FabSwingers.com forum: Rent a Car

By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Any tips on what to look out for? and which company is the cheapest, though still okay.

If one was to hire a car for say a month, any particular company you would recommend? or does it not really matter... and say if I was to rent only on need basis during the month?

this is for Edinburgh :/

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Google

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By *illbillMan
over a year ago

dublin

steal one...that way u save a packet and get the car u want..

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Have googled :-/ thought it might be worth asking for tips - for the word of mouth still stands out

Stealing is definitely worth considering lol

Thanks

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

You maybe better using a brokering service than going to a specific provider.

They usuall have deals that you wouldn't find going direct.

Beware some of the cheaper deals and do read the terms and conditions.

As an example, a car may be £20 cheaper than a rival, but when you compare the deals it works out more expensive as you have to buy a full tank of fuel off them when you pick the car up.

That tank will be at their price not pump price and thus would be more expensive than a provider that supplies the car empty and you put your own fuel in.

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By *ercedes62Woman
over a year ago

Northampton

"You maybe better using a brokering service than going to a specific provider.

They usuall have deals that you wouldn't find going direct.

Beware some of the cheaper deals and do read the terms and conditions.

As an example, a car may be £20 cheaper than a rival, but when you compare the deals it works out more expensive as you have to buy a full tank of fuel off them when you pick the car up.

That tank will be at their price not pump price and thus would be more expensive than a provider that supplies the car empty and you put your own fuel in."

Also be careful on the mileage issue as some limit the mileage per day/contract.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Thanks guys... x

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Also, if you can pick up from an airport you are also likely to be offered a better selection of both cars and deals than if you collect in a city centre.

The city centre branches tend to be smaller with fewer vehicles and more demand hence prices can differ quite considerably from an airport collection point.

Airport collections also generally offer better collection and drop off times due to their extended business hours.

If you are there for say a business convention, book early as when there are things on in a city like trade exhibitions, demand tends to rise quite dramatically.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

You will get a better deal, the longer you book the vehicle for too.

Day by day spot prices are always higher than those rented for longer periods.

For booking longer than say a week, you could be looking at a discount of 15-20% on daily prices.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Check Martin Lewis old consumer site for best deals/discount codes keep rental under 28 days for best rates

Renting from airport sites will hit you with an airport surcharge

If you book in advance you will get the full range of vehicles from all locations, it is up to the company to sort it out. If they don't have the car you have booked when you get there you should get an upgrade

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

[Removed by poster at 06/03/13 09:55:52]

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Check Martin Lewis old consumer site for best deals/discount codes keep rental under 28 days for best rates

Renting from airport sites will hit you with an airport surcharge

IF the terms and conditions say so - please, please, please read them !

They are obliged to tell you if they do not have the class of vehicle available to book at the time of booking.

So if say you wanted a VW Passat and got a top of the range Mondeo instead that would be classed as being in the same vehicle class.

If however, you booked a 9 seat minivan and only a 7 seat was available, that should be confirmed to you at the point of booking and alternatives offered.

When booking through a broker, they obviously have to confirm with the company / branch you are collecting from ref availability.

That is not instant and a confirmation can take 2/3 days.

Your booking may look booked but until it is confirmed, it isn't.

They will take a block off your credit card to cover the cost of hire, but they cannot physically take the money until their supplier has confirmed availability.

At that point, you will receive a confirmation and the monies physically taken off your card.

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By *nnyMan
over a year ago

Glasgow

" ...........

Renting from airport sites will hit you with an airport surcharge

..............."

WTF is an 'airport surcharge' (apart from a thinly disguised excuse for a rip-off?

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By *layfullsamMan
over a year ago

Solihull

you could do a top gear type challenge where you buy a banger use it for the month and sell it to see if it works out cheaper than rental

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By *ercedes62Woman
over a year ago

Northampton

" ...........

Renting from airport sites will hit you with an airport surcharge

...............

WTF is an 'airport surcharge' (apart from a thinly disguised excuse for a rip-off?"

I guess they see it as a convenience hiring a car in one place and leaving at the airport.

They have to then relocate the cars again by transporter i would assume.

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By *ohohoWoman
over a year ago

Up North

I used to work for a well known car hire company.

Online deals are always cheaper.

Yes airports incur a surcharge as the airports charge the car hire companies and the cost is passed on.

Quite a few companies do weekend deals.

Hope that helps x

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

" ...........

Renting from airport sites will hit you with an airport surcharge

...............

WTF is an 'airport surcharge' (apart from a thinly disguised excuse for a rip-off?

I guess they see it as a convenience hiring a car in one place and leaving at the airport.

They have to then relocate the cars again by transporter i would assume."

If you are arriving at or have easy access to an airport though, I would still say they offer both the better choice of vehicle and keener prices (even when including any surcharges).

I can't say for sure but I would imagine the surcharge relates to the cost of parking the vehicles on airport property.

In a city centre, a business with either own or rent the entire property including parking spaces.

In an airport situation, they will pay the airport rent for both their office and the spaces they occupy in the car rental area.

That is likely to make up a good deal of any surcharge, but there is a trade off in that because they have more vehicles there + increased competition on site, rental charges do tend to be more keenly priced (tho admittedly not always)

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

We deal with a lot of hire companies through work, cheapest ain't always best as the charge for every dent ding spot of dirt etc so be aware. For cars we prefer Enterprise, they're at most airports as well as city centre locations but to a collection service where they will pick you up at your hotel / house etc and take you to the branch, they will also recollect the car or take you back when you drop it off.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Speaking from experience, many companies have a site, close to but not on airport property which will offer a cheaper deal than the on site location.

If you are booking in advance, the company will be well aware of what cars are needed at each location and have the vehicles available at the specific time.

There are thousands of discount codes available, some better than others. Who knows, if we all decided to band together we could even possibly have a fab swingers discount. Some of these codes are better than others, some work out worse than the quoted price (crazy I know)

As I said earlier, check out the car hire threads on mse

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