Car rental recommendations?

[FnG]magnolia · 25 May 2015 at 08:58

Gents,

Looking for advice and recommendations for a UK car rental place. Having not been there for almost 6 years I'm a bit out of the loop. I imagine the big names are still around but is there any benefit in comparison sites and do they exist?

We'll need a larger car for the period 4th - 16th July, pick up and drop off Glasgow airport.

Any help gratefully received

Raumarik · 25 May 2015 at 09:07

Enterprise - I've used several branches around the UK and they've always been good.

Good choice on flying into Glasgow btw, so much less hassle than Edinburgh (I've done both in the past 6 weeks). Smaller but just.. easier to get out off and on the move!

[TW]Fox · 25 May 2015 at 09:32

Rent from the cheapest major rental firm with a location at Glasgow Airport. This is unlikely to be Enterprise who seem more targeted at the insurance replacement market than consumer rental. Probably be Avis, Hertz or Europcar I'd imagine.

Once you've done this, decline all additional insurance. Purchase an excess insurance policy from somebody like http://www.questor-insurance.co.uk/.

Job done, car hire without any hidden surprises or large costs.

BDEE · 25 May 2015 at 11:01

Interesting take on Enterprise, Fox. I would say totally the opposite about them, especially given how and what they advertise.

To be fair, all the major companies are pretty much a much of a muchness if you are picking up from the airport.

[TW]Fox · 25 May 2015 at 11:04

It's probably going to come down to car choice and price really, it can be quite difficult to get a car that isn't horrible without paying through the nose so it pays to shop around.

Jingo... · 25 May 2015 at 11:07

Hired from Enterprise at Edinburgh airport for a week - we went for the cheapest possible rental and declined all extra insurances. We were upgraded for free following a polite enquiry and they were both the cheapest and generally very pleasant all round.

ganesh · 25 May 2015 at 11:27

I'm not sure if you can rent a Segway from Glasgow airport.

[TW]Fox · 25 May 2015 at 11:36

Jingo... said:
we went for the cheapest possible rental and declined all extra insurances.

Only decline the insurance options if you've already covered yourself separately using a firm like the one I've linked to above. It costs all of £2 a day and frees you from the typical 'I didn't do that, honest' arguments with rental firms if they find a dent or something.

asim18 · 25 May 2015 at 12:04

[TW]Fox;28082607 said:
Only decline the insurance options if you've already covered yourself separately using a firm like the one I've linked to above. It costs all of £2 a day and frees you from the typical 'I didn't do that, honest' arguments with rental firms if they find a dent or something.

I think you need to stop denting your rentals.

How does excess insurance from a non-related third party stop your rental place saying "damaged car" and automatically charging you the excess, it's not really going to stop them charging you for whatever damage fees they have because the contract is with you and your credit card? Many of these places will only give you a car if you have enough funds for them to automatically charge a damage fee. Surely getting those funds reimbursed will take time with your third party insurer?

Personally I get the damage waiver direct from the company (not that I've ever come close to even scratching a rental), that is really what stops them from quibbling over damage, not some random "excess insurance certificate" from a third party. In fact if they see you're covered by a third party, it will be in their interest to say "you did that"!

PinkPig · 25 May 2015 at 12:21

asim18 said:
Personally I get the damage waiver direct from the company (not that I've ever come close to even scratching a rental), that is really what stops them from quibbling over damage, not some random "excess insurance certificate" from a third party. In fact if they see you're covered by a third party, it will be in their interest to say "you did that"!

If you get insurance from a third-party then you do need to be prepared to pay and claim it back afterwards. Ideally you should find out in advance what documentation the third-party requires to make a claim, so you can make sure you get it.

That is extra work, but you can make a significant saving compared with direct insurance - often it's less than half the price. It's a typical case of deciding whether you want to pay extra for convenience.

[TW]Fox · 25 May 2015 at 12:33

asim18 said:
I think you need to stop denting your rentals.

Never dented a rental, never been charged, but many people have.

How does excess insurance from a non-related third party stop your rental place saying "damaged car" and automatically charging you the excess, it's not really going to stop them charging you for whatever damage fees they have because the contract is with you and your credit card? Many of these places will only give you a car if you have enough funds for them to automatically charge a damage fee. Surely getting those funds reimbursed will take time with your third party insurer?

Sure but who cares? You get the money back. So it's a non-issue. If the rental firm wants to kick off about damage, it's fine, because you are covered.

Personally I get the damage waiver direct from the company

Then you are getting yourself properly ripped off as they charge an absolute fortune for it!

For example just done a quick quote for a 2 week intermediate rental with Europcar - to reduce the excess to zero, which is what the third party insurance does, is a staggering £367!!!

The same period of cover from the link I gave is £37.

So, by getting it direct from the company you are paying TEN TIMES MORE. It's a huge margin product for the rental firms and they absolutely love selling it because they make a fortune from it.

I suspect the reality is your view is theoretical and you don't rent cars, because I'm staggered anyone could advise just taking the coverage from the rental firm unless they didn't really understand the market.

233 · 25 May 2015 at 13:34

All the big names work our of GLA just enterprise hertz dollar and so on. Just find whoever offers you the car you want at the best price

Coming in Emirates 025/7 by chance or up from London?

All the rental desks are located right next to domestic arrivals opposite Starbucks btw

ADT · 25 May 2015 at 13:35

What ever you do, don't use Green Motion.

asim18 · 25 May 2015 at 15:57

[TW]Fox;28082812 said:
Never dented a rental, never been charged, but many people have.

Sure but who cares? You get the money back. So it's a non-issue. If the rental firm wants to kick off about damage, it's fine, because you are covered.

Then you are getting yourself properly ripped off as they charge an absolute fortune for it!

For example just done a quick quote for a 2 week intermediate rental with Europcar - to reduce the excess to zero, which is what the third party insurance does, is a staggering £367!!!

The same period of cover from the link I gave is £37.

So, by getting it direct from the company you are paying TEN TIMES MORE. It's a huge margin product for the rental firms and they absolutely love selling it because they make a fortune from it.

I suspect the reality is your view is theoretical and you don't rent cars, because I'm staggered anyone could advise just taking the coverage from the rental firm unless they didn't really understand the market.

I don't "rent cars" but I have rented cars when I have needed to in the past.

You have completely misinterpreted my post, I'm not "advising" the OP take the damage waiver from the rental company. What you should be "staggered" about is you reading things which aren't written. Of course paying 10 times less is obviously better. I'm not sure why this has turned into some sort of competition about who's been in more rental cars while spending the least money.

All I said was "Personally I get the damage waiver direct from the company" because that's what I have done in the past. It's because I live here and if I've ever needed a UK rental its been booked only a couple of days in advance at most for only a few days at most for some silly reason like it doesn't smell of fags like my own car. I would be annoyed if I had to go through paperwork and phone-calls just to get back £500 for denting a stupid rental I had for 48 hours when I could have just paid £20 extra for ticking a box, and believe me more people tick the box than go finding extra insurance, especially if it's for only a few days.

If Magnolia needs a rental for 2 weeks with months to plan his trip then yes I'm sure he can certainly be bothered to sort out his damage excess insurance.

koooowweeee · 25 May 2015 at 16:06

Enterprise charge £10 a day for zero excess

Kuros · 25 May 2015 at 17:10

You can always haggle them down, though. I think I got mine down to about 2 quid a day. Given I had a weeks rental, saves flaffing about with forms and calls.