Car hire in UK

[Bob++]

SMH. We have GPS's at home and know how to use them. But they weren't giving the directions fast enough as we went block to block in London. We'd make a turn and need to make another in 50 feet and the GPS couldn't tell us fast enough. They aren't instant, they do take a few seconds to realize you've turned and give you the next instruction. The destination was set correctly. You make some rather rude assumptions.

 

As far as the M3 diversion on the way back, I'm sure you would do just as well driving in the US in the pitch dark on country roads where the diversion isn't always well marked. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

You assume the car hire is right next to the motorway. It's in a mall located about four miles away. Not as easy as you are trying to make it sound. I was spotting signposts--once there were signposts to spot.

 

 

 

Anything else to add Captain Obvious?

 

No - I'm done.

[insidecabin]

Don't rent a satnav just get the free one for your phone or tablet and use that.

You have to look at the route not voice commands.

[ducklite]

Don't rent a satnav just get the free one for your phone or tablet and use that.

 

You have to look at the route not voice commands.

 

 

Our car came with a built in GPS. Looking at the route doesn't help when you are diverted off the motorway in the pitch dark. My husband reminded me that there was also a detour due to construction near where we picked up the car that kept us from taking the direct route to the M4.

[Globaliser]

A satnav (GPS) should be able to recalculate almost instantly so I am surprised that you had all these problems.

We have GPS's at home and know how to use them. But they weren't giving the directions fast enough as we went block to block in London. We'd make a turn and need to make another in 50 feet and the GPS couldn't tell us fast enough. They aren't instant, they do take a few seconds to realize you've turned and give you the next instruction.

Indeed, I've never yet known a GPS to be able to keep up with my driving. Or, indeed, anyone else's driving. I can always navigate better with a map (and sometimes without a map) than any GPS I've ever known, so I always take and use maps whenever I can.

[Globaliser]

You mentioned slow drivers hogging the middle lane on motorways (highways) unlike the US, you must not "overtake" these cars on the non drivers side, ie the slow lane, but must go round in the faster lane.

I fear I have to apologise for breaking this rule. Frequently.

 

There are far too many middle lane and fast lane hogs here.

[John Bull]

I fear I have to apologise for breaking this rule. Frequently.

 

There are far too many middle lane and fast lane hogs here.

 

You're spending far too much time in the big bad city, G.

We're much more considerate out in the sticks.

You should emigrate to Cornwall - nobody there ever hogs even the middle lane of the motorway. ;)

 

JB :)

[Globaliser]

you should emigrate to cornwall - nobody there ever hogs even the middle lane of the motorway. ;)

:) :) Edited April 11, 2015 by Globaliser

[RMLincoln]

We are planning to rent a car at Gatwick and take a 9 day tour of Cornwall to visit the sights and see our family heritage region.

 

I've had a confusing time looking over the car rental options. Seems that if we take the CDW directly from the rental company it's about double the car costs, throwing in the expensive additional driver costs. All together this seems quite high. But looking over the consolidation companies such as rentalcars dot com and expedia or priceline we could cut the CDW costs in half but then have to take the coverage through a secondary insurance company and risk the rental car company charging our credit card directly for any damage while we await claims to be processed. And this option seems no better than the "free" benefit we get for CDW from our VISA card. sigh....

 

So I think we will go with the more expensive and less risky route and take the heavy CDW coverage from the rental car company. Any suggestions on budget but reputable companies in the UK? In the States we would usually go with someone like Budget, Alamo, Dollar, Thrifty, Enterprise etc. But in Australia we found Hertz to be a good deal.

 

Open to suggestions. Thanks for your continued help. m--

[Iluvcruising2]

Our most recent trip, we hired from the Prestige arm of Avis called Avis Prestige. I picked up the car from their garage in Central London, which is a 5 minute walk from Gloucester Road tube station. Credit to the staff, picking up the car and dropping off was very quick and easy.

 

Hired an Audi A3 S-Line 2.0 Diesel (very important to figure out whether Diesel or Petrol!) Auto transmission which turned out to be almost too small for my family, but we managed to fit.

 

Driving out was easy because we had planned to head northwesterly, avoiding all the congestion area and charges. Traffic in London is congested. Traffic in most towns and cities of UK is also very congested. So be prepared for that. Full of congested circles everywhere.

