Renting a car at Heathrow--Recommendations etc.
 

We, myself (54), DH (55), and our DS, who will turn 26 on the the trip, are flying into Heathrow on Sat., July 11, and will stay at the Sofitel at T5, rather than trying to do anything strenuous.

We would like to rent a car on Sunday, and drive away from Heathrow (to where is still a matter of some debate, but Watford is likely, and there's a chocolate shop in Ealing DS would like to go to). Renting a car at the terminal seems to be a bit fraught, but non-airport hire car branches in the area don't seem to be open Sunday, or even Saturday afternoon. We are contemplating taking a car service somewhere on Sunday, and renting a car on Monday there, but that has its own complications.

The cheapest prices seem to be at Ace or Green Motion (which seems also to be Ace), but they do not review well. This is further complicated by our desire for an automatic, because DH drives stick, but not on a regular basis, and would prefer not to in opposite land. We've already had a small incident on Hotwire where I booked what appeared to be an automatic with Hertz, and when the reservation went through, surprise! At least it was cancellable, but now I'm cranky because I thought we were all set with a Focus wagon/estate, and I haven't seen another one. Ideally the car would be something like that, or a Skoda Octavia. DH is slightly fussy about cars, he's not a small individual, and the back seat passenger is over 6 feet tall. Also we'll have two weeks worth of luggage.

Any recommendations for particular companies? Suggestions for some non-airport option that will give me a car on a Sunday, or even late Saturday afternoon?

Also it is my belief that as long as you use a credit card with insurance you do not need to purchase the supplemental insurance. Correct? We're also thinking it might make more sense to just buy a cheap sat nav rather than pay the per diem for one, since we're looking at twelve days.

We lived in the UK for a number of years and often had the weekend pick up/drop off issue with hire cars. We ended up hiring mostly from Heathrow and dropping back there and it worked well for us. If you check Google maps carefully before you leave home and ask for directions when you collect the car, you will hopefully be fine to drive to your next destination. If you are only going to Ealing or Watford, you don't want a car. Use public transport, no hassles with parking or traffic or directions.

Just about every hire car company we used gave us some sort of problem, all except Hertz. In our experience, they've been great to deal with and we've used them in many countries. You won't be able to book a particular car, just a 'type' of car.

It's good you are having a night at a Heathrow hotel once you arrive. You'll be rested and it's much safer for everyone. Two other things - travel light if you possibly can. You don't want to struggle to get everything in the boot and you do want room for shopping! Also check credit card insurance details carefully to see exactly what you are covered for. You'll be on the 'other' side of the road which can be daunting.

"Renting a car at the terminal seems to be a bit fraught, "

I'm not sure what you mean by 'fraught'. By far the easiest/least fiddly way/place to pick up a car is at LHR. I've rented more than 40 cars in England (and more than 20 in Scotland) and airport locations are (with only a tiny # of exceptions) the easiest.

Not IN the terminal but at the just off-airport car lots. The rental companies run free shuttle buses just like in the States. Don't over think things

edited to add: Just use Autoeurope's website and you'll get quotes with all the majors. You will be much MUCH more ensured of getting an automatic at a LHR location.

Pickup car at the airport, it is is easy
Stay at the airport or in the line of hotels just out of the terminal, easy to use the hopper buses
Use Autoeurope to get the best deal. They go into bat for you every time as they are all about service
Don't try to drive in London (that is the very large city to the east of the airport not just the little bit in the centre). I live in the UK and don't do it as cars are just a waste of time there.
The downside is the airport opens onto the M25. So it is worth reading up on the M25 and even visit it on youtube first. It is certainly not impossible and just takes a bit of time. You will find your body re-adjusts very quickly but... but. Make the passenger responsible to remind the driver LEFT HAND SIDE every time you start again. I've seen people stop for a coffee and just get out on the wrong side. The present state of argument about a US airbase in the UK is about an American killing a kid because she forgot.
Since there are lots of you and you might want to go into "town" use a car service, it is cheap and safe and it will manage the lugguage IF you tell them first.
Travel light, those are very wise words. Laundries exist in hotels and or in AirBnB so use them and keep your toys and bags to a minimum. I limit myself to a mobile phone and a cable for charging/usb charger and do everything off that. Anyone who says they need more than 20kg is frankly having a power trip or carrying massive medical resources.

