Hello!
We will be spending two days In Liverpool (arriving by train) and then we would like to rent a car in Liverpool to travel to the Cotswolds. I may be overthinking the process. I have been using the autoeurope website to look up the information and Europcar has a great price and a car that suits our needs. I input that I would like to pick up the car at 8:00 a.m. at the 278, Prescott location. I thought I would take a look at the Europcar website just to double check and the 278, Prescott location does not open until 10:00 a.m. according to the website and does not list my car preference as being available. I really don't mind necessarily if it's not that particular car, however, I am concerned about the rental company not having that car and wanting to switch to a more expensive car. Also concerned that Autoeurope will let me book a 8:00 a.m. time when Europcar does not open 10:00. Would I be better off to travel a little further by bus or taxi and pick up my rental at John Lennon airport? Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
Posted by
Lake District, England
5763 posts
i think you are overthinking the process and would also question why you are booking through a third party.
As with everything else - air fares, train, hotels, etc- that is always a recipe for misunderstandings and complications. Also the 3rd party has to make a profit, so is very unlikely to have a cheaper rate than booking direct.
From their website, here, they do open at 0800- https://www.europcar.co.uk/en-gb/stations/united-kingdom/liverpool-city Also this is their Liverpool City branch- so they can reasonably be expected to have a full range of cars. Under UK law if you pay for a product and are given a better product due to lack of stock then the supplier must honour the price for the inferior product.
Posted by
2412 posts
I really do wonder if you are simply deciding to go to The Cotswolds because it is an area you have heard about? By road, it will be a boring journey along some very busy motorways through The Midlands (Birmingham area).
Are you visiting nearby CHESTER? I would also suggest that going to north Wales would be worthwhile and a much easier and shorter journey from Liverpool.
Posted by
Preston UK
877 posts
To get from Liverpool to the Cotswolds you have to drive past a number of rural areas, all of which are both prettier and less crowded. You could travel a little further east to the Peak District. You could head west to Snowdonia. Or you could drive down the borders through Shropshire, Powys and Herefordshire. All of them in my view are better than the Cotswolds.
Posted by
OP
31 posts
@ isn31c - Thank you for fact checking me on the opening time - One less thing to overthink :-).
I was using the AutoEurope website at the recommendation of Rick Steves:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/booking-a-car
Thank you again for taking the time to check on the opening time and to respond.
Posted by
OP
31 posts
As an update, I used my AAA membership and they took care of booking my car using Autoeurope - Hertz was the selected vendor. This saved me time and money and gave me reassurance.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
6323 posts
I've used AutoEurope before and found them very reliable, so I'm glad everything worked. :) I will be renting a car next year out of Liverpool so happy to have information about picking it up in Liverpool.
Posted by
75 posts
I have used Autoeurope a number of times and have never had any issues with price, time, place of pick up.