Holiday car rental

[sleeping giant]

I'm considering renting a motor in Gran Canaria in the summer but have never driven abroad so I am a little nervous at the thought .

I'm hopeful that it will just feel natural driving on the right with a left hand drive vehicle.

How have others found driving abroad for the first time ?

Also , any tips on what site to use to book one ? I've been looking at money supermarket , car rentals.com and sky scanner.
I understand that if I take my own excess insurance , the rental company can put a hold of around £1200 on a credit card.
Should I pick up at the airport or will I get a better deal in the resort ?

Average size car with full to full fuel is working out at just under £200 for 2 weeks in August.

Any advice welcome.

Cheers

[Scouse Hibee]

I'm considering renting a motor in Gran Canaria in the summer but have never driven abroad so I am a little nervous at the thought .

I'm hopeful that it will just feel natural driving on the right with a left hand drive vehicle.

How have others found driving abroad for the first time ?

Also , any tips on what site to use to book one ? I've been looking at money supermarket , car rentals.com and sky scanner.
I understand that if I take my own excess insurance , the rental company can put a hold of around £1200 on a credit card.
Should I pick up at the airport or will I get a better deal in the resort ?

Average size car with full to full fuel is working out at just under £200 for 2 weeks in August.

Any advice welcome.

Cheers

My advice is don't do it, you're going to Gran Canaria so hardly a place you need a car to get around. Holiday is all about relaxing, having a beer/wine when ever you want and enjoying the sun.
Sitting in a car for any length of time never mind driving one would be my worst nightmare 😁

[McD]

Ive found driving abroad to be pretty straightforward, what I would say is, driving here is mostly unconscious actions, and your mind is free to look about, chat, and specifically to navigate. driving abroad, you need to concentrate a bit more (as your unconscious actions are likely to kick in if you don’t, and you’ll turn onto the wrong side of the road :greengrin), and as such navigation is a bit more challenging, though not a huge hurdle

[Hibrandenburg]

I always hire a car when on holiday. If you do it far enough in advance then you can get it dirt cheap and sometimes even cheaper than the airport transfer.

As for driving on the wrong side of the road (I do that every time I'm back in the UK) you need to concentrate at first but it will soon come naturally, the street markings will direct you automatically in the right direction and side of the road.

[overdrive]

I’ve driven in New Zealand (same side of the road as here but some strange rules), California and mainland Spain. It has generally been fine. There’s been some challenging moments, e.g. some of the more rural roads in NZ, trying to cross 6 lanes of traffic when coming out of LAX when it was my first time on a left hand drive and first time on an automatic and driving on some really narrow roads in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Spain. The guy at the car rental place almost had a heart attack when we said we weren’t going to the beach but rather the mountains just after he handed us the keys to a brand new VW Golf with delivery mileage :-).

Generally, after 15 minutes you get used to driving on the wrong side of the road. I was most worried about roundabouts in Spain (they don’t exist in the US AFAIK) but the lanes usually kind of curve to the right on approach so you are kind of forced into going into the correct direction anyway.

You need to do your research on car hire companies. Some of the ‘cheap’ ones come with a load of extras that you need to pay.

[Hibbyradge]

Ive found driving abroad to be pretty straightforward, what I would say is, driving here is mostly unconscious actions, and your mind is free to look about, chat, and specifically to navigate. driving abroad, you need to concentrate a bit more (as your unconscious actions are likely to kick in if you don’t, and you’ll turn onto the wrong side of the road :greengrin), and as such navigation is a bit more challenging, though not a huge hurdle

This is the point I would make.

At first, everything you do when driving abroad, is done consciously and very deliberately, so it's a bit stressful, but you will get used to this quickly.

You'll still find yourself concentrating more than at home, but you'll relax into it, although in my case, not enough to have music playing.

I prefer full to full fuel policies although that might initially look more expensive. However, you'll end up leaving gallons in the tank if you take full to empty so the saving isn't that great.

Others may think otherwise, and I'd be interested to hear different views.

I hired cars in Italy and Miami last year. The latter included excess cover, but I bought my own cover for Italy and it was fine.

I bought an annual policy from https://www.icarhireinsurance.com, but daily cover might suit you better.

Finally, if you have a portable satnav, take it with you. If you don't, download Navmii or another highly rated app for your phone and make sure you have the right map. The car hire company will rent you a satnav, but it's way too expensive.

Have fun :thumbsup:

[blaikie]

I'm considering renting a motor in Gran Canaria in the summer but have never driven abroad so I am a little nervous at the thought .

I'm hopeful that it will just feel natural driving on the right with a left hand drive vehicle.

How have others found driving abroad for the first time ?

Also , any tips on what site to use to book one ? I've been looking at money supermarket , car rentals.com and sky scanner.
I understand that if I take my own excess insurance , the rental company can put a hold of around £1200 on a credit card.
Should I pick up at the airport or will I get a better deal in the resort ?

Average size car with full to full fuel is working out at just under £200 for 2 weeks in August.

Any advice welcome.

