Car Rental web sites

We have used Arnold Clark in England and Scotland several times. Always good service ,good cars, and better prices than most. We declined extra CDW and use our credit card insurance coverage.
Here is the link. https://www.arnoldclarkrental.com/

You might want to check with AutoEurope. They are a consolidator located in Portland, ME. I’ve rented from them often in various countries. Great prices, choice and customer service personnel. Often recommended on this forum. If you are concerned with auto insurance, check on American Express Premium Car Rental Protection. Very reasonable price for great coverage.

Unless you are stopping to see particularly remote things there isn't much point in hiring a car to get from Bath to York, you can just get a train between the two.

There is no best way; just what works for you. For the UK I’ve been going through Costco (Enterprise rental company) since a second driver is included. That normally costs £10 a day, so for a 20 day trip, it’s a good savings,

Regarding insurance, purchase what you’re comfortable with and what you can afford when you pick up the vehicle. We used to get basic CDW through Allianz, but now we get the zero deductible so if anything happens we just drop off the keys and we’re done with it. I do recommend getting the road hazard coverage. It’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll scrape some curbs until you adjust to driving on the left.

Terrific experience with Costco travel renting two mid size suvs from enterprise (including accident repair service resolution when sister struck a hidden small tree stump on a narrow country road). Have heard wonderful comments about Arnold Clark and if competitive priced would also “give them a go”. The left lane drift is real and offer following tip, have the driver only drive and assign front seat passenger for ALL navigation duties. Hence the driver is fully tasked with safe car operation. Note: even with on board navigation system and iPhone maps we missed some turns and got lost in the country. BEST THING to happen to us! Chatting with locals to course correct lead to a wonderful small local pub and a tip to a local market.

Thanks for the replies- this forum is an amazing resource! We are going to be doing a bunch of exploration of the countryside over the 11 days, so a car would be a valuable investment. We are planning to secure travel insurance for the entirety of our travels, so the advice on how best to proceed is also appreciated. Regarding the cost difference between prepaying the rental vs paying at the counter- there is a significant difference. I’m hesitant to prepay ( speaking specifically about Costco here) as my experience renting in the States is l’ll reserved a car and then recheck every few days to rebook as prices drop. I don’t really want to start prepaying rental costs as I track prices… input?
Thanks

As a test I just went to Costco travel and booked an suv for a week in May at Heathrow and there is no prepayment required ( same as always). Unsure where you are finding a prepaid requirement.

We ended up booking Costco Enterprise out of Heathrow for our July trip. The price ended up going lower and I was easily able to re-book at the lower rate. We haven't used it yet so can't mention anything about the service but the rebooking for a better price was easy.

I've used Arnold Clark on my last two trips to the UK. In 2024, I was in England for almost 6 weeks and rented directly with Arnold Clark. In 2023 when I was in Scotland for 3 weeks, I rented from them through their broker, Celtic Legend for my trip to Scotland. Both rental experiences went very well. Arnold Clark is a pleasure to deal with. Their agents explain everything to you and make sure that you understand the fine print. They are good about upgrading sometimes, and very courteous and helpful. I will always use them in the UK for future rentals.

https://www.arnoldclarkrental.com/
https://www.celticlegend.co.uk/car-rental/

I looked at Arnold Clark. - good rates and good support for certain, but logistics play into it: in order to use them we have to train to Southampton + or - $100 , then our return at York the return is closed on Sundry, so an extra day for that . Costco is looking good so far !

Arnold Clark , for me . Rent via Celtic Legend

Sorry to hear that Arnold Clark doesn't fit your logistics. We've rented from them 3 or 4 times in 2.5 years and have been very happy. We rented at the airport, then headed to Bath, but we were staying outside of town (actually at a country house in nearby Wells). Had Arnold Clark been available in Bath, we would've rented from there. Another trip, we stayed on the outskirts of Bath, left the car at the bnb and took the bus into town.

I'll be interested to hear how the Costco rental goes as there may be a time when we need an alternative to Arnold Clark. Can't remember who we rented from in 2018.

FWIW, another time, leaving the airport location was fairly straighforward from Arnold Clark. They have a shuttle from the airport which we used, even though we had been in London.