More evidence of R-O-B

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Sun 24 Aug 2003 21:55
More evidence of R-O-B - Flat in Fifth
R-O-B = Rip Off Britain. (perhaps it should be rip off Europe)

Always had suspicions this was happening now I have the proof.

Major hire car outfit which asks which country you live in before giving an online quote.

Just done two quotes, identical vehicles, location and duration.

Checked both quotes in detail to see if they were identical in what was included, and indeed they were.

To a USA resident weekly rate = 254.99 USD.

To a UK resident weekly rate = 387.00 USD [1]

Over a 130 bucks extra a week


[1] To be fair the rate is sometimes higher to residents of other European countries eg Germany @ 524 USD.
This rate, however, includes all sorts of insurances and to be honest I can't be bothered to back them out to see what the exact base rate is. Somewhere around 275 usd at a rough guess. But it would be far lower than the UK rate, of that I'm certain.

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Mon 25 Aug 2003 08:21
More evidence of R-O-B - AF
I recently found the exact reverse.

My parents were going to Canada, and needed a hire car for 4 weeks, so I searched around on the internet for them.

I found that a certain major car hire company charged half the cost if you said that you were from the UK rather than from Canada or the US.

It appeared to be due to the fact that rates for Canadian or US customers excluded CDW, which had to be added on top. The rates for UK customers (for this particular company) were inclusive of CDW.

I always have a play with the site to see what gives me the best deal. At the end of the day, if I turn up at the hire car company are they really going to be bothered that I am not American, Canadian, German, French etc and refuse to hire the car at that rate.
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Mon 25 Aug 2003 19:10
More evidence of R-O-B - LongDriver {P}
PM - I'm off to Canada (Vancouver) for 3 weeks at Christmas - email me with the best value car hire over there that you have found please...addy is in my profile.

Thanks
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Mon 25 Aug 2003 08:51
More evidence of R-O-B - THe Growler
In the US you often get the best deals by just rocking up at the rental office. Done that many times. The local manager can sometimes cut you a deal just to shift a car. Another trick is to book something modest, say a mid-size compact, then check if they have any upgrade promos. I've had several Lincoln Town Cars, a Cadillac Seville and a Ford Excursion SUV this way for the price of a Taurus or similar.

Don't forget also to check your frequent flier card collection to get flier mileage if you can. Price isn't everything, look for value for money add-ons and promos.

Besides, if you're going to toss the keys to the valet at the MGM Grand in Vegas or the Ritz-Carlton in DC, you get a bit more attention if your wheels look the part!
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