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-   -   Scotland - rental car - 12 volt power supply? (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/scotland-rental-car-12-volt-power-supply-788194/)

dcil52 Jun 4th, 2009 10:02 AM

Scotland - rental car - 12 volt power supply?
 
Our first time abroad. When renting a car in Scotland is it safe to assume it will have a 12 volt power supply? Not sure if this if a world-wide standard or not. This would eliminate the need for other electrical outlet adapters since all we need power for is the camera batteries and IPODs and we have 12 volt cords for these.

hetismij Jun 4th, 2009 10:06 AM

Yes you can use the the car for charging all of these things no problem. We take mainly car chargers with us now wherever we travel.

logos999 Jun 4th, 2009 10:25 AM

The are some bigger trucks indeed that use 24V and not the common 12V :D

Gordon_R Jun 4th, 2009 11:25 AM

12V sockets are virtually universal on all cars in Europe, including Scotland. I travel around frequently around the continent in hire cars and carry a small MP3 player and FM transmitter powered by 12V socket. I can't remember the last time I picked up a car that didn't have one. You can even buy a cheap multi-socket adaptor like I have in my own car for SatNav as well as the transmitter. Just be sure not to leave your gadgets on display in the car when you're not there.

hetismij Jun 4th, 2009 12:06 PM

Logos I don't think they'll be hiring a juggernaut for their holidays ;).

logos999 Jun 4th, 2009 12:12 PM

But then at least, they'll have a nice place to sleep. Just need to be careful about those lamp posts, bridges and high voltages power lines. :D

mikej48 Jun 5th, 2009 10:20 AM

We had a Peugot in Scotland and a VW Golf in England last week. They both had a 12V power supply. We used ours for the GPS we took with us.

geoffthelobster Jun 6th, 2009 07:30 AM

Just a warning - make sure you check it's working before you leave the car rental place. It's a tiny thing that should be the least of your worries but can be a real hassle if it doesn't work. I've just got back from California and ours was broken meaning we couldn't keep the GPS charged properly!

I'd definitely recommend hiring a GPS.

mikej48 Jun 7th, 2009 07:38 AM

You can buy one in the US with European maps for just a few dollars more than the rental.

ribeirasacra Jun 7th, 2009 08:22 AM

Some cars no longer have ashtrays or lighters, one I can think of is the Toyota Aygo; any others?


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