rachill_az

Hello,

Husband and I will be renting a car in England next June. The plan is to pick it up in Bath on a Monday and return it in York on Sunday. However, the problem we are running into is that most rental companies are closed on Sundays. These are our options:

Option 1: We found an Enterprise in York that is open on Sunday. Enterprise prices are little higher and the website doesn't offer an add-ons for navigation, extra drivers or insurance upgrades.
Option 2: Europcar accepts after-hour drop offs in York. Not sure we are entirely comfortable with after-hour drops-offs. What do you think?
Option 3: Europcar near Leeds Airport is open on Sunday. We'll be driving from the Lake District to York Would it be easy to stop in Leeds to return the rental car and then take the train into York?

Thanks for the help and advice.

rachill_az

Adding another piece of information. I did call Enterprise and they do not offer add-ons like navigation and additional drivers from their local locations (like Bath) - these options are only available from airport locations. So seems like Enterprise is ruled out now.

That leaves us with either dropping the car off after hours in York or dropping the car off in Leeds and taking the train into York.

tuscanlifeedit

I have no problem dropping off after hours if it is a part of the agreement. We've done it a few times.

Where is the drop off in York? If it's not in the center, that might be a consideration.

If you're dropping off at Leeds' airport, then you have to get on the train. Is it a direct train from the airport to York? I guess that would alleviate some of the hassle, but check out all the logistics.

I would find out the address of the drop off in York, and if central, I would just drop off after hours.

janisj

>>Option 2: Europcar accepts after-hour drop offs in York. Not sure we are entirely comfortable with after-hour drops-offs. What do you think?<<

Probably 20+% of all the rentals I've done in the UK were after hours or at a nearby hotel that the rental agency has an agreement with.

Would not give it a second thought.

Or . . . can you keep the car until Saturday morning? That might give you a wider selection of rental companies and the extra day might not end up costing much if any more.

dotheboyshall

<i>If you're dropping off at Leeds' airport, then you have to get on the train.</i>

You get a bus into Leeds city centre then a train from there.

<i>the website doesn't offer an add-ons for navigation, extra drivers or insurance upgrades.</i>

Why do you need to rent a SatNav. If you already have one then use that with the appropriate maps. The Enterprise website does offer different insurance options. As for extra drivers, it's the sort of thing you sort out at the office as they need to see licences

janisj

And -- I personally would not rely on a GPS/satnav. You'll want a proper road atlas even if the car does have a GPS.

WoinParis

SAme as Janis : I've never had (with a reputable company) a problem with a drop off with closed office.

And I also agree about maps - or : just bring your own GPS from wherever you are. I do it everytime everywhere, I save on costs and I am sure I can use my GPS since it is ... mine.

Last time I forgot it, it cost me 80€ to rent it and a new one costs about 90€.

Dukey1

This ASSUMES the OP HAS a GPS of their own or has a data plan for their phone which they are comfortable paying for.

hetismij2

If you have a smart phone you can use Here or Google Maps to navigate. Download any maps you may need before you leave home, then you don't need a data connection.
Can you hang on to the car for an extra day and drop it off on Monday morning if you are worried about out of hours drop off?

rachill_az

Thanks for all of the feedback.

Sounds like dropping off after hours on Sunday shouldn't be a problem. We won't be able keep the car for an extra day and drop off on Monday since our hotel in York does not have any parking.

The car drop-off location is called Europcar York Station. I'm assuming there will be plenty of taxis available at the station for an easy ride into York city center?

Thanks for the advice about GPS. We have iPhones with Verizon service. We plan on getting the Verizon travel pass for $10/day which allows us to use our data in England. We will plan to use that for GPS navigation. Good idea to offline the maps just in case.

I see that Europcar has a "delivery" feature and they will deliver our rental car to our hotel in Bath to us for only $6US - that seems like a nice option and may persuade us to chose Europcar.

