Traveling to England, Car Rental Advice

[Blk95993]

My wife and I will be heading over to England and Ireland in April. Would love to rent something fun-Perhaps a Mini Cooper S. Anyone been lately and what did you rent? How much did you spend per day? Advice appreciated.

[charleskieffner]

a double decker bus!

[whiskyb]

Spent last June in Ireland, England and Paris. Never got behind the wheel once. Between planes, trains and taxis we were well taken care of. They go everywhere and are cheap.

[rouxroux]

Last time we flew to England, we had an Alfa Romeo Turbo Brera. Rented it @ Hertz/Heathrow. Was the same price as many other compacts. Best rental car we've had in ages. Ran very strong, even had mirrors tht did the "auto fold" trick as not to be knocked off in narrow street traffic. Great car, an absolute hoot to drive, drove it hard for 2 weeks and did not burn hardly any fuel (diesel). The only drawback is the traffic around Heathrow early in the morning trying to turn it in & catch the shuttle bus to the terminal. Allow yourself PLENTY of time.

[Blk95993]

Double Decker. That would be a trip.


Rouxroux-

Thats a pretty cool car. Always loved Alpha's. I will check with Hertz.

When I travel, I always like driving cars that are not available in the US. We will be doing a good amount of driving in the country, heading to bath. Flying into Gatwick, as I did hear Heathrow is a nightmare. Thanks for the advice.

[rouxroux]

Blk95993, Heathrow is sort of a hassle, but I truly think I like flying in/out of there than taking the hikes at Gatwick and Stansted. When we go in/out of Heathrow, we usually stay at the Crowne Plaza which is very close, and you can get MAJOR deals on it from Priceline. I think the last time we stayed there we bid $45 US and GOT IT! If you have an AM flight out, it might just pay off to have a nice relaxed stay close in and then just hop over to the airport. But then again, if your airline of choice goes into Gatwick, that will dump you far enough nort of "London proper" to save yourself a bit of headache.

The worst time we ever had was flying into Stansted after 8 hours of a screaming baby hell-flight (the kind that noise-cancelling headphones can NOT abate)and then having to drive up toward Cambridge during PM traffic. Never again.

EDIT: When checking with Hertz, you will find that some of the cars are not available at all outlets. We were lucky that they DID have the Alfa @ Heathrow.

[bonkers]

Couple of things to bear in mind..

First, petrol (gas) in the UK is about a pound a liter, which is upwards of $5.50 a gallon at current conversion rates.

Second, the roads and parking spaces are a lot narrower than you are used to in the US and your sense of where you are in relation to the curb / ditch / stone wall at the side of the road is way off because you are sitting on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of the road. You might want to think twice about renting anything large.

A Mini Cooper S would be a blast on those narrow country roads. Wish I could take the 911 back with me when I go to visit.

[Porsche_monkey]

^^^ What he said.

Get a diesel. Don't try to drive 500 miles the morning you arrive. Every time you think you should look to the right look left. And vice-versa. Read up on the highway/road signs, and how to enter/leave a round-about.

Do not drive if you have had 'a couple of drinks', or if you are very tired.

I think I used to pay 15 P St/day for a sedan.

[vash]

how long are you there?

isnt there a program where you can buy a car from some companies..i cant remember which. peugeot? a very short term lease program for non european citizens? i believe at 31 days, it is more economical than renting. dunno. a new zealander was telling me about it.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Porsche_monkey

Do not drive if you have had 'a couple of drinks', or if you are very tired.

Yeah... especially with that steering-wheel-on-the-wrong-side thing.

Practice shifting with your left hand, too.

[cairns]

I go there a lot, used to even more often. Make sure you directly call the rental car agency (their airport office) you'll be dealing with and ask them for the specific model of car you want. Europcar in Heathrow is terrible*, Hertz and Thrifty are the best IMO. Avis is Vauxhall. The Holiday Inn is excellent advice. There are a few others on the Perimeter/Ring Road too but HI has just remodeled and is a bargain.

*OTOH Europcar in Frankfurt and Sydney is one of the best.

I should add- if you're driving in London you NEED a nav system. I've literally spent years there and it's still easy to get lost.

[Porsche_monkey]

I got my best price from a Ford dealer, not at the airport.

[bonkers]

Originally Posted by cairns

I should add- if you're driving in London you NEED a nav system. I've literally spent years there and it's still easy to get lost.

Don't drive in London. Just don't.

[Kevin4053]

My only advice is to check the car over thoroughly and report any damage or scratches before you take delivery.Remember,they have your credit card number and will charge you big time for any perceived damage. I've seen it happen.
Kevin

[willtel]

I have rented a few cars in England and Europe. Like others stated it is difficult a reserve a specific model unless the rental is model specific like a convertible or something. I think Hertz has a "fun" line where you can rent some neat cars, the best thing they had when I went was a new VW GTI but since I had one at home at the time I didn't bother to pay the upcharge and went with a diesel Golf. Do make sure you use a credit card with rental car insurance to pay for the booking. The mirror was smashed off of my Golf (I folded it in and parked half way up the sidewalk) when it was parked on the street overnight at my brother-in-laws place. Somehow they missed the giant Renault van parked in the street behind it.

Here is a BMW 123i (I think) I rented in Ireland. The rear end got a little squirmy at the beach on the Ring of Kerry!