Tips on renting a car in Oxford

Old Aug 29th, 2014, 08:04 AM
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NE
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Tips on renting a car in Oxford

Hello,
DH and I will be renting a car for the first time in Europe . Plan is to rent in Oxford and use it in the Cotswolds for four days , return it in Oxford and carry on by train to London . Appreciate any tips .
Thanks
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 08:16 AM
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OK -- first question . . . how are you getting to Oxford and from where?

There might be better places to collect your car than in Oxford.

But IN Oxford - the rental site which is easiest to drive away from would be the Hertz in Kidlington near Oxford airport. It is located at a car dealership and sometimes hard to find when searching on line for Hertz locations.

The reason this is easiest is it is right off the main road to Woodstock and then an easy drive into the Cotswolds w/o driving through Oxford at a all (which is to be avoided if you can)
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 10:27 AM
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Janisj we are coming in from Paris on the Eurostar and heading to the Cotswolds.
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 10:44 AM
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janis:

Kidlington no longer has a Hertz as far as I can see. It now seems to be only near the railway station.

This is possibly temporary: in under a year, the fast line to Marylebone will run as far as the Water Eaton P+R, and I imagine will spawn a number of car hire depots (practically no-one in Oxford ever hires a car). But, till that sorts itself out, we need to revise our standard advice

M
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 11:28 AM
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I believe it's Avis that has a rental site near the rail station. From St. Pancras, it's an easy tube ride to Paddington where there are frequent trains to Oxford. I suggest you google car rentals in Oxford for more information.
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 11:52 AM
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Why go into congested Oggsford to rent - try Reading, a stop on the train line from Paddington and an easier place to drive out of - not far from Oggsford. See if the station there has rentals or some near it.
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 01:25 PM
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Reading -- not a good place to collect a car.

Thanks flanner. I found Hertz and Enterprise still listings out near the airport but couldn't find any details so likely your info is correct.

NE: My suggestions depend on if you you might want to see anything enroute to the Cotsolds.

If you are interested in seeing Windsor or Highclere or Stonehenge or etc - then I'd take the tube from St Pancras to LHR and collect your car there.

Another option if you are just heading straight to the Cotswolds -- you could take the train from Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh. Avis arranges rental car collection at the White Hart. That would be easier than driving in central Oxford.
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 01:39 PM
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Or take the Eurostar to Ebbsfleet station before London or Ashford International and just drive around London right to the Cotswolds - no awkward transfer of trains in London and may be just as quick.
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 01:56 PM
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From St Pancras the easiest way to the Cotswolds is to walk or cab to the nearest Hertz or Avis a couple of hundred yards away, turn right onto the Euston Rd, then drive straight for the next 75 miles till you hit the "Cotswolds start here" marker outside Chipping Norton on the A44.

If you're unhappy about driving on the proper side of the road, get the tube to Heathrow from St P, tootle around its carpark till you're comfortable, then take the M25, M40 and A44.

If by "Cotswolds" you mean places nearer Bath, take the M25 and M4 from Heathrow, or turn left onto the M25 20 miles west of the Euston Rd, then follow the M4

I honestly wouldn't mess with Oxford until we've seen whether car hire facilities are attracted by the new, edge of town, station next year.
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 01:57 PM
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You have GOT to be kidding ?!?

Ebbsfleet to say Chipping Campden takes 3.5+ hours, half of that over one of the most congested motorways in Europe so it could take significantly longer.

Ashford is even farther/longer - and over the same motorway.
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 01:59 PM
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Driving to or through Oxford can be a pain even for those who are familiar with the city; however, with directions, a good map and a reasonable intelligence one can exit the Oxford rail station ( assuming a rental site still exists there ) and take Botley Road then work their way onto the A 40 which is the major east/ west road through the Cotswolds.

Sorry but neither of Pal's suggestions really make much sense. If there is no rental option at rail station, then getting to LHR and renting there makes sense. I've frequently found that rental car companies will drop car off at a convenient location ( within reason). You really need to check with the rental agencies in Oxford and see if they will drop a car off at rail station.
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 09:06 PM
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The Eurostar option seems to be getting less attractive by the second.