We are definitely going farther than Watford/Ealing. Where exactly is still a matter of some debate, but definitely Wales, Birmingham (DS has discovered the existence of Cadbury World-in addition to a living history museum in Dudley that he already had his sights set on), and Bovington. I do have a tentative itinerary, but it may change. I keep being unsure if Watford makes more sense on the front end or the back end, but for the moment it's on the front. It's not skippable if I don't want a divorce. DH is absolutely set on Harry Potter Studios.

Fraught is premium charges, and issues at the counter, of various kinds. However we will be unhappy if we go to an outside branch and they don't have an automatic. Our need for one is frustrating anyway, since manual should theoretically be okay, but it just seems like a bad idea in the circumstances. We are going to try to avoid getting directly on the M25 if we can, although if we have to, I'd rather on Sunday than Monday.

Thanks for the Autoeurope tip, that's extremely helpful.

And we're definitely planning on laundry, but we're still going to have a full sized suitcase each and two or three smaller bags (not each).

full size suitcase...... LOL

Sunday is still going to be busy unless you do it at 2am

Driving to Ealing from LHR is fine; it's on the outskirts of London. Must be a very special chocolate shop if you want to go there just for that. What is it called?
If you really like chocolate, I'd give Cadbury World a miss...

I would just rent the car at the airport if you are there. Too much of a hassle to take a taxi somewhere else just to rent a car. And the airport will have most availability.
Don't rent a satnav, but get a local simcard for your phone and use that for navigation. I like 'Three', but any provider will have an option including data.

2 full-size suitcase + 2 or 3 bags would be waaaay to much for us, but you are the one who has to deal with it. Get a car that is big enough to put all that in the boot so it's not seen from outside the car.

"2 full size suitcases" - there are three adults so that is three full size suitcases. The OP had better start worrying about the size of the trunk as well as the automatic. WHY do you need three full size suitcases???

you don't need a sim card to turn your phone into a travel guide. Just download your favorite map app and turn on GPS. Easy Peasy.

Two weeks worth of clothes, even with laundry. DS generally can't rewear anything, even trousers, so that's a fresh change every day, and he's a big man. DH can sometimes make do with jeans/trousers, and I'll rewear a skirt if nothing weird has happened, but really nothing else, so if we pack too lean we may be emergency shopping. This is particularly hard for DH, who's not an off the rack size in most stores. DS can usually do with the largest size available, and I can shop in most stores, but we'd like to avoid major wardrobe malfunctions, plus I understand that packing layers is advisable, so fully a week's worth, with a bit extra.

The chocolate shop is Leonidas. DS was at one in Dublin a decade ago. It left an impression. He also really likes Cadbury, and it appears to be a very similar experience to Chocolate World at Hershey, which we all enjoy.

We were going to buy a cheap go phone and not worry about making our phones work in Europe. Using a phone as a GPS works very poorly for DH, and we do not need additional distractions and yelling, which is usually what happens when we try that. Having it on the dash, preferably speaking to him in soothing tones, is a much better plan.

I travel for months, not weeks, at a time with a 22 inch two wheeler and a day pack. I do my laundry in the bathroom sink. Unless you are traveling somewhere really hot and humid, i.e. not the UK, there is no reason outer clothes won't last more than one day.

Start by reading the tips here: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/packing-light

As the others have said, renting at car at LHR from the terminal means the pickup will be from one of the rental locations on the airport perimeter road and there will be a shuttle bus to take you there. It makes it easy to pick up the car and head straight out to a main road, dropoff locations are well sign posted for your return. Ealing is very easy to get to from Heathrow but Hotel Chocolat have branches all over the UK and their chocolates are really good (IMO). We don't travel light very often so we rent a car big enough, it's not a problem. Something like a BMW 3 series station wagon would give you alot of room.

My best advice?
Rent directly from Hertz.
Stop trying to find deals and pay for the car you want to drive.
It would be different if your family would be happy with "whatever". They won't. The car matters. Spend the money it takes, otherwise your vacation will be affected. The folks with tall legs will be grumpy and grouchy and it will negatively impact the trip.
Pay more here and save $ somewhere else. The car matters. Book a class of large automatic cars at Hertz and avoid a problem.

