studley

Could someone advise re car rental, we will be in London mid May 2014
Would like to hire a car Tunbridge Wells area how easy would it be to book and collect
on arrival in the area, instead of arranging from Australia
Another question is it easy to find B/B accommodation as you drive through towns

Gordon_R

<i>Would like to hire a car Tunbridge Wells area how easy would it be to book and collect on arrival in the area, instead of arranging from Australia</i>

For the best rates on car hire, it's invariably best to book in advance using a comparison website (autoeurope, holidayautos, rentalcar.com, etc...). Don't rely on walk-ins - just as with hotels, this can lead to much migher prices and wasted time/effort. It's just as easy to use the internet in Australia before you leave as it would be in London prior to picking up the car in Tunbridge Wells, but the former option will give you more availability.

<i>Another question is it easy to find B/B accommodation as you drive through towns</i>

You mean just driving into town and trying to find something on spec? Not particualrly easy unless you are in a very touristy area. We don't generally allow large advertising signs cluttering the roadside in the UK, and often B&B's will be located off the main roads in residential areas. You could either arrive in the town centre and seek help from the local tourist information office (found in popular tourist areas), or again use the internet to book or at least short-list B&B options in advance.

Rubicund

studley, do you mean B&B's in the UK sense, i.e. accommodation offered usually by someone in their own house, or do you mean the US version of small hotels?

In a small town both are visible, in a large town or city the former won't be in the centre whilst obviously the latter will be.

If it's a small place then the better ones will get booked up first, hotels will be easier. However, the price will be lower if you book in advance, see:

www.lastminute.com
www.laterooms.com

PalenQ

If flying into Gatwick Tunbridge Wells is an easy drive or train ride without going into London.

Michael

If you can pin down a specific date for the car pickup and drop-off, the rates that www.autoeurope.com gives in February are lower than later in the season. I always arrange my rentals from the States and have had no problems in that regard.

dulciusexasperis

1. It would be easy.
2. It would be easy.

Those are the answers to the questions you actually asked. Nor do I agree with some of the comments above that you didn't ask about.

I don't agree it is necessarily cheaper to book a car from Australia. Last time I rented a car in the UK it took me about 15 minutes online to check the local rentals. See here:
https://www.google.ca/#q=kirkcaldy+car+rentals

I just Googled the town I was in and car rentals. Then checked the first three A, B, C and picked A based on that. Phoned them, confirmed a price and they happily came to pick me up at my hotel at no extra cost.

If someone thinks logging on to the internet from home before they travel will get them a cheaper price than logging on when you are there, I think that's laughable.

I never pre-book accommodation. I've never had any problem finding a hotel or B&B in much the same way as I have described for a car rental. This is 2013, not 1968. You go online using free wifi and find what you want in a few minutes. Again, the price is clearly shown online and I doubt very much you will find a B&B changing it's prices for a last minute booking. It's there in 'black and white' so to speak.

Most tourists are fixated on pre-booking and think everything is cheaper if booked in advance. Poppycock.

Michael

<i>Most tourists are fixated on pre-booking and think everything is cheaper if booked in advance. Poppycock.</i>

It was cheaper for me. I discovered that when I changed the pickup location but kept the same dates--the price jumped, and it had nothing to do with the location.

Gordon_R

<i>If someone thinks logging on to the internet from home before they travel will get them a cheaper price than logging on when you are there, I think that's laughable</i>

The point you are missing is that prices vary according to market demand in the hire car business. If you wait until the last minute, as would be the case if the OP waited until he got to the UK, the availability of vehicles will be reduced and prices most likely higher as a result. My company regularly books cars (for last-minute business travel) at rates that are much much higher than I would pay for personal travel when I book weeks in advance.

janisj

dulciusex: >>I don't agree it is necessarily cheaper to book a car from Australia.<<

Since you are a Brit you may not know this, but it IS cheaper to pre-book from overseas. We have access to rates not available in the UK (just as you can rent cheaper all inc in OZ or the States than we can)

studley: Are you visiting London first and then traveling down to Royal Tunbridge Wells? If so I'd take a train to LGW and collect your (pre-booked) car from the airport. Very easy and all the usual suspects are located there so you can go w/ whichever company gets you the best rate. I'd start with autoeurope and kemwell and see what you get.

dulciusexasperis

Poppycock.

Michael, location DOES indeed affect the price. Airport pickup for example sometimes costs more for pick-up or drop-off. You can't just state, 'it had nothing to do with location' unless you have some way of proving that statement. Otherwise, what I read is, you don't THINK it had anything to do with location.