For the past six months, the two key stretches of road (the M25 between J10 and J14 coming from Ashford, or between J23 and J14 coming from Ebbsfleet) have been peculiarly horrid.

At the best of times, from Ashford to the first "Cotswolds start here" sign is at the very least a 2.45 drive (compared with a normal 75-90 mins from St Pancras, almost never in my life getting longer than 2 hrs). That's been taking around 90 - excruciating - mins longer throughout this year.

I can't see any temporary reason, such as road works. Britain's economic growth is extraordinarily ill-balanced geographically, and any kind of development simply means a massive surge in traffic on the nastiest bits of the M25. The stretch from Heathrow to the M40 is generally unaffected, though from the M40 to Heathrow is typically taking around 10 mins longer than its needs to.
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Old Aug 29th, 2014, 09:21 PM
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Oh -- just to clear things up . . . my 'You have GOT to be kidding ?!?" was in response to PQ's post. (I didn't see flanner's since we were posting at the same time).

And yes, he really REALLY must be joking!

But honestly, the best/easiest place to collect a car for driving to the Cotswolds is at Heathrow. Not only is the drive easy/straightforward - LHR has all the usual suspects so one isn't limited to one to two rental agencies. Plus easy access from St Pancras.
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Old Aug 30th, 2014, 07:11 AM
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Thank you all for your informative suggestions. Janisj, Heathrow it is....sounds like the best option. I guess we can just shoot over on the Heathrow Express once we reach St Pancras and return the car at the same location. We will stay in London for four days upon our return from the Cotswolds.
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Old Aug 30th, 2014, 07:26 AM
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Thinking this through, I know what I'd do and that is hire a car service for pick up at St. Pancras for LHR car rental site. I refuse to travel on tube with bags but, then, that's just me. The car service will run between £30 & £40 depending on which one you use. Try www.justairports.com Not sure that Heathrow Express will be that much cheaper if there are two people, certainly not as easy as a car service.
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Old Aug 30th, 2014, 07:40 AM
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I just checked on prices for Heathrow Express and a single ticket ( one way ) is £ 21. I don't know what it costs for the tube from St. Pancras to Paddington ( where you catch the HEX ) as I have been using my Oyster card for years. A couple of £s ? Of course you could take tube from St. Pancras/ King Cross all the way to LHR which would be cheaper if messier. In short a car service from St. Pancras is cheaper than HEX ( for two people ) The tube from St.Pancras the cheapest but not the easiest.
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Old Aug 30th, 2014, 08:48 AM
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>>I guess we can just shoot over on the Heathrow Express once we reach St Pancras and return the car at the same location>Of course you could take tube from St. Pancras/ King Cross all the way to LHR which would be cheaper if messier.
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Old Sep 3rd, 2014, 07:54 AM
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Janisj upon further reflection on this process, easiest is to rent from Avis at Moreton in Marsh. So once we arrive at At Pancras we will cab to Paddington, train to Moreton in marsh and rent there. We will return the car there too and train back to London. The cars I see are mostly diesel. That should be fine right? Also is it absolutely necessary to have a gps device or can we manage with maps for four days ?
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Old Sep 3rd, 2014, 08:09 AM
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Most folks actually prefer diesel. The fuel costs more but the mileage is better.

For just driving around the Cotswolds you won't need a GPS. In fact I usually advise those w/ GPS to get a road atlas as well.

Buy a road atlas -- available in any book shop or most petrol stations -- don't try to use fold up paper maps. In a roadside petrol stations, they will usually be on special so only cost £2-£5-ish. Or you can probably buy one in the large news agents at either St Pancras or Paddington -- they'll cost more but you can study them on the ride to Moreton-in-Marsh.
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Old Sep 3rd, 2014, 12:53 PM
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Flying to Bristol or similar might make a lot of sense if you don't really want to go to London anyway.
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