Best Car Hire Companies

Z

Zeld4

Senior member
 Oxford
Hi everyone

Just wondered which car hire companies people have used and how you’d rate them.
I’ve hired a mondeo sized car from Enterprise and
I went in to the rental place couple of weeks ago to book it. I asked for a mondeo sized diesel car and the assistant said she couldn’t promise which car it would be or if t would be diesel but it would either be a Mondeo, Insignia, Hyundai i40 or a Qashqai. “Er, I’m really sorry but a Qashqai won’t have a big enough boot” I said. “Ok sir I’ll make a note that it needs to be one of the other cars”.
“Does an i40 have the same hatch style boot as the Mondeo or Insignia”? “ Yes it does sir, it’s in the same class”.
All great then until I turn up today to collect it. It happened to be an i40 and it has a saloon type boot which is no good for what I need it for as the opening isn’t big enough.

Managed to get it sorted with quite a lot of persistence, explaining that the reason I needed a mondeo style car for a particular reason and that’s why I hired it, and surely you should be able to hire exactly what you want and need.

Do all car hire companies operate like this or do others give you at least what you asked for?

Sorry for very boring post and question but I’m going to be hiring cars quite a bit over the next few months.

Cheers
 
They all do it.

The only exception I’ve seen is where Avis/Hertz/Enterprise offer a premium, specific car...can be 4 times the price though.

I’ve had a C1 (group 1/A) when I’ve requested a Passat/Mondeo class of vehicle (group f or g) and had to cancel and find something else from another provider. But I’ve also had it the other way when I’ve asked for a group c vehicle (small-medium 5 door) and been given an E-class.

Most of the time I get the ‘group’ I’ve asked for, but the range of sales/dimensions of the vehicles in that group are so wide that it could be a Mondeo, Kadjar or Leon. But I do moan when I don’t get a diesel, as it effectively doubles my hire cost due to the extra cost of the fuel for the 500 miles I’m doing.
 
I"ve used Europcar , for a few years here and abroad, You generally get the same from them as well but usually get upgraded for free when they don"t have what I requested
 
Hire companies seem to think that upgrading you is great. It doesn't always work in your favour.
Years ago I booked a transit from Mitchells. Turned up to collect and was told they didn't have a transit available but you will be pleased that we have upgraded you to a Luton for no extra charge.
No extra charge maybe on the hire side of it but heavier vehicle, more fuel and more expensive ticket on the ferry I was going on due to the size of the van.
Only needed it to pick up a bike.

The advert for Sixt with the 5 series. Do you think you would book it and turn up and get given something else?
 
Thanks for your replies guys, sounds like it’s much of a muchness. I’m not too worried if it’s not a diesel because there are four of us in the car so the cost is going to be split. But can you believe one of the other options they game me was this!41E70D62-51FE-4D16-A000-5463CEADDE13.jpeg
Imagine going from London to Glasgow in that!! Haha
 
I use Enterprise cos its local - you can't pin them down to an exact make and model, but to be fair they've always provided a motor fit for purpose and often upgraded to a motor that did the job.
 
I get a lot of hire cars for work, they all do as you say. Pretty rare to actually get what you ask for, the amount of times i get chunky 4x4s when all i wanted was something like a focus is ridiculous.

I've ended up settling with my local Enterprise and i think the fact that i always go to them helps. They know me and i know them, they wont fob me off or try to claim damage that i haven't caused because they know they have regular business with me.
 
I’ve generally had positive experiences with hiring cars but I’ll never use Europcar ever again. The last time I did I dropped the car off at Heathrow Airport and made sure it was checked in OK with no damage recorded and kept the paperwork to prove it. Weeks later on checking my credit card statement I saw that Europcar had debited £350. Phoning them for a reason I was told it was because I’d returned the vehicle with a broken windscreen. This was completely false and fortunately because I’d retained the check-in paperwork I eventually got the money back but it took weeks and quite a few phone calls. Searching the web it turned out that complaints about Europcar for ripping people off for bogus damage were very common.

If you do use Europcar NEVER drop the car off at an unattended branch and always keep the paperwork given to you that records the condition of the vehicle on return. This is probably good advice for using any car hire company!
 
Before you hire any car read the small print. Take out a yearly car hire excess policy for £40 then listen at the hire desk as they rip off people trying to sell them excess insurance. Remember the letter thing you need from DVLA , they charge you if you don't have it, and also bring along a bank statement or two with your address. You look round the car like you were going to buy it paying attention to the wheels, rims and exterior bodywork. Take pictures of any damage. But if you are in Greece don't bother.
 
raymond.harper said:
Before you hire any car read the small print. Take out a yearly car hire excess policy for £40 then listen at the hire desk as they rip off people trying to sell them excess insurance. Remember the letter thing you need from DVLA , they charge you if you don't have it, and also bring along a bank statement or two with your address. You look round the car like you were going to buy it paying attention to the wheels, rims and exterior bodywork. Take pictures of any damage. But if you are in Greece don't bother.
Click to expand...
Haha excellent advice thank you! But when I picked the car up today I didn’t need anything from the DVLA. They just gave me the key. Hmm hope they don’t ask for one tomorrow when I go back to get the mondeo
 
Zeld4 said:
raymond.harper said:
Before you hire any car read the small print. Take out a yearly car hire excess policy for £40 then listen at the hire desk as they rip off people trying to sell them excess insurance. Remember the letter thing you need from DVLA , they charge you if you don't have it, and also bring along a bank statement or two with your address. You look round the car like you were going to buy it paying attention to the wheels, rims and exterior bodywork. Take pictures of any damage. But if you are in Greece don't bother.
Click to expand...
Haha excellent advice thank you! But when I picked the car up today I didn’t need anything from the DVLA. They just gave me the key. Hmm hope they don’t ask for one tomorrow when I go back to get the mondeo
Click to expand...
You just go on the DVLA website and they give you a code after you fill in their details. Every time I have hired a car in the UK they have asked for this code which is only valid for 21 days. People from abroad do not need the code. If you don't have it they will charge you for it.
 
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