Which car rental site to use in England?

Have you considered renting a car from Luton Airport, which is just up the road from St Albans, then returning to Heathrow? Airport-to-airport returns might work out cheaper and give you a greater choice of companies.

There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't use the Enterprise UK site. As a non-UK resident I have used it several times.

Seeing you're going to be in St Albans, though, have you considered a local company? We've used Traffic Self-Drive, based in St Albans before and found them excellent. Cheaper than the big brands, good cars, and they will deliver the vehicle to your door, which is handy if you're staying with relatives. (Enterprise offers a free pickup and drop-off service which is also good).

http://www.trafficselfdrive.com/

I've used Arnold Clark on my last two trips to the UK. Earlier this year in England, I was there 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 extremely well. The Arnold Clark staff was 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. I know that they have a rental office right outside Heathrow, so you might want to request a quote from them. And I would get a quote using both links below; from Celtic Legend and Arnold Clark, as you may get a better deal from one.

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

If you’ve not rented a car in Europe before it’s worth bearing in mind that the default is a manual transmission. If you want an automatic, you should specify a in advance and there’ll probably be a small increase in cost

You’ll encounter a lot of roundabouts. If you’re not familiar with them, then it’s probably worth watching a few online videos.

Some popular towns to visit, such as Oxford and Cambridge, have made or less declared war on the motor car. Difficult one way systems and expensive, hard-to-find parking means you are probably better off parking outside the city- there’s often a “Park and Ride” car park- and getting a bus in.

If you’ve not rented a car in Europe before it’s worth bearing in mind that the default is a manual transmission.

I have no trouble driving a manual shift in France and Spain. I have no trouble driving on the left in the UK. Combining the two? Couldn't do it.

You’ll encounter a lot of roundabouts.

over 130 in just one city alone - Milton Keynes - and growing

If you’re a Costco member, check its pricing. It uses Enterprise in the UK and I’ve been able to rent automatics. One plus is you can add a 2nd driver for free. That usually costs 10£ a day.

Thank you for all the responses and useful suggestions. Enterprise UK's rental of an economy car, automatic, for 29 days, and returning the car at Heathrow for about $1700. Damage waiver is included. Now just have to decide whether to get the rental company's excess protection for $565 or use the Amer Ex car rental coverage insurance which is only about $20. I have read pros and cons for each, so it is difficult to decide.

Check your credit card insurance carefully. Some have a maximum number of consecutive days for coverage. Mine is 16 days.