Cheap car hire article discussion

NiftyDigits

TonyM19 wrote: »

Hi

Used Moneymaxim from the link in the main article. Got a reasonable rate from Rentalcars.com for a pickup at LAX. Their excess insurance works out at £145 (for 28 days). It doesn't mention SLI? Do I need that?
If use Moneymaxim again it directs me to Leisure Guard Car Hire Excess Insurance. Works out at less than £40 for an annual pass. No mention of SLI in that either. Anybody used that combination of car hire/excess insurance? Am I good to go with this one?

Cheers

Car rentals for UK residents should have the state minimum liability insurance included. If you want to make sure that you have adequate coverage, look here. Don't forget Quidco

Walkertalk

Just had a terrible experience with Goldcar at Verona airport. I used a comparison site and found a quote for 75 pounds for a week. Then it was 75 more for an extra driver. 99 euros for a tank of fuel. Then they offered to rent me a sat nav for a car that unbeknown to us already had sat nav built in. Ok, so we should have asked perhaps but they didn't tell us and we were not at the car, we were at the desk in the airport buildings. So when we realised the car had sat nav, we were half way to our destination - we rang them the same day and they said they'd ring back. They didn't. I emailed the broker. I called Goldcar again and was asked to bring the sat nav back. I brought the sat nav back before the end of the hire, but was met with a point blank refusal to give a refund. Huge row but got nowhere. I feel the staff should know what cars have sat nav built in and which don't. Then they can offer the choice, by saying something along the lines of 'the car has sat nav but if you want to rent a Tom Tom as well for a more accurate gps then you can'. Needless to say we did not part on happy terms. Live and learn I guess.

TonyM19

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Car rentals for UK residents should have the state minimum liability insurance included. If you want to make sure that you have adequate coverage, look here. Don't forget Quidco

Thank you for your help on this - all sorted.

Can anybody help out with driving licence requirements. I finally caved in and bought a new photo id drivers licence this year. My rental company (Thrifty) are requesting the photo id card and the paper counterpart. I understand that they stopped issuing those in June 2015, so I don't have one. Is this a problem?

Cheers

EssexExile

I've never been asked for or shown the paper part in the USA. Nowadays you're supposed to get a code from the site below so the hire company can see your record, but I've never heard of anyone being asked for it.

https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

TonyM19

EssexExile wrote: »

I've never been asked for or shown the paper part in the USA. Nowadays you're supposed to get a code from the site below so the hire company can see your record, but I've never heard of anyone being asked for it.

https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

Thank you. Looks like my annual car hire booking stress is over!

rogertb

Credit where credit's due, I'm an early contributor to this thread, we've just returned from 2 weeks in Catalunya and hired from Enterprise (£180). No problems at all ... full-to-full and deposit returned the next day. There were no staff in the office when we got back to the airport so I had to put keys through the door, always a worry as who knows what's going to happen when they 'inspect' for damage but no worries.

zooks

rogertb wrote: »

Credit where credit's due, I'm an early contributor to this thread, we've just returned from 2 weeks in Catalunya and hired from Enterprise (£180). No problems at all ... full-to-full and deposit returned the next day. There were no staff in the office when we got back to the airport so I had to put keys through the door, always a worry as who knows what's going to happen when they 'inspect' for damage but no worries.

Pleased to hear that. I'm flying to Gerona on Sunday and have booked an economy car with Enterprise, I assume you didn't take super cover, how much was the security deposit?

rogertb

Yes I booked economy but got upgraded to a Golf automatic, really nice. I think deposit was £100 but it was put back onto the card the next day. I always take 'Insurance for car hire' so didn't take any of their extras, they were 'offered' but with no pressure. The bloke on the desk was polite and helpful as well ....

sharronima

Always look for car rentals in economycarrentals.com first

For Madeira, Greece, Spain it was damn cheap - like 5 days for 70 euro for economy car. For Italy however prices are really steep and deposits awkward. The cheapest cars have some fuel clauses which make the whole deal way more expensive

But if you are careful and book well in advance, chances are you can find a really good car for a fraction of what you'd pay at the airport

beekay1943

Having had excellent value car rentals via DoYouSpain in the past two years, I again used them to book a 9-day hire in Menorca this June at a fully inclusive cost of only £80.98 (fuel: full - full.) DYS are brokers and the email voucher I received indicated that the local car hire operators were Owners Car, who have a desk at Mahon Airport.
The car I was given was a new Toyota Aygo (virtually zero boot space) but sufficient for the needs of my wife and I. At the end of the hire period, I had used less than half a tank of fuel and went to the Cepsa Fuel Station at the airport to top up prior to returning the vehicle. As I normally do when filling up my own car at home, after the fuel pump automatic cut-off activated, I waited a couple of seconds and added more fuel - I did this a few times until the pump cut off immediately I pulled the nozzle trigger, indicating that there was no room for any more fuel (without overflowing.) On returning the car, it was examined for damage by a female employee who also checked the fuel gauge and stated that everything was okay.
On return home and checking my Credit Card statement, I found that €46.16 had been debited on the start date for a full tank of fuel but only €38.46 had been refunded at the end of the hire period. I complained by email and Owners Cars claim that the tank was 1/8 empty - I am currently in the process of challenging this discrepancy and have forwarded a copy of my Cepsa fuel receipt as evidence. Unfortunately, this receipt ONLY shows the total amount of the transaction - NOT the actual amount of fuel purchased. In future, I will record my start and end mileage and, on refueling, ask for an itemised receipt in case the same issue arises again.
I must emphasise that my complaint is with Owners Cars and NOT with DoYouSpain who gave me an excellent deal.