London Travel Forum

Hi !

I´m going to London on SaturdaY and I´m staying there for about three weeks.Can you please advise and recommend me any cheap car rentals or any web page that is good to rent cars? Thanks

You absolutely DON'T want to rent a car in London (traffic, parking, congestion charge). Public transport is good.

If you are going to be staying in London for 3 weeks do you really need a car?
I find a car in London to be a very expensive nightmare. You can travel almost anywhere you want by public transport.When I go to stay in a friends hose in west London I have learned to leave the car at home and use trains and underground.

Thanks a lot for your answers. Perhasps I didn´t explain myself properly. I´m going to land at London Gatwick and Im going to the south, to Eastbourne. We are a family and we want to spend sometime visiting all the little villages and places around. Any suggestion? WE are going to stay as well in Richmond so we want to have a car. When we get into the city , London, we will take the train or the tube.

I used autoescape.com in the past, from France, to rent in USA.
They are a kind of broker. Found them helpful and efficient.

Regarding your original question - there are no reliable "cheap" car hire deals.
All the major International companies have desks at the airport or can be booked at hotel Reception desks.
National, Herz, Budget, Enterprise, Avis, Europcar and more. They are all regulated, prices are competitive because of the competition. I would advise paying with a Credit Card - indeed it may be obligatory - but in the unusual event of any dispute at the end of the hire period your Card provider might be able to offer assistance.
Safe driving on our congested, drive on the left roads and enjoy your trip.

Check out

www.expedia.co.uk
www.holidayautos.co.uk

Expedia searches all the main car hire companies and gives you a good comparison of which company is offering which price. Also, a very reliable site so there should be no issues with bookings, etc.

If you do decide to drive into London (during the week), remember to pay the congestion charge on the same day you travel or it will increase in cost.
See
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/
for details

I forgot to mention parking in Richmond! Most of the parking is "permit holders only" and it's notoriously expensive to park at meters and even in public car parks. I would suggest you confirm you have a parking space or permit at the hotel/house you are staying at before booking the car.

You do not need a car in London,...no-one does, it is an expensive hassle.

But when you are based in Eastbourne then a car will indeed allow you to explore the surrounding countryside more easily.

There are a number of reliable car hire search engines online which you can use to find the best price for the location which suits you. Simple google 'car hire gatwick' (or wherever). You have a choice of multi-national, national and local firms (depending on location)...the multi-nationals are generally the more expensive.

In the UK car hire is regulated by Trading Standards. I have hired many times over the years, using national and local firms only (cheaper) and have never had any problems. It is not, however, a 'cheap' option from any company.

One-way car hire carries a premium.....but if you take the car into London you will probably pay that premium simply in congestion charge and parking fees.

You could consider taking the train from Gatwick to Eastbourne after arrival. The journey takes under one hour and trains leave regularly so not long to wait. Only downside is cost. But may be the same as hiring a car for one day so if you are planning to explore Eastbourne after arrival the could make sense.
If you need to look up times and make some decision about costs go to:
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk

In Eastbourne you may find sources of hire cars - for example a local garage advertising on www is https://www.apexrental.co.uk
Eastbourne has many visitors during these days because the weather in England has 'warmed up'.

NATIONAL car rental is available also in Eastbourne and Gatwick. May be a good idea to check rates. There appears to be some 'offer' of a free upgrade but have no idea if this works ! Copy & paste this into Internet Explorer
http://www.nationalcar.co.uk/Hotdeals/630/uk/zluk_freeukupgrade