 

We only took the car for 2 days. A very short rental.

 

From London, we drove to High Wycombe where we based ourselves at the Premier Inn for 2 nights. We visited Windsor (for the castle), Oxford and Bicester shopping village.

 

Here is a video of the car.

[YOUTUBE]IPXdvZfd3I8[/YOUTUBE]

 

And my poem.

 

Audi, Audi, oh my Audi

Your A3 S-Line, made me moody

Car was new and driving easy

But only two bags, in your booty

 

Audi, Audi, oh my Audi

Nav was good but controls messy

Press but can't find things easily

Maybe I am just very lousy

 

Audi, Audi, oh my Audi,

Loved the drive, but not my family

Sitting behind, kids got cranky

Sorry Audi, I need my harmony

 

Audi, Audi, oh my Audi,

Your A3 S-Line, made me moody

Car was new and driving easy

But only two bags, in your booty

Edited June 20, 2015 by Iluvcruising2

[Iluvcruising2]

Indeed, I've never yet known a GPS to be able to keep up with my driving. Or, indeed, anyone else's driving. I can always navigate better with a map (and sometimes without a map) than any GPS I've ever known, so I always take and use maps whenever I can.

 

The in-built GPS that I experience on the Audi A3 S-Line which I hired from Avis was very good. It certainly could keep up with my driving.

[WatchHill]

We rented a Volvo diesel from Hertz, near Marble Arch & Paddington, for our road trip in May. We upgraded to the larger vehicle, with automatic. The car had a built in sat nav that I found better than using my iphone.

 

Our original plan was to rent in Bath, but it was a bank holiday weekend, so renting in London was our only option. Thankfully, it was early Sunday morning, and in spite of the rain, we made it safely out of London and onto the M4. Since DH learned to drive "left" when he lived in Kenya and Seychelles, I left the driving to him. He found the driving a bit stressful due to traffic patterns and narrow roads. From Bath, we headed to Wales for a few days, then returned to England and meeting a friend in Salisbury. There, at Millstream, he handed over the keys and let an experienced driver take over. We then headed to Cornwall for a few more days - loved this part of England. Penzance, Land's End, Eden Project, Tintagel, Plymouth, Corfe, and finally to Bournemouth where DH dropped off the car at the airport.

 

Darcy

Edited June 20, 2015 by WatchHill

[HRPro]

Interesting idea. I will definitely consider this option as well. Thanks.

 

Having rented a car several times in England and Scotland, I would definitely recommend taking the tube to Heathrow and picking up the car there rather than in Central London. Even on a Sunday, you will encounter traffic. We're picked up a car several times at Heathrow and it's pretty easy to navigate getting on the main roads and heading toward Bath. We've also taken the train to Bath from Paddington Station and rented our car in Bath before heading out to the Cotswolds and beyond. Having a car in Bath is almost as much trouble as London (not quite) and Bath is easy to navigate by walking or bus if you're staying in town. Request an automatic when you book as they are not always available, and you may have a better selection of cars at Heathrow. Having said all of this, I have driven all over England and Scotland and have never encountered a problem even without SAT/Nav although we did have a driving Atlas. Roadways are well marked, drivers are courteous and you can circle the roundabouts more than once if you get confused about the proper exit. I love the freedom and flexibility that a car gives you especially in the small towns where public transportation is not always available. Enjoy!

 

Susan

[HRPro]

Just realized the OP is already back from the trip, but also wanted to recommend checking with your credit card company because they will generally provide the necessary additional liability coverage even abroad. We have never booked the more expensive option with CDW included. We've booked several times with Auto Europe, a consolidator, and usually have ended up with a car from Hertz or Avis. I would check rates and see who has best deal. Auto Europe will usually match the lowest price you can get and several times I have been able to reduce our costs a couple of times before the trip.

[paddingtonbear]

You're spending far too much time in the big bad city, G.

 

We're much more considerate out in the sticks.

 

You should emigrate to Cornwall - nobody there ever hogs even the middle lane of the motorway. ;)

 

 

 

JB :)

 

 

Ha ha. That's because there aren't any middle lanes on the highways in Cornwall isn't it?