It's been years since I picked up a car at a London airport (about 30) but I had no problems driving out - we were headed toward Scotland. A week earlier I had driven the smallest car I could reserve out of Shannon and didn't connect the dots that 1) the car would be smaller than I was used to in the US and 2) not only would I be driving on the "wrong" side of the road, I would be shifting gears with the wrong hand too. We didn't plan to rent a car to explore out of London, but I booked an automatic and we had no problems. I booked directly with Hertz.

A couple of years ago I picked up a car in Florence, Italy and my travel friend said "Oh, what a cute little car!". It was a large class SUV. A few days later, she realized that we really were in a big car - comparatively speaking.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...11622f49fe.jpg

Bite the bullet.
Book directly with Hertz.
Book an automatic only class.
Book a mid to large size SUV.
All will be comfortable. Your trip will be better for it.

"Also it is my belief that as long as you use a credit card with insurance you do not need to purchase the supplemental insurance. Correct? "
It depends.
It depends on YOUR car insurance.
It depends on YOUR credit card policy.
After hearing nightmares on this forum about "injuries" done to cars, I added the best insurance. I researched a lot, but decided it was better to be safe than sorry.
When we returned to our car in a parking lot on the last day, there was a scratch on the back bumper. Oh, crap. As sick of a feeling it was to see it, I didn't have to worry about much time and energy I was going to have to devote to dealing with a long distance repair process.

When we parked at the inn that afternoon, I took a wet wipe to get rid of crud to see how bad the scratch was. We both were amazed that the scratch wiped away. It really was a bit of a miracle. Made no sense. There WAS a scratch there on the red bumper...and then there wasn't. Good outcome, but the extra insurance coverage meant I could get on the train for Venice the next day with no worries, no matter what.

Join the loyalty group before you book the car and get a discount - hopefully.

Oh, dear. You've never met DS. He'll get something on himself, and possibly on us (I'll never forget the morning in Gettysburg an entire glass of orange juice got tipped into my lap--my skirt was dripping OJ all the way up to the room, despite my best efforts and a lot of napkins). Also, even with deodorant, his shirt will be publicly offensive the second day. He does try to be careful, but it's hard for him (he has some neurological issues, plus mild delays), and obviously sweating is out of his control. DH also tends to be kind of sweaty.

I could (and would have to if alone, because I can't carry stuff in my cane hand) travel that light, although probably not for months on end, but my guys need more clothes, and their clothes take up more room. We're not talking gargantuan suitcases either, since we have a single bag 23 kilo checked limit on the way back, but we do need one each (we'll also probably have some Corn Pops for emergency feeding of DH, a collapsible fishing rod for DS and a couple of odds and ends in addition to clothes), and at least two carry-ons plus my purse. Three adults, two weeks, at least some swimming plus some beach, in a climate where it might quite plausibly be 50 or 80 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the whims of the weather--we're going to need a fair amount of stuff.

I'll also let DS know about Hotel Chocolat. I'm sure he'll be delighted to add it to his culinary itinerary (which is varied and growing--he's very good at research and he likes to eat--he also really likes the food of the British Isles). A BMW wagon is probably overkill, but I don't think we should go much smaller than the Octavia, unless it's a wagon/estate.

Thanks, Starrs.

We may book directly with Hertz, although there's a Sixt deal on Autoeurope I'm probably comfortable with. We don't want an SUV, but a relatively large sedan or an estate car is necessary. That "shifting with the wrong hand" is what has DH spooked. If he regularly drove over there it might be different, but he's only been a passenger on the "wrong side". Particularly with the idea that he might be immediately trying to merge into traffic on the M25.

Some scratches will wipe away or buff out easily, but we will check the insurance carefully. We think we should be fairly covered with DH's credit card, but we'll double check. And that's an adorable "full-size SUV"!

I suggest if you want Hertz -- book them through AutoErope. AE Customer service is heads and shoulders above Hertz (most Hertz locations in Europe are franchises so dealing w/ AE is a known commodity, Hertz not always.)

But -- I'd be reluctant to book Hertz this far ahead while their bankruptcy is still in process . . .