Gordon_R, you are referring to dynamic pricing and I am well aware of how dynamic pricing works. If you understand how it works then you would know that NO ONE can say if a price will be higher or lower on any given day in any given location. The price can as easily be LOWER rather than higher. So again, you are saying what you THINK is the case but in fact could just as easily be wrong.

Janisj, I have lived in various countries and currently do not live in the UK. I have rented cars in and from various countries. I am quite aware of the differences in prices, insurance, discounts, etc. that exist. What I know is that it is just as likely that I will get a better price when renting on the day as I would renting ahead of time from another location.

quick check shows me I can walk in and rent a car today for $30 US per day in Kirkcaldy using the link I gave above to go to Enterprise.co.uk. A second check on Enterprise.com gets the exact same price. No advantage to booking from the USA. Using a random date in April to book from the .com site gets me a price of $32 US per day.

So no advantage to booking from overseas vs. the local uk site and no advantage booking ahead for a similar (non-peak tourist season) time frame.

As I wrote, people believe what they believe but often without any actual basis other than hearsay. Kind of like religion.

Michael

<i>Airport pickup for example sometimes costs more for pick-up or drop-off.</i>

I'm aware of that. I've been renting and discussing rental options for quite a while on this forum. In the case I mentioned, the new rental was actually one day less and the cost about $100 more, including the cost of a train station pick-up (standard in France) which I had avoided in the original contract. On the other hand I have never had to pay for an airport or train station drop-off.

janisj

>>As I wrote, people believe what they believe but often without any actual basis other than hearsay. Kind of like religion.<<

That is ridiculous. Who the H**L are you to say what others know/don't know/ have experienced?

You are wrong re car rentals (and a few other things) - but no convincing you.

dulciusexasperis

In that case janisj, I would have to suppose you think the figures I gave are incorrect or an outright lie. Which is it?

Figures do not lie. I gave the links. Enterprise.co.uk and enterprise.com. I entered a rental from today for a week in each and got the same price on each. I entered a week in April on enterprise.com and got the price I show above. You're welcome to try for yourself.

$30 US per day now on both sites and $32 in April on enterprise.com. So again, no advantage if booking today from the USA (.com vs. .co.uk) and no advantage for pre-booking (in April vs. today).

Who here do you think pre-books and then on arrival looks to see what price they could have got if they had waited? I doubt anyone does. They ASSUME they got a better price by pre-booking.

It isn't what they KNOW, it is what they THINK they know. To KNOW they would have to do both.

I'm not wrong, I just have the irritating ability to be right when it happens to disagree with you and that seems to be something you can't deal with.

I'll repeat, renting a car can be cheaper on any given day or more expensive on any given day. Gordon_R, got it right when he referred to dynamic pricing which they all use today. Predicting a car rental price on any day other than today is no different than predicting a flight cost or the price for a gallon of gasoline or a stock price. They ALL move up and down daily.

I made a simple statement initially, "I don't agree it is necessarily cheaper to book a car from Australia."

I'll also remind you that studley didn't ask about cost. He asked is it EASY to rent after arriving. The answer to that is a simple YES. Maybe you should stick to the simple answers janisj and not get yourself so worked up you start asking who the hell people are.

There are people who are both smarter than you and who know more than you. That's who I am.

Peter_S_Aus

I’m waiting for Dulcie to tell us about the bar he managed on Rhodes and the red MGB sports that he drove around the island.

And the Vespa too.

dulciusexasperis

Have you anything useful to add Peter_S or are you just a time waster?

Peter_S_Aus

Just a time waster, I'm afraid.

Michael

dulciusexasperis,

I rented a car in England for 9 days for $179.

I rented a car in France for 25 days for $567. You do the math.

Both rented through a broker two + months before going on vacation.

studley

Thank you for replies, sorry if I caused a reaction with the car hire question
Gordon and Michaels advice book ahead is probably the way to go.
I will follow up the rentalcar.com site.

Gordon_R

Studley - no need to apologise. Unfortunatley there are a few "wrong 'uns" on an ego trip round here.

dulciusexasperis

Michael, what math? What you paid on any given day proves nothing at all. Not unless on your arrival day you had checked to see what the price would be if you rented at that point.

You cannot give one side of a comparison and not the other. That is not a comparison. How can I 'do the math' if you don't provide BOTH prices for comparison?

Gordon_R, yes, you're right, there are a few.