 

We've been driving on single track roads (one lane roads for two way traffic for those who don't know I kid you not! Not for the faint hearted) around Cornwall this week. Such fun! I must say they are cute though but no chance to stop and take photos.

[paddingtonbear]

Indeed, I've never yet known a GPS to be able to keep up with my driving. Or, indeed, anyone else's driving. I can always navigate better with a map (and sometimes without a map) than any GPS I've ever known, so I always take and use maps whenever I can.

 

 

I use a gps from home (so I know how to use it) and a map because the GPS will send you goodness knows where if you don't check it.

 

The blue dot on the phone GPS is useless to me. I don't know how others manage it. We turn and the blue dot jumps and we are on the wrong road.

 

I don't agree with whoever said that the signage in the UK is good. They tend to list the next town only which isn't always a great help. Also, there are very few speed signs. How are visitors supposed to know that the speed limit on the motorways is 70 or goodness knows what on the back road?

Edited June 22, 2015 by paddingtonbear

[John Bull]

Ha ha. That's because there aren't any middle lanes on the highways in Cornwall isn't it?

 

Ha ha. It's because there aren't even any motorways in Cornwall :D

 

I don't agree with whoever said that the signage in the UK is good. They tend to list the next town only which isn't always a great help. Also, there are very few speed signs. How are visitors supposed to know that the speed limit on the motorways is 70 or goodness knows what on the back road?

 

That was probably me too. :p

I've come to the conclusion that we all think our own country's signage is best, because it's what we're used to.

I made the same irreverent comments as you about signage in the US of A and got roasted. :o

 

Local speed limits are posted each side of the road at the start of the limit - circular sign with a black number (30 or 40 or 50) on a white ground with a red border.

There are identical but much smaller repeater signs every couple of hundred yards, except on roads with a 20mph (rare) or 30mph limit which have street lights a minimum of 200 yards apart where in the absence of repeater signs you are expected to know you're in a 20mph or 30 mph limit.

So if there are no street lights and no repeater signs there's no local speed limit.

The end of a local speed limit is a black diagonal bar on a circular white sign.

 

Where there's no local speed limit, the national limit for cars is 60 mph on single carriageway roads (try that if you dare, on Cornwall's little back lanes :D) and 70 mph on dual carriageways (divided highways) including motorways.

 

Chapter & verse at

http://www.abd.org.uk/speed_limit_signs.htm

Some light bedtime reading if you read this post in time.

Or pass it on to your defence lawyer if it's too late. :p

 

Happy motoring

 

JB :)

[paddingtonbear]

The end of a local speed limit is a black diagonal bar on a circular white sign.

 

Where there's no local speed limit, the national limit for cars is 60 mph on single carriageway roads (try that if you dare, on Cornwall's little back lanes :D) and 70 mph on dual carriageways (divided highways) including motorways.

 

Happy motoring

 

JB :)

 

 

The back road signage was good.

We figured out the others with the help of the GPS which seemed accurate (not always the case in Oz).

Lots of cars around so generally it was ok.

 

I like the Cornwall roads! They are mostly not as bad as you Brits say : )

Edited June 23, 2015 by paddingtonbear

[Sekhmet]

Local speed limits are posted each side of the road at the start of the limit - circular sign with a black number (30 or 40 or 50) on a white ground with a red border.

There are identical but much smaller repeater signs every couple of hundred yards, except on roads with a 20mph (rare) or 30mph limit which have street lights a minimum of 200 yards apart where in the absence of repeater signs you are expected to know you're in a 20mph or 30 mph limit.

So if there are no street lights and no repeater signs there's no local speed limit.

The end of a local speed limit is a black diagonal bar on a circular white sign.

 

Where there's no local speed limit, the national limit for cars is 60 mph on single carriageway roads (try that if you dare, on Cornwall's little back lanes :D) and 70 mph on dual carriageways (divided highways) including motorways.

 

Chapter & verse at

http://www.abd.org.uk/speed_limit_signs.htm

Some light bedtime reading if you read this post in time.

