I spend about 6 weeks a year in the UK visiting Friends and driving mostly B routes, back roads and lanes. In fact as I live on this small Island and walk to work... many years I drive more in the UK than I do in the US...
I try to hire a car for each trip that is not sold in the US (last spring was a MG-F and last fall was a Rover 45)and this fall I was thinking of hiring either a M-benz 'A' class or a 'Smart' car.
I am having no luck finding either (this is for for my 2 1/2 weeks with a pick up mid Sept at Gatwick and a drop off near Chester) I did find one place that said they hired Smart on the web site but they said they did not do one way rentals( I had the feeling that they just did it as a tool to aid sales)... and I found one place that said they had a few M-Benz "A" types but they would only hire a 'class' and I could end up with a Ford or a Fiat...
An Email to HJ brought me a link to www.easyrentacar.com but they also do only one way and their London locations are all centre city... (though their rates are low enough I could almost park it for the 2 weeks I will be on a narrow boat before my return to LGW)
Any Ideas on my search?
Cheers
Randolph Lee
Nantucket Island, MA USA
PS: BTW I read Honst John and the rest of the motoring section in the ET each week and it brings back the years I spent driving in the UK while I was in the service in the 60's I had a 1961 Austin Healy 3000 that I loved and drove over 100,000 miles in 3 years...
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easyrentacar.com of EasyJet only rent out MB A-Class.
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Thanks Guy that was the link that Honest John sent me in an Email---
Well I don't think an A class is on for this trip... Easyrentacar whille fairly cheap (about 400 quid for 2 weeks and 2500 miles) requires no one way rental and I would have to go into central London at London bridge station to pick up and drop off from LGW... the only other A class I could find was aparto Budget's fancy cars (5 branchs north and west of London and they would cost about 820 for the same miles over 2 weeks and is also no one way rental...
I can get an Opel vectra from Avis for 16 days pick up in LGW drop off in Wrexham for only 350 pounds( I just dont like GM product very much I am 6' 4" and 18 stone and I don't fit them very well) I wonder makes Budget get over 800 for what some would say is less car... the whole rate structure of hire cars is complex to the extreme and a bit of a mine field to traverse... some day I guess It might be cheaper to buy a used car and find a lock up near LGW to keep it in... as at 4 to 5000 miles a year over two 3 to 4 week trips I wonder if it would be cheaper in the long run...
I guess I will now search for something else Perhaps a Ghia spec Mondeo 2.0 or Focus also from the higher end of the spec sheet... or since i had Rover 45 last year perhaps a Rover 75 or even one of the MG spec Rovers if they are in the rental fleets by mid Sept... and I can find out which fleets will have them...
I wish i could find someone doing high end Spec CDI engined cars for hire but no luck at all there so far...
Cheers,
Randolph Lee
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Randolph,
I seem to recall that these Easyrentacar people are a bit heavy, allegedly, with apparent damage to their rental fleet. Have seen many instances of people being charged large amounts for minor damage or something. I can't remember the finer points - I think it was recently featured on Watchdog.
Otherwise, stay safe and rent something British (Rover!) as you have done in the past!
The MB A class is very disappointing.
Kind regards
David
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Thanks for the heads up David, I was burnt by a "missing spare tire" when I rented from an outfit called Jasmore a few years ago (charged to me 2 weeks after the rental... I have to say that AMEX stood up for me and killed the charge but it left a bad taste) so every car I hire gets the fine tooth at check out and again at check in...
I enjoyed the high spec Rover 45 last year put about 2,500 miles on in over 2 weeks... and Easyrentacar has nothing at the airport anyway froom the website anyway...
The EPA has made modern TDI engines a non item here in the USA And I would like to drive a good one for a while (I had a MBenz 190D that I ran on home heating oil for about 200,000 miles in the 70s when I was stationed out west) but I do not see any of them in the UK hire fleets I have looked at.
Cheers,
~Randolph Lee
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Randolph,
if you find someone who does 75 CDT auto for hire please drop me a mail or post here.
If you read Rover 75 demo thread you will realise why,
thanks in advance,
Stuart
BTW which canal are you going on?
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sure
www.europcar.co.uk/fleet/luxury.html
is the link to the 2.5 liter page and
www.europcar.co.uk/fleet/premium.html
is the 2.0L 75
But I can't find anyone doing the MG versions of the 45 and 75
~R
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Oh yes Avis say they still do the 620 Rover (how long has it been out of production?)....the Cannal trip is out of Chirk with Black Prince and counter clockwise around the 4 Counties with a side trip to either the Leek and Caldon or to Chester.
~Randolph Lee
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