I priced out Europcar for a 6 day rental (Hyundai I30 1.4 or similar), one-way rental, automatic transmission, extra driver fee, premium zero dollar deductible, and roadside assistance for a total cost of $700USD. Seems reasonable compared to other companies however they require to pay in full now (no option to pay at location). Thoughts?

Christina

Seems reasonable but I would double-check if that is really for an automatic as they don't rent that type of car with an A/T (Hyundai I30), and if it is in USD and not GBP.

They have an option to pay later on their website, not sure why you aren't getting it, but of course, that costs about 7 pct more.

tuscanlifeedit

York Station is the center of town and the rail station will have lots of taxis.

Delivery in Bath may be a good idea, as rental places are sometimes in suburban light industrial areas. I've had that experience in Bath as well as other cities.

The $700 USD price seems a little high to me but we never rent an automatic, nor do we get some of the extras you mention.

I assume you called AutoEurope, right?

rachill_az

>>Seems reasonable but I would double-check if that is really for an automatic as they don't rent that type of car with an A/T (Hyundai I30)<< Thanks, I will call to confirm.

>>if it is in USD and not GBP<< Yes, the $700 is in USD.

>>They have an option to pay later on their website, not sure why you aren't getting it, but of course, that costs about 7 pct more.<< I'd prefer to pay later, but if they have free cancellation (just in case) then I guess it is fine.

>>York Station is the center of town and the rail station will have lots of taxis.<< Great, thanks!!!

>>Delivery in Bath may be a good idea, as rental places are sometimes in suburban light industrial areas.<< Excellent, we will make sure to do the delivery. It will definitely save us time.

>>The $700 USD price seems a little high to me but we never rent an automatic, nor do we get some of the extras you mention.<< Thanks for the input. Both husband and I drive manual cars in the US, but we figured we better stick with automatic for our trip - since we'll be navigating a new area, driving on the other side of the road, etc.

>>I assume you called AutoEurope, right?<< No, I was planning on just booking online direct through Europcar. I also looked at AutoEurope online but they only gave me prices for Europcar. Is there a need to call AutoEurope?

Thanks again for all of the help! It is truly appreciated. We are very much looking forward to our first visit to England

janisj

>> We won't be able keep the car for an extra day and drop off on Monday since our hotel in York does not have any parking. <<

There are car parks IN York.

The station is right in central York -- but it is a bit of a hike/slog w/ luggage from EuropCar to the station - up a fairly long stairs to walk across a bridge and then to the station forecourt to catch a cab (or a short walk up a gentle incline in the opposite direction and then back across the bridge to the station)

>>Both husband and I drive manual cars in the US, but we figured we better stick with automatic for our trip - since we'll be navigating a new area, driving on the other side of the road, etc. <<

I always rent a stick in the UK -- And I am totally useless w/ my left hand - <B>TOTALLY</B>. After maybe 4 or 5 miles and a handful of gear shifts it will be second nature. It isn't like you are street racing and trying to pull another car of the line Easy peasy up through the gears -- The hardest thing is to find that darned reverse -- be SURE to locate reverse before driving off from picking up teh car.

janisj

Re autoeurope . . . I find they are cheapest maybe 70+% of the time but not always. IME they have always been cheaper than booking directly w/ EuropCar except one time when there was a special through my airline.

Same w/ Avis and Hertz -- Autoeurope has always been cheaper than booking w/ either directly except once when I got a special package.

BBgt

Re: Autoeurope - For what it's worth, I had a booking with them last spring which I had paid for upfront when reserving through the website. I later decided to book directly with Enterprise and cancelled the Autoeurope reservation. My card was credited within 24 hours and with no hassle whatsoever.

Autoeurope was simple in that you could pay for everything upfront, including insurance - yet it was all fully refundable. That said, I've had two perfectly fine experiences with Enterprise.

One more note - I had planned to use GPS on my phone; however, the automatic Hyundai Enterprise gave me had in-dash GPS at no extra cost. Nice!

tuscanlifeedit

The reason to call AutEurope is that they often find options that aren't on their website.