Or pass it on to your defence lawyer if it's too late. :p

 

JB :)

 

Or you can get an excellent simplified explanation when, as I did, you get to go on a Speed Awareness Course as a result of having misinterpreted how fast I was allowed to go :(

[paddingtonbear]

Or you can get an excellent simplified explanation when, as I did, you get to go on a Speed Awareness Course as a result of having misinterpreted how fast I was allowed to go :(

 

 

Ooooops!

 

I can see how that can easily happen. That's why the signage could be improved.

Edited June 23, 2015 by paddingtonbear

[wowzz]

Personally I quite like the signage showing only the next town or two, as [showing my age] in pre-GPS days I used to write out my route in a town by town format. Knowing that I am on the road that eventually ends up in Carlisle is not necessarily very useful if I only want to go to Oswestry.

[RMLincoln]

OK. Got a rental reserved through rentalcars dot com for pick-up and drop off at Gatwick for our 9 days visit to Devon and Cornwall!

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all works out. The reservation came through as Europcar and comes with most insurance... we can purchase full excess coverage at the counter along with extra driver provisions. The reservation says a VW Passat automatic, or similar.

 

We just received a new Tom Tom navigator with Europe maps.... except that it doesn't work... so we'll have to send it back and start over. Luckily not leaving until last of August so still a bit of time.

 

All in all, making progress and feeling better that it's all coming together. I appreciate the support here and know that you all will help if I have more questions. m--

[Bob++]

Good to hear it's all coming together. I suggest that you also buy a paper map as a backup. They also give you a bigger picture of the area. This one looks good: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Devon-Cornwall-Road-Map-A-Z/dp/1843489449

 

A couple of pointers -

 

Fuel is expensive here. Petrol is around $1.75 a gallon (although UK gallons are bigger) so it pays to avoid the expensive filling stations on highways. Supermarkets are nearly always the cheapest. The hire company will charge extra if they have to top the tank up when you return it, so, if you have time, fill it up yourself.

 

Remember that in an emergency we dial 999 not 911. (Although some mobile phones will divert 911 to 999).

 

For charging phones, tablets, laptops etc, bring a short four socket extension and a US/UK adaptor. Most American 110 volt gadgets are happy to be plugged in to our 220 volts. If in doubt - ask.

 

Post a report - during or after so that others can learn from your experiences.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Bob++

[WatchHill]

Our rental arranged through Rentalcars.com had a few glitches. First, they were unaware of a bank holiday, so we could not pick up the car in Bath on the day we planned to leave there and head to Wales. They then suggested picking it up in Bath the day before - no way - it was a Sunday and the rental company was closed. So, we had to "eat" the cost of pre-paid rail tickets from Paddington to Bath, and pick up the car at Hertz near Marble Arch on Sunday morning.

 

It took me over a month to obtain a semi-detailed invoice for the car rental and now I'm ready to call Barclay's to recourse the deposit of $200 to rentalcars as it was never applied to the Hertz bill.

 

DH did fill up the tank just prior to returning the car at Bournemouth Airport and used a credit car to document it was topped off. I have to admit, going for an upgrade was worth the price for comfort and ultimate economy. The Volvo was a new diesel and got excellent mileage.

 

Re: Sat Nav. Once I learned to use the system in the car, I found it faster and better than the one in my Acura at home and the one on my iphone wasn't as good as the one in the rental car. Yes, I did have paper maps as back up.

 

RMLINCOLN - Cornwall and Devon are beautiful....so much to see and do, wish we could have spent more time exploring the quaint villages and towns. Fun, fun on the narrow roads!

 

Darcy

[insidecabin]

Fuel is expensive here. Petrol is around $1.75 a gallon (although UK gallons are bigger) so it pays to avoid the expensive filling stations on highways. Supermarkets are nearly always the cheapest. The hire company will charge extra if they have to top the tank up when you return it, so, if you have time, fill it up yourself.

.

 

Fuel @£1.17pl @$1.56-£1 is $6.91US gallon.

[Iluvcruising2]

On one of the days, we visited Oxford. Driving into the City Center took a while because of traffic congestion. Fortunately we managed to find parking right at city center, at a place called Gloucester Green car park.

 

[YOUTUBE]3B8UcNHAjXo[/YOUTUBE]

 

Visiting Christ Church was rather interesting.

 

[YOUTUBE]tmae-lXu7Qk[/YOUTUBE]