Jerseygirl

I actually meant that 1 Car 1 had no facilities for collecting the car or dropping it off at the airport.

woodsey

hello you.. that doesn't sound too bad a deal, I'm going back tomorrow and have just paid 240 for 12 days, does the amount you were quoted include everything, if so I'd go with it.

candy wy.

when I returned the car last year I did actually drop it off at the airport. I got a lucky break as I was catching a 6.00am flight. the lazy shit at the office didn't want to get out of bed a 4.00am so called me the night before and asked if i was willing to leave it in the airport carpark and they would collect it at 8.00am.

Eskimo

ha..ha you ? here ? hows it going shagger ? how was your Sunday I just used www.vroomvroomvroom.co.uk to book for the missus - price was pretty good - Ill let you know on the service

Jerseygirl

Have a good trip and enjoy 'Christmas'.

woodsey

thanks, quite looking forward to a bit of turkey actually..

dunroving

Try Auto-Europe: https://www.auto-europe.co.uk. They search multiple rental companies, I think (I ended up with a Europcar, was pretty reasonable).

Patrick Hasler

Another good tip ! ..... Try and colect it in daylight !
I got the last one after dark, drove it 90 miles at around 100 mph in 5th, then found next morning the thing had 6 gears

Lizzi

We used http://auto-international.com last time and they were good value. We insured our excess here http://insurance4carhire.com/ so nothing to pay in the event of a prang.
Enjoy your trip.

tony126

I used 1car1 last year but will be using Thrifty this time. I booked Jan for 20 days car hire in May/June back in the UK, automatic Vectra or similar, with full comprehensive insurance for £553 total. I think this is a very good deal and will let you know how I get on when I return. thrifty.com is the ref.
(This is subject to having a meeting with myself to take time off from my retirement although I feel I already know the answer. )

TRPardoe

Last year I used 1car1 from Heathrow. Could not beat their price which has no hidden extras but I got stung by the £500 excess when I turned it in with Car Park damage.

Having said that, I would use them again. They are not in the terminal but are a drive away (they come and pick you up) so you need to allow extra time for the return.

Their home page is quoting £99 a week, fully inclusive, for a Corsa,

Patrick Hasler

I could have fitted a Corsa in the boot of the one I just rented there

You must have been travelling alone ?

Englishmum

I think I put you on to Auto-Europe didn't I?

Also if you book with "Enterprise" (off-airport location opp Hatton Cross tube station, slightly closer to Terminal 4 than the other terminals, but the shuttle bus picks you up and drops you off at any of the LHR terminals and they do have a desk at the arrivals hall) they will not charge or hassle you to buy extra insurance if you have a Gold or Platinum US Amex card.....saved me a lot of money.

Their website says that you need to provide proof that you have some sort of coverage for insurann toce so I just printed off the page with cardmember benefits from the American Express website.....when I arrived at LHR they didn't even want to see it and were fine (must get many US customers).

RoadWarriorFromLP

I would tend to try to use one of the large multinationals (Hertz, Avis, National/Europacar, Budget/ Sixt, etc.). Not only will you tend to have more choices (more cars, more offices, longer hours, etc.), but if things go awry, you'll have better service and less likelihood of getting hit with high surcharges and further problems. And if you have customer service problems, it will be much easier for you to deal with a company that is headquartered in the US than a smaller one located abroad that isn't so sensitive to your concerns. Even if the foreign operation is franchised, you'll still have more luck if you have a US corporate office to whom you can complain.

That being said, I would first use the typical online travel agency websites (Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, etc.) to see what kind of deals you can get. Then, I would check the UK websites of the hire companies themselves to compare, because the prices won't always match, so you can choose the one that is most favorable to you. Sort out whether you need insurance, and determine whether you'll need to pay a drop fee for your itinerary and plan accordingly. You might want to phone ahead, because that also might produce a better rate. (Car hire is often like airline tickets -- no one pays the same price, and checking different sources can yield different prices.)

One thing I've found in the UK that differs from what you'd typically find in the US is that the rates charged at different pickup locations within a given town can vary quite a bit from one another, so shop carefully. Also, if picking up a car in London, try to avoid a pickup location that would require you to deal with the congestion charge.

Yeovillian tramp

Wow,so much help,thank-you so much......i think the 1car1 looks good,thats the quote i got w/everything inclusive...it's only me traveling,so the box on wheels will do,don't want to have too big a car,people might start assuming i want to drive them around with me!!
Woodsey and eskimo,good to see you on here.Hope the trip back home goes well,and my Sunday was'nt too bad.Was in bed,asleep b 4 9pm.How was yours???