TribalistMeathead

Is there anywhere on here that breaks down car hire options by terminal and agency? I'm considering a car hire, picking up from T3, and trying to determine which agencies require taking a shuttle from the terminal and which don't (and, if all of them do, which agency is the closest to T3). Thanks!

UAPremExecflyer

Did you look at the LHR website?
It's very straightforward.
ALL rental agencies require you to take a shuttle from T3.
Hertz/Alamo, National/Europcar and Avis/Budget are slightly closer than Sixt.
But I wouldn't base your decision on an extra five minutes or so on a shuttle bus journey.

rcspeirs

Where are you aiming for? There are many places near Heathrow (notably London itself) where a rental car is a liability.

TribalistMeathead

Abingdon, in Oxfordshire, where my sister-in-law and her family live. We hired a car to drive from SOU to Abingdon when we traveled via QM2 last fall, and then again over a weekend during our stay. Other than ending up with a flat tire (which, thankfully, was covered by my credit card's rental car insurance), I found the whole experience to be seamless and pleasant, and since our next trip will be with a ~9-month-old in tow, it seems like it would be helpful to have a car for the duration of the stay, and certainly simpler for getting to/from LHR than the Oxford-LHR coach and a local bus.

We would not dream of driving into London, though.

TribalistMeathead

I did, as well as the agencies' websites, and did not find it to be particularly straightforward. Some mentioned stopping first at the agency's counter in T3 and then traveling to the rental car lot via shuttle, some said nothing at all.

And no, I'm sufficiently price-sensitive not to choose one agency over another because the shuttle ride is shorter, but I would have paid a small premium for an agency that had cars at T3.

antichef

There are AVIS and SIXT on site at T5 so you can transfer there by underground or Heathrow Express, but there is no benefit to you over taking the rental shuttle from T3 in my opinion. I rent at LHR most weeks and have used both of those, but normally take the shuttle to Hertz. It is easy to get in and out of, whereas even I as a regular at LHR find those T5 terminal renters are more difficult to get back to - particularly if you are not familiar with the roads.

TribalistMeathead

Oh, yeah, I wouldn't travel to T5 just to avoid a shuttle bus ride.

I did notice one of the agencies I looked at this morning, can't remember if it was Sixt or Europcar, offers a pick-up/drop-off service for GBP19.99.

kool kangas

l'm going to the Uk next April and have been searching for a car hire company that doesn't sound like your going to get ripped off, either by extra vehicle insurance, the vehicle you ordered not available even if its been booked months in advanced or companies that will find the smallest of damage which they say is your fault to get you to pay out more money for almost 2 months now, to the point where l'm totally confused and have handed it over to my travel agent to sort out. Good luck .

stut

Don't read overly into negative Google and TripAdvisor reviews. As I don't own a car, I rent on a regular basis in the UK, at both airports and city locations, as well as when I'm away on holiday, and have yet to come up against any of the scams I've read about.

It's worth being informed - it's standard in the UK to have basic 3rd party insurance includes in the rates, it's the exception to have it included in CC/domestic car policies. You are under no obligation to take any other insurance - I take out an annual CDW policy.

When cars are unavailable, it's usually because of late returns or mechanical/cleaning problems, rather than a conspiracy to upgrade and force you to pay for it. LHR counters have a reputation for being more pushy in the upsell, but a polite "no" is all that's needed.

Putting a block on a credit card is standard practice in many agencies too, again, not a conspiracy.

kool kangas

Thanks Stut. l usually dont take much of an issue with these things but l dont want to be caught out just in case. l'm looking at an opel or vauxhaul insignia auto which are hard to find but my biggest issue is l dont own credit cards only debit cards and l know that will narrow down the companies but my agent has have found 2 that will accept them but l have to pay for the car hire in full prior to hold the car not only to leave a deposit... My agent is good and will handle it for me from now on....

trueblu

I'm intrigued with regards to why you are specific in your car hire requirements?? I can say in my experience, requesting specific cars rarely works at the bigger rental agencies..

Not having a cc is definitely a pain for car hire, but you seem to have matters at hand.

tb

rcspeirs

kool kangas

[QUOTE=trueblu;29877528]I'm intrigued with regards to why you are specific in your car hire requirements?? I can say in my experience, requesting specific cars rarely works at the bigger rental agencies..

Not having a cc is definitely a pain for car hire, but you seem to have matters at hand.

tb[/QUOTE

There will be 3 adults with 3 large suitcases plus a carry on cases also and after looking at all thats on offer l think the insignia would be the best option and a station wagon would be to big for my wife to drive. She also only has an automatic licence.

trueblu

[QUOTE=kool kangas;29877590]Note that automatics sometimes are double the price of manuals (my wife also only drives automatics, hailing from the US...so I drive). Be prepared to not get the car of your choice...when I have too much luggage, I usually end up being offered a giant (for the UK) SUV as the only option. Having said that, size of car in my experience doesn't really impact on day to day drivability. UK country roads and in older cities and towns can be narrow, and if one is a nervous driver, that's more of an issue than the actual size of the car.

tb

lhrsfo