I did not realize they were in bankruptcy. I knew they'd been selling cars off (DH browses occasionally) but that does color things. And would incline me to book through Autoeurope. I'm probably going to hold off a little, but I definitely saw things there that would work.

We had several cars but my brothers insisted that I learned to drive on a manual. My teenage car was a 5 speed. It's been years since I've had one, but I can get in and drive any that I need to since then. I had NO concerns about it.

My travel mentor gave me great advice = go out to a big parking lot on Sundays and drive around "on the wrong side". That's when mall parking lots were empty on Sunday afternoons. The trickiest part is pulling out into the correct lane. My mom's job was to say "Think left, think left, think left". By the third day I was cocky and told her I was fine. Then I pulled out of a petrol station...into the right lane! Yikes! Back into the petrol parking lot. That was scary.

So I practiced as much as I could and thought I was well prepared. I just didn't think about shifting with my left hand on the left side of my seat. That was the hardest part for me.

Book whatever class you want, but seriously....really...not kidding....don't try to save money here. Get the vehicle you are comfortable with.

For over 30 years I've only booked Hertz and National cars. Well, once on Kauai I went for the "deal" and regretted it. I've read travel forums for many years, and I've never heard a complaint about H or N leaving a customer high and dry. I've read plenty of them about Sixt. I have no personal experience with Sixt.

When I started reading Fodors forums I read a lot of "only book with AutoEurope" but never read a convincing reason why. I've even started a thread asking why...and again, didn't read a convincing reason - for me. I've rented several times in Europe, always Hertz and always extra insurance coverage. Do call your auto insurer though as well as you credit card. On the last trip I spent hours (not kidding) and when push came to shove, added the extra insurance for the car I picked up in Amsterdam. Why not? It's a small % of the cost of the trip and it's INSURANCE, ensuring me I'm not going to have a headache if something "bad" happens. I don't buy extended warranties on appliances. I buy insurance on rental cars- that are outside of my corporate negotiated rates.

In Florence, there were several of us in line at Hertz. None at the other counters. I didn't mind waiting.

Take some time when you are bored one night and go back and read trip reports when people had rental car and/or damage to the car problems. The headache can continue for a year. I consider it $ well spent to avoid it.

Good luck. One last word = when people rant about the problems they've encountered renting from a discount car vendor, I always think "You get what you pay for". Avoid surprises. Pay for what you want to get = an automatic, big enough for the long legs and the suitcases. You won't regret it. I can promise you that!

The bankruptcy filing is for Hertz in the US, European locations are not included in this. I rented a car from Hertz earlier this year in Europe, I called them when I read about the filing, they told me whatever was happening in the US had nothing to do with them in Europe. Many rental locations are franchises. There is no need to book this early esp as you have to prepay if you book through Autoeurope.

You can select Hertz or whatever rental company you want when booking thru Autoeurope or similar sites. There is no need to book direct and pay more, you can select the rental company, car size and transmission. Last 2 rentals I had with Sixt (booked thru Autoeurope), I had a BMW 3 series estate car, automatic, which is the car group I booked as I needed a large car.

"There is no need to book direct and pay more, "
Note: I did not pay more. That would make no sense.

Autoeurope will be cheaper in the UK about 70% or 75% of the time. I have not booked every one of my UK cars through AE but have done so the vast majority of times. I have never once booked without checking AutoEurope AND the individual vendors. Other than using AE at various times I've booked directly through Alamo, Hertz, Enterprise, Sixt, Europcar, I 'think' Dollar, and a couple of smaller local companies - probably others I can't remember. I pretty much know every rental permutation in England/Scotland and some advantages of AE are 1) often lower rates, 2) fantastic US-based 24/7 customer service with worldwide toll free ph numbers, 3) frequently much better insurance/CDW options/costs, 4) usually lower or non-existent 2nd driver fees.

But -- after getting quotes from AE, definitely do double check with Hertz or whomever you initially choose . . . there ARE the rare unicorn instances where you can get a better deal directly.

