Car Rental UK

[A3301FD]

Arriving Heathrow...anyone know who is offering staff discounts on car rentals and the process?

Cheers,

:ok:

[AnAmusedReader]

Try Frankie at Avis on 2882 2927. Gives CX discount and you pay on arrival with credit card. I haven't been able to find cheaper. On arrival at LHR take the Avis pick up outside T3 to their depot.

[A3301FD]

Cheers :ok:

[White None]

Being a little telephonically challenged - Could any kind soul shed any light on that phone No... Mobile / Landline Code ??? Tnx

[LS8C1]

It's Hong Kong. So +852

[bonajet]

A word of caution about Avis. I booked through the HK number, picked my car up at Heathrow and used my UK credit card. I stupidly gave them my Australian address rather than one in UK. When it came to the bill Avis charged me in pounds, converted it to Australian $ and then converted it back to pounds for the UK credit card (nothing to do with the credit card company). This gave them a rough 10% mark up due to their generous buying/selling rates.
Checked with Frankie afterwards and he was aware of this problem. Avis never replied to a written letter to their Customer Service Manager UK.
So after twenty years of Avis, it's time for a change. I will probably use one of the off-airport companies next year.

[Capetonian]

A couple of weeks ago I rented a car from Enterprise at LGW. I've been using them at various locations for years and always had outstanding service and good cars. They are not the cheapest but they have locations at places where others don't which is often a major benefit.

The unhappy ending is that I had a minor conflict with a shopping trolley whilst parking in a Waitrose car park, resulting in the scratches shown below. It took the paint down to the plastic which a neat job with a touchup brush would have concealed. A panel beater to whom I showed it said max £100. When I took the car back I declared that the damage was my fault, and they charged me an abusive £220 for this. I wrote to them querying the amount, asking them for a detailed breakdown of the charges and proof that the repairs had been done, which they sent, albeit after a protracted series of requests.

As it happens, I'm insured anyway on an annual CDW policy but I thought before I claimed I'd give them a run for their money and let them know that I thought the charge was excessive.

I'm not singling out this particular company for criticism, it's probably general in the industry, a nice little profit earner for them, as are their outrageous CDW excess waiver fees.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7593647/car%20damage.JPG

[Dan Winterland]

They're all as bad as each other and stinging the punters for minor damage is their way of bumping up the bill. My advice:

1. Alamo at LHR: Same as Enterprise (same cars/service desk) but lower rates. Don't rely on staff discounts - you can get better on line booking direct.

2. Don't opt to pay for a tank of gas. You won't return it empty - it's a rip-off despite them quoting lower prices per litre.

3. Get third party collision damage insurance. It can be as low as 40GBP a year which is about three days worth if bought from the rental company.

4. Have a return ticket booked to show them. They require to see one. No ticket, no car - even if pre paid!

5. Book in advance on line. Walk in rates are far higher, and you run the risk of being ripped off on currency exchange.

6. Don't go beyond the rental period, as you pay the highest rate after the booked date. This could be as much as ten times what you paid for the booked period. If in doubt, over estimate the rental period. It will save you in the long run.

[A3301FD]

I ended up using National at LHR...just up the street from the Park Inn, down a side street to the Feathers Pub. They gave a staff discount for travel industry staff...and were very friendly and helpful.

[Nickoli]

Nationwide are a really good company and very very cheap for premium cars eg BMW's etc. Not sure if they give discount for airline employees but I hired a C class estate 1 week 320 pounds. I think the 3 series BMW was about 230 for a week......bargain in my opinion.