Car hire

[apron]

Guys....I know we get preferential rates on car hire with certain companies...any ideas who they are and what the discount codes are? Many thanks as always 👍

[jidder]

Often found better deals with anycarhire.com even with a promo code :ok:

J :E

[jumbo1]

I have used www.auto-europe.co.uk for many years and find them excellent. They are a broker so you will see different prices for the same car depending on which company or option you choose.
There is also a auto-europe.com site but I find the .co.uk one slightly cheaper. Its not for last minute rentals, you need to book at least 48 hrs in advance.
I also use a top up insurance called worldwideinsure.com and it costs me 55 GBP a year. its pay and claim and saves all the insurance costs - just basic car hire. A 1 week car rental pays for the insurance for the rest of the year if you're a frequent renter.
Good luck.

[Kamelchaser]

Whatever you do, don't use rentalcar.com.

These pricks charged me 70USD for insurance for a 24hour hire! I was in a hurry so missed the automatically added charge. I assumed I could decline it when I picked up the car. Wrong!....the charge came through on my visa within minutes. I tried to contact them before picking up the car, but no contact number was provided at the pick up point..only a phone number in the UK. Like I'm going to make an 1min call to the UK to try to sort it out.

Emailed them during the hire to tell them I didn't want their insurance (I also use the worldwideinsurance yearly deal). Initially they said the charge must be something to do with the rental company (avis), which it clearly wasn't. They refused to refund the money. Eventually their last email included the words "we're sorry for the inconvenience. It wasn't inconvenient...it was a fkn ripoff!!!

In all, it cost almost 180USD to hire a small car for a day in Australia.

Oh..and interestingly, when I picked up the vehicle, the Avis rep said "yes, a lot of people seem to be complaining about this company"

[NGFellow]

If you are an EPC or APC/ you can find the discounts on the website. They average between 20-35% off but not sure if the value is any good since the prices are generally inflated. (Avis, Alamo, etc). EK Platinum also gets you a discount. I paid AED 1500/month(Thrifty) for a small car once with basic insurance. It was the best price I could find. Normally lowest will be AED 1800 onwards.