeot 407 TDi for just over $400 including a full tank of fuel. The car was as big as a Chrysler 300 and averaged 45 mpg even though a lot of the time we were doing 90 mph.
If you do a Yahoo search for UK car rental you can find a few that seem cheaper untill you read the small print. Avis seem to be the only one in the Heathrow area that is open 24 hours a day, we found one or two that seemed less at first them read that they wanted an extra 50 quid to collect the car or return it between 9.00pm and 6.00am.

You'll find that if you book a smaller car the will offer to upgade you two stages for the price of one.

TruBrit

morning jersey, not wanting to hi jack the thread but love the new avatar..it's
a bit bright for me this morning, need me shades on as a bit of a heavy night last night...

nottsinCT

I used ALamo you signed in then went out to choose your car we took a higher end car the vauxhall vectra which was 100 pound for 5 days but I dropped off at B'ham Hertz was a complete an utter rip off if you do not fill up the car on return they charge you nearly 100 pound make sure you look into the smalls of it.

Jerseygirl

Thanks TruBrit. Good morning back. Sounds as though I missed a good time last night.

I remember the other day when you were describing the spring fashions in the stores at home, you said there was a lot of navy. That is one colour I really miss here in the US. I used to buy a lot of navy but very rarely can I find it here. It's mostly brown, black, occasionally grey and when I do find navy its a washed out version. When I was in the UK in November I stocked up on navy trousers, skirts, tops etc.

Daughter came home from Toronto last night and brought Cadbury's chocs. Big bars with crunchie bits in, mmm, yummy and fruit and nut for hubby.

TruBrit

tried to send you k for your avatar but gotta spread yep the colours this summer navy red white...probably get them here in houston next year..lol

Jerseygirl

On thing that really annoyed hubby was how you have to inspect the car before and after renting and mark on the silly little diagram any scratches, dents etc. Here he uses Hertz the cars waiting for you, keys inside, you don't even have to go into the office, just drive it away.

As NottsinCT stated always make sure you leave rental cars with a full tank of petrol if not they charge you top whack per gallon.

Jerseygirl

I tried to send you some too but it wouldn't let me.

britchicknyc

I suggest 1Car1 - www.1car1.com or 1866 362 3121 - I selected some random dates in May for you and I got £72 - there're great! Well worth checking out...

Jerseygirl

I used 1 car 1 in Warrington, Cheshire last November. They were OK, I had a brand new Astra with only 6 miles on the clock. I would use them again but they do not have an office or pick up/drop off facility at Manchester Airport. It only had enough petrol in to get me to the nearest station, so I had to return it empty. I use my English drivers licence as you are charged more for a US licence. The websites usually ask country of residence, try entering UK, then US there can be quite a difference.

User Name

You're probably in for a big rip off. If you arrange an all-in price which includes insurance then you might not get ripped off, but if your "deal" does not include insurance you will likely get a price shock and it will feel like you ate a dead smelly skunk (especially after a long haul flight).

You just have to be careful. If you can make other arrangements to get to your destination and then hire from a local car hire, you would likely get a much better deal.

But whatever you do, HAVE A NICE TIME WITH FAMILY back in the UK!

User Name

Yes, that so annoyed me. I realized that the US car hire system is so much better, offers a much better customer friendly service. I really got ratty with them expecting me to spot the scratches after a long flight and it was dark. I was furious and felt like going back to the airport, but it was shutting down. After this scam I decided never to hire a car from any of the Heathrow outfits and made my own arrangements to get to my destination and hire a car from a local car hire. Snag is, one has to make arrangements to get back to the airport (I used National Coach, but discovered rather late that they had some kind of weight/case limit, but the driver can exercise reasonable discretion ... the drivers like to be tipped, so if you find you are over the limit don't argue with them, just tip them heavily when handing over your cases for loading into the back of the bus. Sad thing is they expect another heavy tip when you arrive at the airport ... just flash them a big smile and say THANKYOU!

candy wy.

I used them last year from manchester airport, had no problems with them being at the airport to collect me. if you book through there New YORK office the rate is the same as the uk rate, even with a US license. I am using them again when i go back tomorrow hopefully the service will be as good as last time.