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Car Rental: Well in Advance or Last Minute?

Mehitabel
Mehitabel Posts: 45 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
Hi.
Very basic question here, aimed at experienced car renters.

We will need to rent a car for a long period (two and a half weeks) in Scotland, over next Christmas and New Year. Is it a good idea to organise it now... Or might we get a better deal by leaving it nearer the time?

Any hints and tips for doing it without bankrupting ourselves are also welcome! 

Thanks. 

Comments

  • JGB1955
    JGB1955 Posts: 3,872 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I would use Zest (car rental broker).  You can make a booking now then change it, with no fee, if the price drops before your rental starts.
    #2 Saving for Christmas 2024 - £1 a day challenge. £325 of £366
  • born_again
    born_again Posts: 20,680 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper
    I would book now if wanting something over holiday periods.
    Life in the slow lane
  • Mildly_Miffed
    Mildly_Miffed Posts: 1,644 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    Good last minute prices are when they have a yard full of cars and nobody wanting them.

    Does that sound like Xmas and NY to you? Nor me.
  • Nebulous2
    Nebulous2 Posts: 5,679 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I'd book now and be done with it. I use rentalcars.com, which is a booking.com company. Another option is going direct to Enterprise. 

    I'm in Scotland, and I don't entirely agree with the above comment. Car hire companies often offer good weekend deals. The reason for that is that many of their customers are corporate ones who don't want weekends. That applies to a slightly lesser extent for holiday periods - more retail, less corporate. 

    I wouldn't leave Christmas to a last minute booking, as you risk not getting a car at all..... 
  • MyRealNameToo
    MyRealNameToo Posts: 769 Forumite
    500 Posts Name Dropper
    Good last minute prices are when they have a yard full of cars and nobody wanting them.
    But exceptionally high prices if the yard is half full and you have desperate people turning up.

    Does that sound like Xmas and NY to you? Nor me.
    It can happen but the odds arent good 
  • Goudy
    Goudy Posts: 2,198 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    You do have plenty of time, so if it was me I would keep an eye out on all the different trawler sites, but I wouldn't leave it to the last minute, Scotland is popular at Christmas/new year.

    Skyscanner, rental cars, holiday autos are trawler sites that tend to throw up deals.
    These tend to be good if picking up at airports or city centres and give you a good idea of the going rates.
    Some airports and towns tend to be cheaper than others, so if you have options on place that can help.

    I'd also look around for any local companies, again it depends on pick up and drop off arrangements.
    Tripadvisor might throw up local companies in the area to want.


    Quite often the prices on trawler sites are low but cars often come with high excess.
    So in the event of damage you might have to pay the first £1000 or more.

    You could pay the hire company for full cover, but it's usually eye wateringly expensive.

    Some trawlers sites offer full or near full cover polices, again they tend to be expensive and/or limited.

    What I do is buy a standalone excess policy.
    You can search them from here and choose the coverage that suits you. This is usually the cheapest way often a few quid a week.
     MoneyMaxim | Compare Car Hire & Excess Insurance

    You would have to pay the excess (often blocked on your credit card) in the event of damage, then claim it back on the policy.
    (some won't cover Green Motion. I'm not going to say why in public, but it's not hard to find out why)

    You might get some hard sell at the pick up desk for their own coverage.
    Say nothing, just smile and say a firm no thank you.
    Tell them you have it or you don't want it and they'll lie and badger you to death.




  • daveyjp
    daveyjp Posts: 13,612 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Also bear in mind Scotland has high demand for hire cars over summer, which then drops off and the hire car fleets are reduced and ex hire car fleets sold off.  There should be no major issue with airport pick ups, but smaller centres may not have as many vehicles on their stock lists.

    One of my local Ford main dealers used to be full of ex hire cars in October which they received from Hertz car hire centres, many were from Jersey where winter demand was very low.
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