Arriving at terminal 3 what is the best /most convenient car rental agency at Heathrow. Are all the rental agencies offsite? Are there any agencies to avoid? This is my first experience renting at this airport.
Thanks.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
8489 posts
From T3 I believe the rental locations are all along the airport perimeter road very near each other. They’re a 5-10 minutes shuttle ride from the terminal. It’s a pretty direct 5 minutes ride to the M25 from the rental car pickup location.
Posted by
Tennessee
486 posts
At Heathrow, all the car rental agencies are offsite, in most cases on the airport's Northern Perimeter Road.
I have rented cars at Heathrow many times (most recently a week ago). I like Hertz because the waiting time is much shorter than I experienced at Europcar (but that was 10+ years ago and perhaps Europcar's wait time has improved). Also, I once rented from Avis, and it was located slightly further away from the airport, which was a negative for me.
I assume you will be returning the car to Heathrow. Ir you will be traveling back to Heathrow on the M25, I recommend you ask the car rental agency which exit to take. In my case a few days ago, to return the car to Hertz, I took the exit for Heathrow Terminal 5.
Posted by
Land of La
10104 posts
I’ve used Hertz twice. Shuttle ride to the facility. One trip drove from there to Lyme Regis. The other drove to Bournemouth. No problems on either trip.
Posted by
Duluth, MN🌲
11598 posts
I highly recommend Arnold Clark. They are a car rental company based in the UK, and I've rented from them twice with great success both times. The first time was when I was in Scotland (in 2023) and the second time in England (2024). Their agents are extremely courteous. They've always given me great cars and sometimes upgraded me for free. Plus they take the time to explain all the details of the contract and the fine print and make sure that you understand it. This to me was invaluable.
You can rent from Arnold Clark directly, or you can rent through Celtic Legend, which acts sort of like a consolidator for them. I've done both, and both times it was very satisfactory. I would certainly check both companies and get quotes from each to see which one will save you the most money. One advantage to booking with Celtic Legend is that they often give you extra perks like an extra driver for free or a free sat nav (GPS), although I prefer using Google Maps.
Regardless, Arnold Clark has a number of locations, including one at Heathrow. Really cannot recommend them highly enough.
https://www.arnoldclarkrental.com/
https://www.celticlegend.co.uk/car-rental/