easyCar rental company in U.K.
Sep 3rd, 2004, 09:08 PM
#2
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Yes, once.
Their rental location is usually away from the airport. Sometimes it can cost you quite a bit just to get to their rental location.
Furthermore, their cars have a HUGE Easycar painted along each side. So, if you enjoy being a walking advertisement for them...
It's cheaper and easier to rent from another company that has an airport location and gives you an anonymous car. It may cost you a bit more, but it's a much better arrangement, IMHO, and cheaper in the long run.
Oh, one more point, there isn't much gas in the tank sometimes - I drove on the expressway biting my fingernails because the gas tank essentially registered "empty" and I didn't find a gas station readily.
Oh, and yet one more thing: nobody will answer any questions. It's truly a caveat emptor situation. I couldn't even get them to tell me how to get on the expressway from their rental location - no maps!!!
Their rental location is usually away from the airport. Sometimes it can cost you quite a bit just to get to their rental location.
Furthermore, their cars have a HUGE Easycar painted along each side. So, if you enjoy being a walking advertisement for them...
It's cheaper and easier to rent from another company that has an airport location and gives you an anonymous car. It may cost you a bit more, but it's a much better arrangement, IMHO, and cheaper in the long run.
Oh, one more point, there isn't much gas in the tank sometimes - I drove on the expressway biting my fingernails because the gas tank essentially registered "empty" and I didn't find a gas station readily.
Oh, and yet one more thing: nobody will answer any questions. It's truly a caveat emptor situation. I couldn't even get them to tell me how to get on the expressway from their rental location - no maps!!!
Sep 3rd, 2004, 10:58 PM
#3
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EasyCar is part of a group run by a self-styled visionary. His father ran a commercially successful shipping line. and this visionary is determined to impose on consumer markets the techniques used in chartering oil tankers.
A significant proportion of his father's fortune has so far been lost on these visions.
Among the other innovations EasyCar practices are:
- WHOPPING mileage charges. The quoted rate includes, typically, only (I think) 75 miles a day and is roughly 75p per mile thereafter. It might be possible to hire the car for more days than you need to get round this.
- Fines for 'dirty' (their judgement)cars
- Seriously limited opening hours
As with all "low cost" travel operators in the British Isles, read the small print VERY carefully, and cost out the net, net cost of what you're doing very precisely.
After which, they can be a terrific bargain - for some people, prepared to live with the restrictions, some of the time. But don't come complaining afterwards if you got exactly what you paid for.
A significant proportion of his father's fortune has so far been lost on these visions.
Among the other innovations EasyCar practices are:
- WHOPPING mileage charges. The quoted rate includes, typically, only (I think) 75 miles a day and is roughly 75p per mile thereafter. It might be possible to hire the car for more days than you need to get round this.
- Fines for 'dirty' (their judgement)cars
- Seriously limited opening hours
As with all "low cost" travel operators in the British Isles, read the small print VERY carefully, and cost out the net, net cost of what you're doing very precisely.
After which, they can be a terrific bargain - for some people, prepared to live with the restrictions, some of the time. But don't come complaining afterwards if you got exactly what you paid for.
Sep 4th, 2004, 07:57 AM
#4
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Some girlfriends and I rented a car from easy car last year, and it was fine. Location for me was perfect, we were staying in Kensington and the rental "office" was just a block away.
I agree with the above warnings though- there are bright orange EASY CAR signs all over the car (probably best to warn all the other drivers in our case), and the extra mileage charges are high. Like flanner suggests, we just rented the car for 2 days rather than the 1 we needed it for.
The positive points were the attendant was very helpful- even lended us his A to Z to take on our journey, we had no "surprise" charges having read the fine print, and the rental was 5 pounds a day.
I agree with the above warnings though- there are bright orange EASY CAR signs all over the car (probably best to warn all the other drivers in our case), and the extra mileage charges are high. Like flanner suggests, we just rented the car for 2 days rather than the 1 we needed it for.
The positive points were the attendant was very helpful- even lended us his A to Z to take on our journey, we had no "surprise" charges having read the fine print, and the rental was 5 pounds a day.
Sep 6th, 2004, 03:49 AM
#6
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I second flanner. I have rented from them a couple of times. Their pricing model works best for the kind of use I had in mind - a short rental for a specific one-off journey - but (as with the Easyjet operation) to get the lower pricing, you get tighter conditions: and they do have a reputation for VERY tight interpretation of the conditions.
Their system may well be much less competitive for longer-term tourist travel with a higher expectation of support in emergencies, just as the kind of packages the major hire firms offer don't suit my occasional needs as a London resident.
Their system may well be much less competitive for longer-term tourist travel with a higher expectation of support in emergencies, just as the kind of packages the major hire firms offer don't suit my occasional needs as a London resident.
Sep 6th, 2004, 04:08 AM
#7
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If you aren't bothered over type of car - they offer no upgrades to premium moderls - and aren't intending to do long distance driving, then they do seem to be very reasonable.
That said, I often fly to Newcastle and pick up an hire car to tour Scotland (saving the awful drive up to Newcastle), I cover well over 100 miles per day, and if it's the summer a drop head coupe is a must, even with British weather.
That said, I often fly to Newcastle and pick up an hire car to tour Scotland (saving the awful drive up to Newcastle), I cover well over 100 miles per day, and if it's the summer a drop head coupe is a must, even with British weather.
Sep 6th, 2004, 07:08 AM
#8
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I haven't rented with them, but have seen posts on this site that said that they weren't able to simply drop the car off, but had to wait until an attendant was able to go over the car, to ensure it was clean (or you pay a fee, as flanneruk mentioned). They almost missed their flight because it took so long.
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