Hi Persimmondeb, Leonidas is fine, but nothing special. They have hundreds of shops and a big turnover, it's not an artisan chocolate shop.
I wouldn't make a detour to Ealing for it. But I live in Belgium, there are much better chocolates to be found here.

just a quick check on chocolate. Much of US chocolate has a special flavouring in it which is normally found in Parmesan cheese, rancid butter, vomit etc. European chocolate lacks this flavour being basically made of just chocolate with various levels of vegetable fats. So it will taste different. Just in case DH was not aware.

If you are used to driving an automatic, my advice would be to get one and rent at London Heathrow. The non-driver can be the navigator and hold any handheld device you are using. The government plans to ban the driver using a handheld phone for any purpose, including GPS sat nav, not just making calls or sending texts.

https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...-while-driving

Going west from the airport is fairly easy, because you can take the M4 motorway until it joins the M25 Orbital and then take that (or stay on the M4) to another motorway going in the direction you plan to travel.

Unfortunately traffic around London has increased enormously since starrs’ visit 30 years ago. The M25 Orbital was supposed to be the answer to London’s traffic problems, but now it’s worse than ever. Years ago I used to drive into central London, but now I wouldn’t dream of it.

That's a bit of an exaggeration Bilbo. There's also good chocolate in the US, and there's some bad chocolate in Europe. I think Cadbury's is awful, It contains palm oil and shea fat.

I don't know what Cadbury's chocolate tastes like now, as I haven't bought any for years. The company was bought out by Kraft, who have since changed their name to Mondelez. Our local Cadbury factory was closed, and production moved to Poland.

When the takeover was announced, Kraft said that they had no plans to close our local factory, Within a week, they changed their plans and a major local employer cut thousands of jobs. Where I live, the name Kraft/Mondelez/Cadbury leaves a nasty taste in the mouth even if you don't eat their chocolate.

Also be aware that the British premium brand Green & Blacks is also made in Cadbury factories.

The "special flavoring" is butyric acid, which at least originally, formed during Hershey's processing of milk, and is also found in a lot of cheeses. DS will eat American chocolates. He also likes a lot of European chocolate. I don't think he's particularly enamored of Green & Black, actually. The factory closing is finky and unfortunate, but if we boycotted every company that did similar, we'd eat very little and have no furnishings in the house.

There's of course a profound difference between Cadbury's (and similar) and the Belgian products, but it's all good, and will make my kid happy. I don't mind eating both either. DH rarely eats chocolate, but is happy to drive, and is intrigued by Cadbury World. He may even be intrigued by a random shopping centre in Ealing.

We definitely need a real GPS/sat nav. I'm horrified that people actually try to hold the phone for navigation themselves, since that sounds profoundly unsafe, and we certainly wouldn't do that. Even having the passenger navigate with one works badly for us. It's just more confusing and adds another layer of interaction. And it doesn't matter if the navigating passenger is me or DS (who's good with maps and reads well), it's just more going on. The only real question is whether we suck up the fee, or just buy a cheap one. It does need to be one that talks to DH, in addition to having a clear display, which the passengers usually will assist with interpreting.

hi Tulip, not exaggerating, I just asked google (miss miss it was him over there) I seldom eat the stuff except when forced to by Mrs Bilbo who likes it with beetroot

If you are going to eat chocolate, better to have a little of something fabulous rather than a large average bar.
My favorite is the Chocolate Line.
I just noticed they have a new one;
https://thechocolateline.be/nl/c/pralines/javel
:-)
Javel means bleach.. luckily that's not what it's made off.

The shop is in the former royal palace in Antwerp, and they make some of the products right there in the kitchen where you can see them at work.

What Janisj says is sensible, for the trip to Ealing.

We're still a bit on the fence with Ealing. If we go, we may drive, since it would likely be at least sort of on the way to something else, but I took a look on Google, and it's obviously pretty dense from a traffic perspective, and not intrinsically all that exciting. Although there is an Argos there, and they would give me a GPS for about 70 pounds, killing two birds with one stone, although I'm sure there are purveyors of them nearer to Heathrow. It doesn't look like Kew Gardens is all that far from there, and DS would like that, but it's clearly not someplace you should really drive to, considering the way their website stresses limited parking.

