Our experienced and professional team work to seek out good value car rental deals and offer a booking facility for hired vehicles in UK providing all your holiday and business auto requirements. We are dedicated to providing our customers with the cheapest car hire rates we can achieve. We are not prepared to compromise on the quality of vehicles or the standard of service offered, so we use only the best, and offer a comprehensive guide detailing vehicle specifications. Do not hesitate to contact us if you require further advice, the reservations team have hired so many cars that their expertise is invaluable in helping you to rent the most suitable car for your journey. 4rentacar.com enable cars to be hired abroad and at home, from one day rentals.
Suppliers used are some of the largest minibus van and car rental operators, deals are offered with discounts that represent ‘real value for money’.
As the Christmas holiday period fast approaches Car Hire companies start to run out of vehicles to meet the demand. Prices for the busy periods get expensive and eventually forward bookings can be stopped. If you know your itinerary then you can book your car hire for Christmas in advance safe in the knowledge that you have the hire vehicle you want, from the location you want for a reasonable price. 4rentacar.com offer competitive car hire prices throughout the year, using our buying power to keep car hire rates low. 4rentacar.com has great one way car hire deals, which are economical for Airport transfers. 4rentacar.com has some specialist suppliers offering special vehicles such as 8 seat vehicle hire cars, 9 seat shuttle buses and 4×4 hire. But beware, book early while stocks last!
CAR RENTAL IN THE UK
Cheapest in the UK. Unlimited mileage. Insurance included. No excess charges. Free pick-up. Free upgrades. No deposit. Free second drivers. Special weekend rates. No collision damage waiver required.
These are just some of the tempting offers you will see from car rental companies to secure your business. However, when you want to rent a car, it can be rather confusing exactly what you are getting for your money – although some firms are certainly more transparent than others – and it can become very expensive. The last thing you want to see is an advertised £59.95 weekend special costing you £99.
Irrespective of who you choose to rent your car from, you must make your own firm ground rules before you pick up the phone, go on-line or walk over the threshold.
Forewarned is forearmed
Firstly, based on the journeys you think you are likely to make and the number of passengers and luggage, decide firmly in advance what size car you need and how much you think your final budget needs to come in under – not forgetting the petrol you might need. The terms to describe cars vary between companies, and while a mid-sized car from one firm might enable you to take the family of five in luxury anywhere, to another it might only be just suitable for your partner, you and one piece of hand luggage to travel 10 miles before back ache sets in.
Making this decision will also help you avoid the ‘nice young person’ at the rental firm overselling to you and thus encouraging you to make a decision you regret 30 seconds after you sign along the dotted line.
Get the estimations right
In the same way you don’t pick up the Yellow Pages and employ the first decorator you see without a quote, you need to seek out several rental companies for price estimates. It is useful to check which ones are at your point of departure, as it is pointless using Acme as the cheapest if their nearest depot involves a hefty delivery surcharge! Also, might a town pick-up and return be cheaper than an airport pick-up and return – even with the transfer factored in?
Phone, email, check the internet or, if using a travel agent, ask them to check for you. See if there are any specials available, such as weekly savers or weekend specials and ensure you check carefully that any special offers hold true at the time and day you propose to collect the car. Also, check that your time of return in relation to your time of collection doesn’t force an extra day’s rental charge.
Any broken records?
Even if you get swiftly to the point where you are happy with your choice and the company has accepted your proposal in principle, you may find that your driving record doesn’t meet company expectations. Your speed camera fine may disqualify you from the special offer you have agreed to. So check in advance what they consider adverse towards renting you a car.
Extra, extra read all about it
You also need to ask what extras might increase the price you have agreed, or any special rate you have seen advertised. The company might require a hefty deposit or refundable charge. Are there mileage fees over a certain mileage? Do they insist on you taking out their daily Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)? Is there extra for insurance? Are there additional driver fees? Or perhaps fuel charges? Baby seat charges? One way rental charges? Sadly, the list can be endless.
It will be much simpler for you – and for them – if you get the rental company to spell out exactly what extras are charged before you sign your rental agreement, thus avoiding financial disputes – and unexpected extra payments – when the rental is over.
Also, check whether the company insists on a full tank of fuel when you return the car. It can be an expensive mistake – and quit improvable afterwards -to suggest the car was only half-full of fuel when you took delivery of it. And if you need a baby seat, would it save money to bring your own or to even buy a booster and discard it when you’ve finished?
What’s the damage?
Carefully do a pre-delivery check for any exterior or interior damage to the car. The rules have been tightened over the years in favour of the consumer, but if you don’t take their own Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) policy out, they can be especially microscopic about what they consider to be damage to the car upon its return.
CDW is one of those extras that is a good money spinner for the rental company. It’s technically not insurance, more of a guarantee that the rental company will pay for any damage done by you or to the car by a third party. However, it can be a necessary evil if your own personal car insurance policy doesn’t cover it – you could otherwise be liable for anything up to the full value of the car in the case of a collision, and CDW won’t pay for personal or property damage. Be warned that it can inflate the price of your car rental considerably, and there are various instances where you won’t, entirely at the rental company’s discretion (although it will be in the small print), be covered. For example, if your accommodation suggests a short cut to their property over an unpaved road to save a 4 mile journey and damage occurs, you may not be covered because the unpaved road was an exclusion.
