How to choose car hire company in the UK

Brendan Burgess

Founder
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54,685
I am flying to Cornwall Airport in Newquay.

I see that I have a choice of Hertz or Europcar or Budget.

Is one any better than the other?

The factors would be
  • price
  • fair fuel policy
  • no spurious claims for damage
  • flexible about return dates
On checking the prices, Europcar seems massively cheaper than Hertz. £146 vs £250 for a similar car.


Brendan
 
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Long time since I hired a car but would always say take plenty of photos on pick-up. Google reviews on both companies might help. Does seem a big difference alright. The key post may be old but probably worth a read to refresh your memory on the usual problems. Is insurance still a hefty charge?
 
I've never hired a car in the UK Brendan but my experience elsewhere is that where there are big differences in quoted prices between companies, there are usually added extras that mean that the actual prices are very similar to each other. For that reason I've often booked Hertz even when their quoted price is higher. Hard to beat Sue Ellen's suggestion to Google the companies' reviews.
 
I've hired from Europcar in the UK using a debit card ( I have no credit card) with no major issues, a few years back.
I hired the cheapest available car which should have been a small petrol but mentioned that i'd love a diesel and they had a small diesel waiting when I went to pick the car up. At the same price as the petrol.
 
Hi Brendan
I hire cars in the UK three or four times per year and the three firms you mention above are all much the same in the way they operate
with no noticeable differences between them. I just go with the cheapest quote at the time of booking.
Last time I rented a car from London Stansted, the manager was explaining the system to me. Its a bit like airline seats. When the company
has high bookings for a particular period, the price will be up and if there are low bookings for the period you want, the price will be lower.
Dynamic pricing / Supply and demand. If there is only one car available for next weekend, its unlikely to be going cheap.
 
Call them.. some will offer a discount code if you ask nicely do that it secures your booking
 
Hire cars in france few times a year and have used both without any issues.

Might be worth thinking about car hire excess insurance through a 3rd party such as aig, blue insurance or carhireexcess. Personally never had to claim but generally take out independent insurance.

If there is damage even not your fault this will cover up to €1500.

Taking such insurance through the hire companies tends to be much more expensive.
 
I shopped around for a day's hire in the UK next week.

I settled on Hertz as it was the cheapest by a fair bit. I went to pay and was greeted with the following



I put in my details only to find that they were asking for them again just below.

Why is there two. Am I signing up that scam where they take money from my account every month?

Brendan
 
Your extract does mention for some car classes, two credit cards are required.
Were you trying to hire from the Dream Collection, the Fun Collection or Prestige group?
 
just make sure u take out 3rd party excess insurance. I've been scammed twice in the UK where they "found" damage on the car when returned. Both times I had excess insurance that covered the "damage". The last time was with the company mentioned above (who I wont be using again!)
 
Have you tried any of the comparison sites like Arguscarhire?

Typically they have the same car at a better rate (as Hertz, Avis etc.compete with each other on there)? The usually have better insurance than what you buy on arrival too.
 
eamo01 said:
Have you tried any of the comparison sites like Arguscarhire?

Typically they have the same car at a better rate (as Hertz, Avis etc.compete with each other on there)? The usually have better insurance than what you buy on arrival too.
Click to expand...

Your best bet is actually to book your car through Ryanair. They guarantee the lowest rate and if the same car (same type, days and times) can be found on the suppliers website for a cheaper rate they will give you the car for free.

Happened me this time last year. Hired a Hertz car through Ryanair. Found it on the Hertz website at a lower rate. Filled in Ryanair's claim form within the specified hour time limit, and they agreed to refund the cost of the car upon my return. Which they did. Very little effort involved.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Hi J

Very interesting. Although I am a shareholder in Ryanair, I just wouldn't trust them.

Brendan
Click to expand...

We've been booking cars via Ryanair which is Cartrawler for the last couple of years in Dublin airport. Never had a problem. About 8/10 cars annually. Usually Thrifty/Budget/Hertz etc.

What I will never book again is a company that is not Hertz etc such as you find in places like Portugal - they are total scam artists and you've no come back. Article about it in the newspapers last week.
 
I always use Rentalcars.com on my phone. I usually end up with a Budget or Hertz car at a far lower price then they quote directly.

I remember pricing a car from Hertz in Edinburgh airport. Same day return, booking the day before I travelled. The price for a large saloon was £380 with the Hertz App, £225 with the Hertz website and £140 through Rentalcars.com but it was still a Hertz car. I was a Hertz gold circle member at the time as I was hiring cars nearly every week.
I emailed Hertz customer care but never received a reply.
I haven't used them since.
 
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