Cheers

I’ve booked with PlusCar a few times, it’s a local firm pay by debit or credit card and no deposit held! We hired a Renault Kangoo in Fuerteventura last month for £90 for the week had no issue.

Heard good things about CiCar as well in the canaries, you can pay cash with them!

[weecounty hibby]

Avoid europcar like the plague. Shower of *******s. Too long a story to go into full details but basically I am still waiting for a £1400 refund from an accident in France while my car was parked in a car park in a parking bay and a twat but it with a minibus. He took full responsibility and eye witnesses told the same story. I was te they would put a "hold" on my credit card until the blame was sorted out. What they actually did was take £1400 from it. Europcar in UK don't want to know as it happened in France. The French don't give a **** because they're French. Lawyers will be in loved soon

[Hibbyradge]

Lawyers will be in loved soon

Awwww. I do enjoy a happy ending. :greengrin:

[weecounty hibby]

Awwww. I do enjoy a happy ending. :greengrin:

Haha, that's what happens when you combine autocorrect, an old iPhone and fingers like coos tits!!!

[sleeping giant]

Avoid europcar like the plague. Shower of *******s. Too long a story to go into full details but basically I am still waiting for a £1400 refund from an accident in France while my car was parked in a car park in a parking bay and a twat but it with a minibus. He took full responsibility and eye witnesses told the same story. I was te they would put a "hold" on my credit card until the blame was sorted out. What they actually did was take £1400 from it. Europcar in UK don't want to know as it happened in France. The French don't give a **** because they're French. Lawyers will be in loved soon


That's the kind of story that worries me.

It's not as easy to argue your case when you are back home.

[sleeping giant]

This is the point I would make.

At first, everything you do when driving abroad, is done consciously and very deliberately, so it's a bit stressful, but you will get used to this quickly.

You'll still find yourself concentrating more than at home, but you'll relax into it, although in my case, not enough to have music playing.

I prefer full to full fuel policies although that might initially look more expensive. However, you'll end up leaving gallons in the tank if you take full to empty so the saving isn't that great.

Others may think otherwise, and I'd be interested to hear different views.

I hired cars in Italy and Miami last year. The latter included excess cover, but I bought my own cover for Italy and it was fine.

I bought an annual policy from https://www.icarhireinsurance.com, but daily cover might suit you better.

Finally, if you have a portable satnav, take it with you. If you don't, download Navmii or another highly rated app for your phone and make sure you have the right map. The car hire company will rent you a satnav, but it's way too expensive.

Have fun :thumbsup:

I would have the kids and wife bothering me while I'm driving too.
I'm going off the idea :-)

Do you know if you can find out the rental company's excess insurance charge before turning up at the desk? It doesn't seem obvious on the websites.

[Jay]

Avoid europcar like the plague. Shower of *******s. Too long a story to go into full details but basically I am still waiting for a £1400 refund from an accident in France while my car was parked in a car park in a parking bay and a twat but it with a minibus. He took full responsibility and eye witnesses told the same story. I was te they would put a "hold" on my credit card until the blame was sorted out. What they actually did was take £1400 from it. Europcar in UK don't want to know as it happened in France. The French don't give a **** because they're French. Lawyers will be in loved soon

Cost us £1000 when a woman hit us in France. We were on a roundabout and she just didnt stop on approach. Apparently we were 50% to blame.

[weecounty hibby]

Cost us £1000 when a woman hit us in France. We were on a roundabout and she just didnt stop on approach. Apparently we were 50% to blame.

We weren't even in the car and it was parked in a bay in a car park. The other guy came along the road had missed his turning into the car park and tried to take the entrance too quickly. In no way could I be held even 1% responsible for the accident.

[Hibbyradge]

I would have the kids and wife bothering me while I'm driving too.
I'm going off the idea :-)

Do you know if you can find out the rental company's excess insurance charge before turning up at the desk? It doesn't seem obvious on the websites.

Yes. When you start to make a booking, the website will offer you excess insurance at whatever rate. If you don't like the cost, just come out of the site.

Excess insurance charges vary from company to company and car to car so there's a bit of research ahead of you. It is an expensive way to do it though.

If you have an accident and have your own excess insurance, they will take care of it.

Check out the information on that website I gave you.

[Hibbyradge]

Cost us £1000 when a woman hit us in France. We were on a roundabout and she just didnt stop on approach. Apparently we were 50% to blame.

What kind of excess insurance did you have?

[Jay]

What kind of excess insurance did you have?

It was quite a few years ago but we took everything they offered us and asked if there was any more available. We had been in an accident in america a few years before that and had learned a few lessons. Hubby photographed and videoed the aftermath but we had no chance with them

[Hibbyradge]

It was quite a few years ago but we took everything they offered us and asked if there was any more available. We had been in an accident in america a few years before that and had learned a few lessons. Hubby photographed and videoed the aftermath but we had no chance with them

That's very strange.

They usually don't take a security deposit from the credit card if their excess insurance is in force.

You most certainly were scammed. Bassas.