Car hire: Is there a better way?

Russinating · 21 Jan 2013 at 11:12

I sold my car over a year ago as I didn't use it enough. I cycle to work, get online shopping, walk/taxi/bus everywhere else etc.

My girlfriend also has a car who's since moved to Bristol which we use for the odd trip here and there as well as family and the like.

However I'm also a wedding videographer and in the summer need a car almost every weekend. All of 2012 I decided I'd simply hire cars. I've been using Europcar and have just totted up the total cost of doing this.

Actual Spend: £582
Predicted Spend: £776 (I used my girlfriend's car 4 times, this is how much I would have spent had I not done this)
Quidco Cashback: -£129
Total: £453 (~£600 Predicted)

This is for 21 separate weekends hiring Friday-Monday. My thought at the start of 2012 was always that the cost will be less than insurance + tax, which it seems to be thereabouts.

I don't think there's a better or cheaper way of doing this but I wanted to ask in case I was missing something? I'm not a car nut, only owned one car and have never leased so I may well be. Thoughts?

apeksdiver · 21 Jan 2013 at 11:15

No I think thats the cheapest way of doing it, well done.

paradigm · 21 Jan 2013 at 11:17

I guess it depends on whether or not your want to own a car?

Insurance + Tax will likely cost roughly the same as your hire costs, but you then have a car for whenever you need it, day or night, in emergency, etc.

Yes you'll have to spend £1000-1500 to get something simple that you can rely on, but come time to sell it and you'll recoup a proportion of that cost.

If you have no desire to own a vehicle then the best you can really do is find a local hire company and negotiate a deal based on you being a repeat (and regular) customer.

I hired a van in late December using a local (to me) company, and got almost 50% off just due to having used them a number of times over the last few years.

Russinating · 21 Jan 2013 at 11:26

Yeah, no real desire to own a car. I would love one but after insurance, tax, MOT, servicing, cleaning, repairs, scratches, oil etc etc I really can't be bothered

.

The trouble is me and the lady would love to get a new car when she qualifies this summer but the trouble is she's training to be a midwife and so she'll always need a car available in case she gets called out which leaves me in the same position of having to hire cars anyway.

Another consideration is this year will be cheaper due to now being an Executive Privilege member so I get 20% off plus some other benefits (free upgrade to the next category, don't need to show my counterpart etc). Plus 16% cashback via Quidco atm too.

The guys at my local station are actually very good as well. I often get given an estate diesel if I tell them I'm doing a lot of motorway driving and I had to do an exhibition in October and I got given a massive people carrier thing for the same price as the Corsa I booked.

tom_nieto · 21 Jan 2013 at 11:31

The only other way I can think of would be a local car club. I can't imagine it would be cheaper than how you're doing things now. You get the bonus of having an up to date car which is serviced and looked after for you. Hassle free motoring!

Russinating · 21 Jan 2013 at 11:35

Yeah I used to be a member of City Car Club. Great for popping about and they charge a flat 24 hour rate which isn't too bad (£57 for a medium car) but it's the fuel charge that stings: 23p per mile. I'm regularly doing 200+ miles to weddings and back and that soon adds up.

[TW]Fox · 21 Jan 2013 at 12:33

I am amazed you think £57 for 24 hours in a medium sized car 'isn't too bad' especially when your current figures suggest that Europcar have only charged you an average of £10 a day (Which is stunningly cheap, I can never seem to find prices like that).

rodenal · 21 Jan 2013 at 13:03

It does seem good value - our corporate rate is £30 / day for a focus sized car.

[TW]Fox · 21 Jan 2013 at 13:04

rodenal said:
It does seem good value - our corporate rate is £30 / day for a focus sized car.

Which is more inline with what I've found, with non corporate rates even higher.

By contrast I pay about that to hire a luxury saloon in the states..

Russinating · 21 Jan 2013 at 14:01

[TW]Fox;23601748 said:
I am amazed you think £57 for 24 hours in a medium sized car 'isn't too bad' especially when your current figures suggest that Europcar have only charged you an average of £10 a day (Which is stunningly cheap, I can never seem to find prices like that).

I said it wasn't bad, not that it was great

. This is also bearing in mind that I only really need a car for a Saturday, but due to station opening times I have to hire Friday-Monday. So whilst say £50 average with Europcar works out at £16 a day, I'm only using it for one day so it's kind of irrelevant.

Your last comment suggests I'm possibly lying about the costs, but for example my next hire requirement is 20th April:

Minus 16% cashback from Quidco is £34.28 for the Corsa. So yeah, £11 per day or £17 per full day.

Also noticed that they've now added mileage limits but fortunately I'll never do 900 miles in a single weekend.

phil675 · 21 Jan 2013 at 14:08

Try renting a van from a local place instead, it might be cheaper

paradigm · 21 Jan 2013 at 14:13

An UP! or a Corsa aren't exactly "medium sized" are they, they are decidedly tiny.

Russinating · 21 Jan 2013 at 14:15

I didn't say they were? :confused:

paradigm · 21 Jan 2013 at 14:17

Ah, you compared the car club (£57 flat charge for a medium sized car) to your hire charges.

I was therefore assuming that your hire would have been for something more substantial than a hamster wheel.

Russinating · 21 Jan 2013 at 14:23

No, I said their prices weren't that bad. Wasn't directly comparing

. Personally I really like the Clios and Corsas. Big enough for all my kit and decent MPG and most of them have all the mod cons - cruise control, heated seats, air con, aux in etc.

I get a free upgrade to the next category but as long as it's got cruise control I'm generally not that fussed.

Third Opinion · 21 Jan 2013 at 15:48

Sounds very cheap, the only downside I can ever see is when we get weather like this and you really need a car. We had 2 cars booked for Friday (local hire company) for a 1 day seminar on the Saturday. The hire companies refused to let them out on the road conditions.

Sagalout · 21 Jan 2013 at 16:03

Why do you really need a car in weather like this? When its like this mine stays on the drive and I walk (past all the queuing cars!)

Third Opinion · 21 Jan 2013 at 16:09

Sagalout said:
Why do you really need a car in weather like this? When its like this mine stays on the drive and I walk (past all the queuing cars!)

I would rather not drive in this let alone hire a car. Except people still need to work and things can't always be cancelled. Our company was trying to stop wear and tear on our cars and save us public transport.

Didn't work lol

Cristian · 21 Jan 2013 at 16:56

Russinating said:
I said it wasn't bad, not that it was great . This is also bearing in mind that I only really need a car for a Saturday, but due to station opening times I have to hire Friday-Monday. So whilst say £50 average with Europcar works out at £16 a day, I'm only using it for one day so it's kind of irrelevant.

Be very careful with that as if the station is closed you will get away a few times with returning on Monday but you'll get charged for the whole weekend after a while, even though they let you book online for a day.

This happened to me in the Colchester branch and was forced to pay the full amount one weekend (if you add in the ridiculous young driver surcharge and excess cover it's quite a bit extra). They wouldn't back off despite speaking to the manager and then escalating it to the customer service line. After being fobbed off for a month with pathetic excuses they decided that it wasn't their fault I only needed a car for a day and the website let me book it like so.

Russinating · 21 Jan 2013 at 21:01

I am paying for the whole weekend? Think you misread my post.