UK Car Hire
 

I will be in the UK in the last 2 weeks of June, flying into Gatwick.

Anybody had Car Hire experience over there lately as to who has the best deals ?

Re: UK Car Hire
 

The one I've used on last couple of occasions has been National - not had any trouble and the rates seem to have worked out lowest for a web booking. Also very easy to cancel/change dates.

http://www.nationalcar.co.uk/ukweb/default.jsp

Re: UK Car Hire
 

I used 1CAR1 In March. I Found then to be good. they are cheap, you make no payment till you pick up the car.you can book online.

http://www.1car1.com/

Re: UK Car Hire
 

If you book well in advance Easyrentacar is very cheap. The rates go up considerably if you are booking last minute. The biggest drawback is the limited pick up locations and one model of car. When I used them it was one of those little Mercedes (C-class?)

Re: UK Car Hire
 

I like using AutoEurope for car hire. Firstly I can pay in dollars, which is more convinient for me, and secondly I can purchase an all inclusive option. This covers CDW and theft insurance, so no surprises when you turn up to collect the car and have a hefty chunk added to the bill for insurance.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Thanks for this one. They seem, at first look, to be the cheapest by far.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

I have had some really good deals through the British Airways website recently, once ended up with Hertz, the other time with Avis. Got a free upgrade each time too.

DK whether this only works if you have a BA booking ref though, but it's worth a try.

One other thing: if you still have a UK credit card + address, use that. For some reason they up the $$$ if they know you're US-based...

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Don't use HERTZ, we filled the tank with petrol at the airport and a few weeks later on my credit card statement had a huge charge from them for a full tank of petrol way overpriced I add, we couldn't do anything about it because we didn't get a receipt, didn't think we had to because they checked the car and asked was the tank full, they must have had my card no on record and just used it to pay for the petrol, what a money making scheme, they knew we couldn't do anything being so far away so we had to pay but we lost them a lot of business. We use Enterprise since and they have been great, even opening up one of their offices for us on a sunday when they were supposed to be closed.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Didn't know that was legal.

In the past I have used my UK driving licence and Mother's address but with a US credit card. This time I was going to use my FL driving licence.

Any opinions on this ?

Re: UK Car Hire
 

I've always used my Fl licence with no probs at all. Even used the temporary paper one when it was being renewed last time. They just took a copy of it and said thanks very much.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

My experience too.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

1car1 now has a facility at Gatwick which they did not have when CandyWY went. I will be using them next Wednesday as I am gone for 4 weeks. :)

Re: UK Car Hire
 

they have no hidden extras the price they quote on the internet is what you pay when you pick up. I picked up at manchester airport not gatwick so have no idea about the service for gatwick. the sevice at manchester was good. cost me 113 GBP for 1 week car hire and this included an out of hours return fee as my flight back was at 6.00am so i had to return the car at 4.00am.

i used my us license.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

is the facility at the airport or close by.I hired from manchester, which has no office actually at the airport but it is close to the airport, they do pick you up from the airport. reason given as the cost is to high to operate from the airport.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Used Hertz, not at gatwick, but the one near the st giles hotel...absolute shite, we had to wait a couple hours because they didn't actually have a car for us even though it was confirmed when rang the night before, and the car died the next day and was a mare getting the RAC to sort it out through hertz.

As for which license to use, don't think it matters...read that someone got better deals using there US license...and another thing...if you get a speeding ticket etc, they generally won't bother follow it up on a foreign license, but if you used your UK one, could get a bit of trouble for not paying the fine etc...

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Memorable 20,000th post

Re: UK Car Hire
 

I've been looking for car hire recently too as I'm back in the Uk in June. I have found this fantastic website, www.auto-international.com
I don't think you can better those rates.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

1car1 seems to beat those rates, although they do seem quite good. also a fuel deposit is required and you have to pay for the car 7 days before pick up.:)

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Maybe it's down to what type of car you want to hire? I can get a Vectra/Mondeo 27 June -25 July for 588 pounds, compared to 693 pounds at 1car1..

Re: UK Car Hire
 

looks like it could be down to which car you choose.:)

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Reading these messages has just made me check with 1car1. I have booked an Astra automatic from 18th May-13th June for £555. They tell me their rates do vary with the season and they do not have limited mileage like some other car hire firms do so it may be woth checking on that. I am happy with what I have got and will let BE know about their service hopefully to endorse Candywys' comments.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

automatic:D you lazy or forgot how to drive a stick;)
hope you have as good experience as i did with them. will look forward to hearing your comments:)

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Probably gear shift next time. Hips will not allow it at the moment. Had one done, due for the other op in August.
:)

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Check out www.rentacar-europe.com
Their price includes taxes, fees and CDW.
Normally they go thru EuropCar or Alamo.
I've rented twice through them when I'm home. Completely satisfied (I'm an ex-Enterprise employee).

