BimmerFest Mobile App is now available on iOS & Android, Learn More

Some car rental questions for the Brits.

3749 Views 20 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Andrew*Debbie, Sep 27, 2012

M_Six

Discussion Starter · Jul 31, 2012

We're heading to Blighty in late September and will be renting a car to travel around the southwest. No London driving. I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for a car hire agency. We used Sixt a couple years ago in Germany and they tried to pin some non-existent damage on us after we got back to the US. I won't use them again.

And due to the highway robbery cost of renting a GPS, I'll be buying a map card for ours and bringing it with me. Does anyone know if the cigarette lighter ports on the cars there are the same as here in the US? We'll probably be renting a VW or small Audi/BMW, so I would think they'd be the same, but you never know.

I'd appreciate any other dos and don'ts from anyone who's done this before. I'm hoping to find some driving simulator software for the UK, but it seem to be rare, if it exist at all.

Save

1 - 7 of 21 Posts

M_Six

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 31, 2012

Thanks. I won't have much need for music as I'll need to be concentrating on driving against my instincts. The voices in my head screaming at me that I'm on the wrong side of the road will be enough noise without the music.

But no USB means I'll definitely need the cigarette lighter (or power port) cord with me. I just hope it fits.

Save

M_Six

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 31, 2012

Yeah, I know a slushbox is pricier. But I don't want to be thinking about shifting with my left hand while trying to remember which side of the road to be on. Plus I'd probably rent that class of car anyway. I don't like tiny cars.

Save

M_Six

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jul 31, 2012 (Edited)

Geez, are all the roads that small that a 1er will be too big? :yikes:

We'll be staying in the southwest, mostly in the Stonehenge-Glastonbury-Bath area. I plan to do as little driving as possible. I'd like to drive from one town to the next and park the car for the day.

Save

M_Six

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jul 31, 2012

^^^^Very cool. Looks like this will be a day's plan for us. Pm me the exact location of your former home and I'll grab some pics of it. :thumbup:

Save

M_Six

Discussion Starter · #17 · Sep 25, 2012

So we made it to Devizes and Avebury today. Very cool places. I loved the locks. We sat at the cafe up top and watched a canal boat go through on his way down. Then we stopped at the bottom and got "the shot."

We also had lunch at the Red Lion Pub.

And you may recognize this spread, wyb.

I owe you one, wyb. We had a great day seeing some of the sites you mentioned. Thanks a ton for the excellent advice. :thumbup:

See less See more

Save

M_Six

Discussion Starter · #20 · Sep 27, 2012

We ended up with Thrifty and got a good car (VW Golf TDI - automatic). I decided to take the full insurance option this time (I usually don't). When I got back they found a scrape on a hubcap (which I don't think I caused) and made me fill out an accident report. I think they were just looking for someone who had the full insurance to cover the cost of replacing the hubcap. They kept saying over and over that it's no big deal and it won't cost me anything. I kept saying that's beside the point, that I didn't cause that damage, but we went round and round and I needed to get to London, so I filled out the report and carried on. In the US they wouldn't have cared but the hubcap.

Save

1 - 7 of 21 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month