Although I do have a question. Will my blue handicap hangtag be honored in the UK if we hang it from the dash? I rarely use it, because plain old distance isn't really an issue, but occasionally something weird is going on with satellite lots, or there's ice, or a very uneven surface. I was unsure if it made any sense to bring it, since not having it is unlikely to be a major issue (my balance is poor, I use a cane outside most of the time, and inside in some places-but I can actually walk for miles as long as I have it). My cousin Gerald parked in a handicap spot at the Rock of Cashel, and just told them that he had an elderly American with a cane with him (my father) and no tag, but we're not going to do that.

I should also qualify, since this seems to be a hotly debated topic. I meant only to use to park in handicap spots, not over the time limit or in no parking places.

There is parking outside Kew Gardens on the A307 from approx where Old Deer Park is to approx where the Maids of Honour cafe is. It is free to park there. Obviously if you go at the weekend/peak times/summer you will/might have an issue. Plus there have been roadworks on Kew Bridge which has caused considerable traffic, hopefully will be finished by next year. If you are driving, getting there early is important, just after the rush hour preferably.

I used to live in Ealing a few years back, it was and still is very easy to get to from Heathrow, just go on the M4 and come off at the B455 and drive straight up to Ealing, past South Ealing tube station. This will lead to a car park for Ealing Broadway shopping centre accessible from Grove Road (you can check google maps) You can park on the street in Mattock Lane and pay at the meter. Traffic has not been very heavy this year due to obvious reasons, that might not be the case next July. But even so, traffic on a Sunday from LHR to Ealing is unlikely to be heavy, it might be once to get close to the shopping centre but we are not talking NY or LA type traffic. I do not believe your disabled badge will be honoured in the UK.

https://www.ealingbroadwayshopping.co.uk/parking-ealing

Thanks, good to know it's straighforward, and DH does occcasionally drive in NYC, so he is reasonable accustomed to heavy traffic.

I wan't completely sure about the hangtag, and what I've found online seems to be somewhat contradictory. Fortunately using one shouldn't be critical, as there's not going to be ice in July, and if something looks really hairy, DH should be able to drop me somewhere flattish.

I am a little cautious about the Tube, as I understand not all stations have lifts, and those escalators are going to be problematic (I have trouble getting on and off--just how much depends on the escalator in question, but my memory is that they're pretty fast, and I know I found it a little exciting 30 years ago). I'd actually be better off with stairs, but I don't remember if they're normally publicly accessible, and I'm sure that's a long climb.

Yes, the Tube is an issue if you have mobility concerns. The last time I was in London I was having trouble with my knees, and I switched almost entirely to buses. If you go here there is a step-free Tube guide: https://tfl.gov.uk/maps/track/tube It's not only the stairs, some of the interchanges require a route march.

Walking per se isn't really a problem, or even climbing ordinary stairs as long as there's a handrail (and I'm thinking those must be very long stairs in some of those stations, so not really fun) but I have a lot of trouble getting on and off moving things without falling. Some escalators are doable if I'm careful, and some are not. I'm thinking the ones on the Tube are probably not. Buses seem like a much better plan if we're not driving, although I know some stations do have lifts, and in a pinch we could probably plan around those.
Thanks for the guide!

If the idea in Ealing is to visit specific shops (Argos, chocolate shop etc) I'd check opening hours. We were surprised when we first lived in the UK that shops were generally closed until lunchtime on Sundays. That may have changed by now but there's little point in making your way to Ealing to find everything shut.

If you decide on public transport to Ealing (we used to live in Ealing and that's definitely what I would do) there is also a bus that goes directly to Kew Gardens from Ealing. Easy and cheaper than car hire, no need to hassle with parking.

The long escalators at many tube stations do sound potentially unsafe for you. London has a fast pace and you could easily get bowled over getting on or off, though that's a lot less likely on Sunday than during the week. We were getting to the end of a tube escalator once and a young girl in front of me hesitated getting off and if I hadn't grabbed her round the waist she could have fallen over and been trampled by the rush of people behind us. It was fine but could have been very unpleasant. Check on the TFL website which stations have steps or use the buses.

It would never occur to me to voluntarily take the stairs in a Tube station, even when much, much younger! If you can cope with stairs you can ride the top deck on the buses, which is always a good view, but above ground travel can be really sloooow. That said, with three of you, taxis may be a viable option (proper black ones, please, not Uber).