northgate van hire any good?

londonTiger

What are your thoughts for northgate van hire for business?

I just realised that I was paying a fortune for zipvan - having to hire for 4-5 hours because of London driving. Which exceeds the daily rate of northgate van hire.

The bonus with zipvan is that it's literally 50 steps from my house so I don't have to drive out to pick up the northgate van.

How is the company like generally to deal with? Hidden charges? Do they try to fleece you with hidden "damages" that were there from prior to your rental but they insist you did it?

BikerEd

My experience is they're reasonable and efficient. My chief criticism is the quality & condition of the vehicles. Don't expect the same level of cleanliness as you'd get renting a car from Hertz or Avis. The interiors can be filthy with stains on the upholstery that you'd rather not think about how they got there! Exteriors can feature a large number of dents and scratches, so be sure you do a thorough walk around at handover time.

Gloomendoom

We use them at work. I'd recommend them. They do have a habit of not picking vans up for days though.

londonTiger

BikerEd wrote: »

My experience is they're reasonable and efficient. My chief criticism is the quality & condition of the vehicles. Don't expect the same level of cleanliness as you'd get renting a car from Hertz or Avis. The interiors can be filthy with stains on the upholstery that you'd rather not think about how they got there! Exteriors can feature a large number of dents and scratches, so be sure you do a thorough walk around at handover time.

I would just pay for full damage waiver if they offered it, without it - It feels like I'm taking a gamble. Unfortunaterly the lowest they offer is £250 excess and you have to pay £9 a day for that to reduce it from £750 to £250.

I hired a car from a national chain years back and they went all inspector morse on me on drop off and identified "marks" on the car that I never spotted. marks on the wing mirror, rear bumper, alloys etc. The car was driven very carefully and driven for less than 20 miles in total. That put me hiring right off (unless they offer full damage waiver).

I can get a excess insurance but the problem with that is if they insist on the damage and charge me - that's still a claim on insurance which I have to disclose for the next 5 years.