I will be renting a compact/economy car on my upcoming trip to Scotland.Since it will be my first time in Scotland AND first time renting a car, I need to know:Can I have some tips on that whole process.You know, dos and don'ts.Are there any mandatory fees, etc.?I will be flying into Glasgow and will getting the car at that airport.Did I leave any info out?Thanks!
P.S.I will be keeping the vehicle for a week.

ttt - in the same vein, there are a lot of rental agencies in Scotland that I'm not familiar with. In the US, I know that there are some rental agencies that are essentially 'rent-a-wrecks' or more hassle than others, and that I wouldn't consider using unless they were my only options. I imagine that would be true in Scotland also. Any feedback?

Thanks!

It's been about five years since I rented a car in Scotland; I remember that it was fairly expensive there and unlike some other European Hertz folks, the folks at the Edinburgh Hertz office went over the car with a fine-toothed comb when I brought it back a week later. A bit unnerving! I would advise getting some different estimates.

There are a number of postings on Fodor's on renting cars in Europe,so you might want to do a search and see what you come up with. Some people seem to favor certain car rental agencies (AutoEurope, for one)and the pros and cons are debated in those posts. (Renting from a company based in the US like AutoEurope, versus dealing with, say, Hertz, where you would ultimately have to deal with Hertz in Scotland, should you have any lingering problems.) Another topic that gets discussed some is the use of one's credit card for taking care of some of the insurance coverage. However, some people seem to have elected to use their credit cards for part of their coverage and then had a very difficult time sorting it all out if there was damage to their car.

Given that this is your first time renting a car, I would call a couple of car rental agencies and try to get as many of your questions answered.

Lastly, when I picked up my car in downtown Edinburgh, I had to adjust immediately in rush hour traffic to driving on the left, figuring out how to enter the roundabouts from the left etc. The Scottish drivers were very polite and helpful, but I guess I would try to work into the driving a bit before perhaps driving straight into a city. Driving in the rural areas, and even the one-lane roads on the islands is kind of fun, as people have a courtesy for pulling to the side, and letting the oncoming traffic pass by.

Good luck!

I did some research on other threads about car rentals.I plan on using Enterprise.My mother works for Geico and they partner up with Enterprise, so she is use to their requirements.I'm just worried about it being different in another country.I also read about how even though you request an automatic you may still end up with a 'stick shift'.Which really isn't an option with my group.How often does this happen?
I'm really trying keep this trip relatively cheap.

I will be renting a car in Edinburgh in May and will use Hertz which is in the heart of the city. It may be a bit tricky driving for the first time on the left side as the city is quite large, depends on where you are going when you pick up the car. I have rented a car many time in the UK, used Hertz the majority of the times but have used Enterprise in Wales and had good luck. As far as automatic vs stick I strongly suggest you book way in advance as automatics are not as plentiful as stick shifts. One lesson I learned in Ireland I rented an economy car as there were only two of us on that trip & I found out much to my surprise it did not have power steering.

Hi V,

You might want to look at http://www.auto-europe.co.uk/

They are a sister company to www.autoeurope.com.

You can call the US autoeurope number if you have questions.

Virginia:
My experience is that there are indeed fewer automatics available for rent in Europe and that it might cost you some extra money to rent one over a stick shift. Sorry not to have more encouraging news...

Has anyone used Travelocity.com to book car reservations?I might go that route.I can get a compact automatic car for $180-something.What do you think?

Try Easycar (related to Easyjet) - http://www.easycar.com/aspx/nossl/default.aspx. We've rented from them in Manchester & have had no problem. They are usually cheap - as with the flights, cheaper the sooner you book. The price includes unlimite mileage, which is something you need to check when looking at other rental companies. The only quirk is that you have to take the car back clean, so check where the nearest car wash is before you leave the airport.

virginia, we rented at Glasgow through National/Alamo in 2002. Our rental of an automatic with full coverage was 607.USD for a 9 day rental at that time. We had no problems with this company. Usually we use AutoEurope for our car rentals. You just have to make sure the quote is in USD if that is your home currency. Have a great trip. Deborah

virginia, I checked back in my files to see which companies we have rented with at other times in the UK. Obviously you don't hesitate to meet challenges, first time car rental and the British Pound. Way to go .

Make sure you know all the additional costs regarding insurance offered by the rental company. There are many discussions here as to whether or not you should take that insurance or use that provided by the major credit card you use for the rental.

The only time we take out full rental insurance is in the UK. It can get to be very expensive going with the rental company.

On our last trip we took out a separate policy with www.insurance4carhire.com at 49 GBP for a year of coverage for our two week trip. We could then decline all the offered insurance and it saved us quite alot. I don't know if this would help with a one week rental but it is something else to consider.

We have never had any claims so can't say which is the best way to handle insuring your rental. Driving on the "UK" side of the road can be very nerve-racking for both driver and passenger and we haven't wanted to worry about coverage problems. Have fun doing your research. Deborah

I checked travelocity on the car that I want and it quoted me a price around $200-something.I saw the Dollar Sign$$$, so I imagine that's what they mean(not GBP:unless they forgot that part?).Don't know.Really stressed about the whole rental car/insurance/automatic, not manual/IDP/Excess coverage, etc, etc,ETC!!!I'm so confused.Yikes!

You haven't said what dates you're here or what size car you need. But I just went to the Easycar site, entrered random dates of 1-8 April, selected the smallest automatic ("Economy 1.2 4/5 Dr Auto
UK Example: Vauxhall Corsa 1.2&quot, entrered random pick-up & drop-off times both 12 noon & it's £175.87 for the week. Does that help ? The site is very easy to use.

I don't understand why another poster thought it's important to get a price in USD. When we've rented in Italy we've always been happy to pay in lire/euros.

But you do need to do a bit of work yourself - try several websites, selecting the dates & car you want, then compare prices.