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Different car hire companies

I'm looking at different options for our car hire in July. Here are the scenarios - both for a manual, larger compact class of car:

  1. "Europe by Car" (www.europebycarblog.com) consolidator - Pick up at Leeds Bradford July 10th @ 5 pm, drop at Heathrow July 25th @ 5 pm for $202.00 USD
  2. Enterprise - Pick up in Keighley July 11th @ 8:30 am, drop off in Slough after visiting Windsor July 25th @ 5:00 pm for $559.00 CAD (Keighley location isn't open on Sunday's, so would have to wait until Monday morning to pick up).

Friends from Skipton would take us to either location to pick up car.

Does anyone have experience with Europe by Car? I checked it out because of Rick's review about car rentals. Is this price for real? Seems too good to be true. He also recommends Autoeurope, but they were more expensive than either option above.

We've rented directly from Enterprise previously with great success, never a problem. Is a consolidator a better way to go without any hassles?

Thank you.

Posted by
1 posts

When reading Rick's recommendation for consolidators Europe By Car and Auto Europe, you may have noted that he recommends checking for add-on fees and restrictions. This is very important when comparing rates and confirming all charges. I've used Europe By Car in the past and had no problems. While checking rates for a car rental last year, however, I discovered that the rate quoted by them did not include a substantial charge for my one-way rental. I wound up renting directly with Sixt because they were quite a bit less expensive after adding the one-way fee. If you find a rental rate that seems unreal, it's best to confirm all costs by follow-up email or phone call.

Enjoy your trip...John

Posted by
1067 posts

The problem with booking through a third party is that you don't know in advance which hire car company you are getting. Green Motion and Easirent have a terrible reputation on Trip Advisor (and were usually booked through a third party website).