8407 Car Hire

Hi GK

Have you tried [url]www.holidayautos.com[/url]

#1

you might like to try auto-europe.co.uk/car.cfm They dont have any cars they're just a booking service. There system looks at all the car hire firms at the point you want to hire from. they select the best price and there you have it. Best of luck ciao chris

[quote=geoffking39;78743]Just tried to book a Hertz car from Rome/Ciampino on the 23rd Dec untill 1st of Jan , but no cars available , have tried Europcar but they will not give a [B]price for snow chains [/B]and cant even say (if the chains are booked in advance) if they will be available . Anyone recommend one of the other hirers at the airport , thanks Geoff .[/quote]

Watch out for the cost of chains, one of our builders got stuck in the snow today (vw golf) had to take him to buy chains 75 euros .....I'm in the wrong business .......:nah:

Had the same problem booking a hire care at Ciampino fo Aug/Sept this year - nothing available.

Was using our usual holidayautos, and then auto=europe, then the individual companies - no luck.

Started to consider Fiumincino and catching the shuttle bus to there - some cars were available there.

Then retried holidayautos and altered the dates slightly. Found that by changing our return date and extending the hire by one day there was a budget car available. We booked this and merely returned the car a day early. True it cost us an extra 15euros or something, but that was better than the only other alternative which seemed to be no car or hastle travelling to another airport by road, or booking a top end car at the cost of thousands.

Thanks all for the replies , i have tried holidayautos but have to wait up to 48hrs for confirmation , cheers Geoff .

Just a personal opinion of course but I'd steer well clear of Hertz, booked with them through Ryanair in August when we went to Calabria, got stung a month after we got back with a plethora of ludicrous hidden costs, the phrase "charge like a wounded bull" sprang to mind.

[quote=ronpickering;78867]Just a personal opinion of course but I'd steer well clear of Hertz, booked with them through Ryanair in August when we went to Calabria, got stung a month after we got back with a plethora of ludicrous hidden costs, the phrase "charge like a wounded bull" sprang to mind.[/quote]

Perhaps it was because you booked through 'our favourite airline'.

I have always been impressed with the service Hertz have given me
[apart from the 18 Euro they have just charged me for letting the police know who hired the car that they had clocked speeding in July!]

Geoff try [url=http://www.travelsupermarket.com]Cheap flights & hotels | car hire | package holidays - TravelSupermarket UK[/url] they say they definitely have cars available through easycar. If you have airmiles its worth giving them a call - you can use them to book Avis. I think they are charging us about 50 euros for hiring chains for the week - you can't request them online only over the phone.

M

[quote=alan haynes;78871]Perhaps it was because you booked through 'our favourite airline'.

I have always been impressed with the service Hertz have given me
[apart from the 18 Euro they have just charged me for letting the police know who hired the car that they had clocked speeding in July!][/quote]

Isn't that amazing, also got the same charge for the same thing in the same month, surprisingly enough never had anything from the police directly :nah:

If snow chains are a legal requirement how can anyone hire you a car without them.
My partners son came over for skiing last feb, I met him at the airport and told him to make sure he had chains, the hire company just handed over a set - no charge.

Stribs

I'm amazed they ever gave any out free of charge - must be a nice little earner - I think they rent em for about the same price it costs to buy a pair. I'm always tempted to buy my own but you never know quite what kind of rental car you're going to get.
Got really stung returning a hire car to Venice this year - used Auto Europe because they were the only one open on a Sunday afternoon at Piazzale Roma. Filled up just before we go to Venice, left the car with them, all easy. had our cc bill in a month later - extra charge of €20 euros for the hire (since repaid) and extra charge of €80 euros for the car being 35 litres of diesel short plus a refuelling charge and local service taxes. All absolute nonsense. Currently in the hands of mastercard who say they hope to get it back for us but its so hard to prove. Sigh. Be warned..
M

Try a company called [url=http://www.cardelmar.com]Mietwagen - All-Inclusive – weltweit - CarDelMar[/url]. We have used them a couple of times - they are an agency but use mainly Avis and Europcar. They seem to be able to get cars when others say they have none available, and they also give you the option on the booking system of having snow chains - though there is a charge.

They're German-based so you do tend to get e-mails in German but all the invoices etc are in English, their prices are the best we've come across and when we recently got stranded in Italy for four extra days their charge was as low as their internet prices.

It's nice to be able to post a positive recommendation for once ... :yes:

[quote=Stribs;78883]If snow chains are a legal requirement how can anyone hire you a car without them.
My partners son came over for skiing last feb, I met him at the airport and told him to make sure he had chains, the hire company just handed over a set - no charge.

Stribs[/quote]

Forgive me asking a question that has probably done the rounds before, but, does the law state that you must carry snow chains at all times in winter?

If so then Stribs has a good point, the hire companies cannot/should not rent out an unlawful car.

Cheers

Andy

[quote=redslk;79004]Forgive me asking a question that has probably done the rounds before, but, does the law state that you must carry snow chains at all times in winter?

If so then Stribs has a good point, the hire companies cannot/should not rent out an unlawful car.

Cheers

Andy[/quote]

I think you'll find that snow chains are only needed to be carried in specific areas - so the hire companies could argue that as they are not required everywhere, they are not obliged to provide them free of charge

.

Very impressed with Avis Preferred. Just presented my card and it was all immediate and a rather better car than expected; the best price too when I booked. Car hire pick up can be tortuous at Nice airport. The Europcar queues and service even with one of their cards is legendary. So I shall be looking first at Avis next time. They do give good prices for AA members and Airmiles so its worth looking at their promotional partners for special codes before you book on their website or via another affiliate website for discounts or rewards.