Car Hire - how to get it cheap!

DarkFallout

Another tip.

I have a Halifax Ultimate Reward Account.

If you go through the Ultimate Reward link you are entitled to 20% discount in Avis.

Just booked a car for 4 days, next week, Thursday to Monday for less than 45 pound.

salerbil

TBeckett100 wrote: »

Easyjet offer via their website car hire (not easycar) around the world, teamed up with Europcar. They offer a double the difference guarantee so if you find the same rental catagory cheaper with another "global provider" i.e. hertz, avis, budget (not screenscraper websites like Argus, Car hire 3000) you get 2 x the difference back.

https://cars.easyjet.com/index.shtml?lang=GB&PROMO=47873771


Example

Lanzarote 19/09/10-26/09/10

easyjet - economy car (group a) = £186.51
Hertz - economy car (group a) = £115.23 (always compare prepaid rate)

difference = £71.28
double difference = £142.56

rental cost = £43.95 for the week

Note if you need a baby seat you may find it overall cheaper to go with a local provider as some offer them for free or ata much lower cost

This is pretty risk free, you have a certain period to cancel and get a refund if your discount is not honoured.

terms available here
https://cars.easyjet.com/reasons/lpg/?lang=gb

good luck

They do not accept Budget, (saying it is a broker

pcygan

I used this offer last year and it was a really money saver, but a real hassle to get my money from Europcar.
They were £100 more expensive, so a refund of £200 was due, which they said would be issued once the hire had ended.
Nothing was given back to me, so I had to chase and chase them, to then be given only a single refund.
I took them to the Small Claims Court to get the rest - in the end, I claimed back £50 more than the hire cost me, so they effectively paid me to hire the car.

My advice - get it in writing that you meet the criteria for a refund before the car is hired. You have a 14 day cooling period after the booking is made to cancel at no cost, so make your booking and then ring and ring them until they put in writing what your refund will be honoured.

TBeckett100

salerbil wrote: »

They do not accept Budget, (saying it is a broker

budget is not a broker.

DarkFallout

I have just received an email form easyjet and currently their small cars are discounted to 11-12 pounds a day, got a quote for 7 days 79 pounds.

https://cars.easyjet.com/deals/2010/08_uk_upto45/?countriesCO=GB&lang=gb&PROMO=50695116

Don't know if the offer is invitation only.

newreclaimer

Received my refund. Fantastic.
Paid £440 for an intermediate in France, with refund it now cost £220.
Many thanks to the OP.

laticsforlife

So do we have a definitive list of the companies that would be OK,

Hertz
Avis
Sixt ?
Budget ?

And if I have already booked and paid months ago with Easyjet, would it cost me anything to cancel it and book again, utilising the double difference claim system, as I could realistically get £143.72 back and rent the same car that I am paying around £110 for, for £69.82

Price paid £110 (I did quite well at the time didnt I)
New quote £213.54
Sixt price £141.68
New cost £69.82

so if cancellation is less than £40 then I'll be in profit ??

Hang on a minute, Easyjet booking now for a medium car is £313
Sixt for an intermediate (think the same) is £143. Double that difference is £340 making it free???

So it's definitley important to ensure who they will accept a price-match against.

Sixt is a worldwide group so I can't see that Easyjet could deny them as a just being a broker, but I'm a coward to try and cancel, rebook, claim without being pretty sure I can get my money back.

DarkFallout

laticsforlife wrote: »

So do we have a definitive list of the companies that would be OK,

Hertz
Avis
Sixt ?
Budget ?

And if I have already booked and paid months ago with Easyjet, would it cost me anything to cancel it and book again, utilising the double difference claim system, as I could realistically get £143.72 back and rent the same car that I am paying around £110 for, for £69.82

Price paid £110 (I did quite well at the time didnt I)
New quote £213.54
Sixt price £141.68
New cost £69.82

so if cancellation is less than £40 then I'll be in profit ??

Hang on a minute, Easyjet booking now for a medium car is £313
Sixt for an intermediate (think the same) is £143. Double that difference is £340 making it free???

So it's definitley important to ensure who they will accept a price-match against.

Sixt is a worldwide group so I can't see that Easyjet could deny them as a just being a broker, but I'm a coward to try and cancel, rebook, claim without being pretty sure I can get my money back.

I have the same question regarding Sixt, do they accept it or not.

I need to book a car from 27 of October until 8th of Novemeber in UK and I can make a good refund for intermediate cars with price comparison to Sixt.

From what I have read there is no cancellation fee for the first 14 days after the booking.

I think you can not get the refund without the booking being paid and the rental fisnihed but I am not sure.

Anyway Sixt is not so important I can do it through comparison to Hertz as well.

Are these comparable:

VW PASSAT 1.9 S TD or similar (EasyJet) 387.50 pounds

and

(D) Ford Mondeo TDCI Zetec or similar (Hertz) 311.93 pounds

and would it be diesel for sure?

salerbil

TBeckett100 wrote: »

budget is not a broker.

This is what they told me after I had been booked 8 for over a week
They gave me a refund

As stated in the Terms and Conditions, the competitor price must be another International Car Rental Company and only direct prices will be matched. The company you have stated, Budget is a Broker and does not own or operate any vehicles. Their vehicles are actually supplied by a third party.

TBeckett100

Budget combines the strength of one of the world’s largest car rental brands together with the detailed local knowledge, flexibility and great value for money you need.

Established in 1958, the Budget Rent a Car brand is licenced within Europe, the Middle East and Africa to Zodiac Europe Ltd (a subsidiary of Avis Europe Plc). Budget locations are either directly owned or franchised to local operators across the region.

Our global network now includes more than 3,400 locations, operating a wide range of cars, trucks and vans in 128 countries.