Re: UK Car Hire
 

There terrible....no offence :D but they were shite when I was thinking of using them, and a mate had a night mare of a time with them..

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Strange - best car hire service we ever had was from Enterprise... :D

Probably just goes to show that it's the individuals you are dealing with that are the key - you can find @$$holes in any organisation ;)

Re: UK Car Hire
 

agreed used them here and in the UK - superb service every time - I have to use hertz for business and have a gold club membership and they are total crap !

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Aye, that's true...but my mate rented a car, returned in perfect order, handed the keys over to the guy, he shunted the car when moving it from the drop off location and a €500 charge appeared on my mates card for repairs, never got a refund either...

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Just to illustrate my previous point - when I was back in Blighty recently, I thought I'd lost my Herz keys. They delivered another set to me in a little over an hour. Told me I would be charged GBP75 for the pleasure (which I thought was quite reasonable, considering that I was 45 minutes away from their location AND it was a remote...).

Found the 1st set eventually, brought both sets back when I returned the car. Thought I'd haggle to try and get the GBP 75 charge reduced. Turns out they'd never actually charged me!

But again, it was down to individuals: the nice chap who didn't charge me in the first instance, and the nice lady who didn't bother to rectify her colleague's "mistake"... :D

I guess I've used up all my car hire luck for this year - can't wait to see what horrors await me on my next trip :scared:

Re: UK Car Hire
 

they also take an authorization for 550GBP from your credit card unless you get extended liability coverage and for fuel deposit.:(

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Bob - Your mate's story sounds fishy. He would have got a receipt at the end of the rental with all the check-out info (gas, mileage, condition, etc). Was it the case that he was in a hurry and had to get going for a flight without getting a receipt?

Re: UK Car Hire
 

It was in spain...he signed the car as okay and saw the guy dink it as the guy drove off...he did get a reciept for repairs, but they had already charged his credit card....I don't know the details, but he got stitched up.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

They are cheap but be careful with these guys. I waited at the airport for an hour before they came to pick me up (then the driver blamed the dispatcher and the dispatcher blamed the driver) then they didn't tell me that they didn't actually have any of the care I had booked but, after I had signed all the paper work and paid, they told me they had "upgraded" us to another car - which was OK but it had less luggage space (Rover 75 from a Vectra - both auto which was the problem but my USC wife doesn't do manual). As they didn't have anything bigger and I couldn't face going back to the airport and finding another car - with two small children in tow - we squashed everything in but I won't be using 1car1 again.

Prices are cheap but you get the service you pay for I guess.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

dan725 - Thanks for the tip about National.
I've a trip home in February and they are far and away the cheapest for the dates I need. 239 quid for a Mondeo/Vectra estate for 10 days and no charge for a one-way!

Result :D

Re: UK Car Hire
 

I used 1car1 for about a week and everything was perfect. We had the car delivered to the house we were staying at, it ran perfectly, and they picked it up on time when we were done. (We drove to Wales, got hit on the roof by a baseball sized rock, and didnt get charged for it, so I was very happy). They were cheap too, and I set it all up by email. I'll use them next time :)

Re: UK Car Hire
 

1car1 picked me up at Gatwick and took me to their depot. The car I booked(an Astra Auto) was not available. They offered me an Astra Estate auto or a Vauxhall Vectra manual. I took the Vectra which was offered for the Astra price.

The car was fine and was cheaper than anything else I looked at. The hire was "prix fixe" as advertised.

In a multi story car park in Manchester I got some paint damage to the front left wing which I reported to 1car1. They subsequently charged my credit card the full excess (£500) for this damage.

I emailed them at least three times for information on the actual cost of the repair and for paperwork to back up the £500 charge. They did not respond in any way. There is a huge temptation to tell my credit card company to cancel the charge pending proof of the repair costs.

What would you do ?

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Cancel, tell them to go f**k themselves and use someone else next time. I guess I got lucky? :eek:

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Do it. Put the burden on them.

This is an issue I've noticed with UK rental. They'll go over the thing with a fine-toothed comb and try to charge you for everything. Here you could bring the thing back half destroyed and they'll just wave and send you on your merry way.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

I did not have any problems with 1car1 when i went home in May this year. Had the car for 26 days, drove just over 2000 miles never had a problem at all. I was very happy with them and will certainly use them again. Mind you I do not expect everything to run like clockwork, nice if it does but patience is a virtue they say.

Re: UK Car Hire
 

Are you sure your credit card wasn't covering you anyway for the excess? For Visa and Amex (no idea about MC), you are covered automatically in most countries if you hire a car.