HoosierDaddy

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?

Bob

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.

Philgr

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.

HoosierDaddy

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

Chorlton

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

TRPardoe

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 ?

Chorlton

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

AdobePinon

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.

tony126

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.

fatbrit

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.

paul_TX

That's right. NEVER pay for CDW at the crazy rates car hire companies charge. I get CDW only if it's lumped in with the deal. But to be fair, I get travel industry rates anyway which are mostly very good deals (from Alamo especially)

gruffbrown

I realise it's a bit late coming I use these people, when I fly into Gatwick.

http://site.yahoo.com/gatwickhiredrive/index.html

They're a local family run company, all inclusive rates and no BS. The cars are immaculate and they meet you at arrivals and take you to the car, which is generally in the nearest car park. I'll be using them again when I go back for Christmas. I got so fed up with all the crap associated with booking through the big companies....

kevntrace

I used 1car1 once at Heathrow. Unfortunately I made a dumb mistake of booking the car pickup for the same day we left the US. Of course you arrive in the UK on the following day. Needless to say 1car1 were not expecting me to arrive, and therefore did not have a car ready. It took us almost 3 hours of waiting to get something sorted out (just what you need after a 10 hour flight). And they were also very slow at coming to pick us up from Heathrow after we had called them to notify them of our arrival. Bottom line is I haven't rented from 1car1 since.

I now use Avis. You can book either from their UK or US web site. They have plenty of shuttle buses so they are easy to find when you arrive at Heathrow, and they are a 24 hour operation so none of this "extended hours fee" nonsense.

Avis is not the cheapest granted, but they have a massive amount of coupon codes floating around on the net, so its very easy to get a good discount - just make sure you don't use the employee code I'd recommend www.flyertalk.com for researching Avis discount codes.

I now drive automatics exclusively, and Avis has a good selection of these. Can't be doing with a manual in stop-start traffic - I HATE that.

Rockgurl

I've used Easycar in the past, but never again. They suck. Now I use Avis and they rock. It's easy to get to from Heathrow and they have a courtesy bus that runs every 10-15 minutes, the cars are always in perfect condition, the paperwork processing is fast and I can book online. They offer various amounts of insurance coverage and are always very helpful. When you bring the car back you just drop it off and they drive you back to your terminal. I have always found the drivers to go beyond the call of duty and are always incredibly polite and help you with your bags. I'm not sure I could stay that cheerful doing the job they do.

antjen

ive always used enterprise in the past and havent got a bad word to say about them, great service and good prices!

Anthony