You will sometimes find that the insurance coverage offered by the car rental companies just duplicates your own – especially if comprehensive – car, home, medical and travel insurance. So don’t be pressurised if your own insurance company is happy to take the rental on under your own existing policy. Check in advance, and let the buyer beware of snappy sales talk.
On the day of rental
You may have signed up for a particular car to find that the company hasn’t one available at your time of arrival. To assist you out of the door, most will offer a similar model, which can be technical speak for a ‘free upgrade’. Just make sure all the agreed terms and conditions hold – for example, you may have requested and paid for an automatic and actually receive a manual.
Bear in mind that you may need a credit card – although many car rental firms accept debit cards for the deposit, which will leave your bank account immediately and won’t be re-deposited until up to seven days after your rental is over. Some will take cash, but this will entail possibly a higher deposit and only during working hours.
When you receive the paperwork, although boring and time-consuming, check the figures and small print before you sign anything that renders the rental agreement legal. You are a total stranger renting an expensive piece of metal that the company has a hefty vested interest in.
They say it’s all over
When your rental is over, make sure you return it in within the agreed time, or there may be an extra charge. It can be useful to return it in the same pristine condition you should have originally received it in. And check the final receipt matches the charges expecting and signed for. Check the petrol if you have to return it with a full tank – if the rental company has to fill the tank, it will probably be at a premium price and they will fill it to the brim to capitalise upon that surcharge.
In summation
Do all your homework in advance. Prepare the questions you are going to ask. Check out prices. In terms of extras, pretend the car rental company is a budget airline. Check all the paperwork. Check the car.
And remember, if it looks so cheap that it seems too good to be true, it possibly will be.
We offer a presence at many towns and all major Airports in Scotland, England and Ireland. In the UK – car hire is not just at London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport – the London hire garages cover all the suburbs and central London and also the regional UK airports – car hire in Edinburgh and in Glasgow are very popular. Discover cheap Car Hire and cheap Van rental – Minibus Hire too! Hire a motor car in Ireland big discounts are applied to cars hired at Shannon Airport and Dublin Airport, these cheap rates are hard to beat. We have access to modern multi-franchise fleets consisting of thousands of car, people carrier, mini vans, convertibles, vans, minibus and 4×4’s. We can fulfil both corporate travel and holiday hire requirements in Scotland, England and Ireland. Many cities, especially within UK have out of town airports – so for your convenience two car rental options are offered, for example Edinburgh Airport vehicle hire branch is based at the Airport some eight miles from the downtown Edinburgh rental depot. The same happens with Glasgow airport as Glasgow City centre is some distance away.
Automatic and manual vehicles can be collected at Gatwick Airport or National Car hire from Heathrow. London’s fourth terminal, Luton Airport rental office has estate cars and people carriers ready to be driven. We have cars for hire in London and cover the East of London with collection branches at London City airport and Stansted airport.
For tourists on holiday in Europe, cheap car hire in Spain can be booked online, including Majorca with rental cars at Palma Airport, Costa del sol as well as Costa Blanca. These account for a large part of Spains holiday destinations ‘holiday Autos’ give the freedom for driving holidays abroad. Denia and Murcia Airport have recently become very busy and early booking is advised. Alicante Airport has representatives from many large car rental operators . Luxury car hire in France, or economy car hire in Sweden allows you to nip about or enjoy luxury car hire for business and holiday travel – in Europe 4rentacar.com are offering very cheap car rental rates when you book online.
Visitor to Ireland, can rent a car from all the International airports. In the North of Ireland Belfast car hire, at Aldergrove and in the east you can hire car at Dublin Airport, In Southern Ireland branches are at Cork Airport, and to the North West of Ireland at Shannon airport.
Instant real time hire car booking from car rental agents offers you flexibility and cheap car hire prices, with efficient e-voucher reservations by return – so simple, renting has never been easier! Rising fuel costs and recession may drive car renters to take public transport – or book shorter rental periods, we aim to offer competitive weekend and weekday rates.
For further online help in planning your journey, and quotes for hiring a car in Europe “Advice Car hire” is recommended for excellent driving information, and try this site for hiring in the USA the rental rates have online discounts. We appreciate hearing your 4rentacar.com experiences so if you have hired a car we would appreciate your feedback – book your car rental again soon – drive safely!
In UK, the law regarding car seats for children whilest being driven on the roads in UK apply in cars, vans and goods vehicles. As you proceed through the online rental car booking system, you will be able to request to hire child car seats with the vehicles. Read the Government guide to children’s car seats before motoring in UK with children – purchase or hire the correct restraints before driving and remember – In a crash someone not wearing a seat belt in a vehicle is more likely to die than someone using one.