Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my f...
Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my first litter of labs - moved house - guess I had better work on catching up now!
Member since:20.03.2001
Reviews:275
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Some of you may know that I am a big fan of Europcar, having hired vehicles from them in the both the UK and overseas.
However, on this occasion, BA’s discount rate was nowhere near that of the ThomsonFly Offers in the summer, and prices directly from their website were in the region of £250 for 6 days hire, so drastic action was needed.
I have hired from Hertz rental twice in Lanzarote, once through Holiday Autos, and once through the rep in resort, and amazingly had the same car (I don’t mean the same model, I mean the same car) on both occasions without any problems. I have not, however, booked with them direct, until now.
THEIR WEBSITE As with most car rentals these days, websites tend to be the first port of call. Hertz website, like most of their international counterparts, allow you to book throughout their worldwide destinations. You will asked initially to select your country from one of 20 on their site, and also your chosen language from English, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish and Dutch (I wouldn’t have had the latter down as a common language but there you have it).
If your home country is not listed on the front page, there is a drop down menu offering everything from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe (you can hire Hertz cars in Afghanistan?).
Hertz offer manuals and automatics and car models range from a small Hyundai Getz right up to a Mercedes Van, although prices for the bigger vehicles are not quoted on the site, hence you need to phone to book.
BOOKING Once your country and language are selected, you are directed to their
booking site, where you input your chosen city or airport code, whether you are returning it to the same location, and the dates you want to hire. Vehicles can be booked up to 11 months in advance.
**** A LITTLE TIP **** We were travelling the week before Christmas and made a relatively late booking, however, people were arriving at the airport hoping to hire on spec, and Hertz (and all the other companies in the airport) didn’t have a spare car between them. Apparently for Christmas week arrivals, they had a waiting list of 150 people from the UK alone waiting for cars.
The prices returned for 6 days hire were quite reasonable, around £160 for a Ford Focus (or similar) with air-conditioning. Along with your quote, Hertz outlines each classification of car, what they contain, i.e. stereo, air conditioning, manual or automatic and how many people and suitcases they can carry.
**** ANOTHER TIP **** Most car hire companies reserve you “XX model or similar”, they will NOT guarantee you a specific car. This is quite a important to remember; when we arrived in Valencia in the summer we had booked a SEAT Leon or similar, and ended up with a new Renault Megane; a nice car, but the ‘shaking of ass’ boot meant we couldn’t get our suitcases in, so if you are not light travellers, then it may be worth booking a car a size bigger than you actually require.
While I was dithering as to whether to keep searching, my other half piped up that he had a discount voucher for Hertz. On checking the site, it has a number of options for Executive Hertz members and discount voucher holders to log-in or enter codes before obtaining their quote.
It was here I came a cropper. It took me several attempts to work out exactly where and which part of the code I should be entering. Once I succeeded, I received a message advising me to contact the call centre on 020 7026 0077 to continue the booking. This number is apparently for web-support, their central reservations number is: 08708 44 88 44.
Both lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which is more than I can say for some of their depots, but that’s another story.
PHONE BOOKINGS On calling, I didn’t encounter any automated systems and amazingly in today’s times, got straight through to a human, and a very nice one he was too. I outlined my requirements, provided the discount voucher reference and was given a price, a staggering £200 for the six days, some £45 more than the website quote with no discount voucher.
I was quick to point this out, at which point he must have realised that this was a “pay on arrival” rate, and that there was a “pre-paid” rate as well. This came out at a slightly lower £147 with unlimited mileage and third party insurance.
I elected to pay for the booking with my BMI Mastercard, and was advised that I actually got a bigger discount for paying with the card than through the discount voucher. THE RESULT? A total of £125 for 6 days with third party insurance and unlimited mileage. Fully inclusive insurance is an additional cost and paid at point of collection.
Hertz provided me with a booking reference and advised me that I could access and the print the paperwork from their website. They also faxed us a copy of the paperwork.
I was advised that if for any reason I could not collect the car, to contact the UK central reservations and my money would be refunded. If you fail to show up without notifying them, you will be subjected to a £50 ‘No Show’ charge.
**** NOTE: **** I have read other car ops where people have complained that they have been charged extra at depots for the excess insurance waiver. While this may seem a little unfair, the majority of car companies have quite a high excess (Europcar £400 in the UK, Hertz 650 Euros in Lanzarote) which they don’t widely publicise.
By paying the excess insurance waiver on collection of the car, you are comfortable in the knowledge that, in the unlikely and unfortunate event you write the car off during your stay, you can walk away without paying a penny. I have heard of people, who have not taken advantage of this excess waiver, and have returned home to find wapping debits from their credit cards for disputed damage. It is wise to remember that, in large depots, for ease of process and speed, you tend to sign the paperwork before checking the car, and will return the car without it being checked by the company, so always do a once over before leaving the hire location and highlight any problems to the staff, it could do you a lot of good in the long run, particularly if you do not take advantage of the fully comprehensive insurance.
COLLECTION There are a number of collection depots in Lanzarote, one being just down the road from our apartments in the Playa del los Pocillos shopping complex. However, as we wanted to use the car to return to the airport, we elected to collect it from the airport. I didn’t collect the car on the day of arrival as I had been drinking en-route.
There was no-one at the desk when I both collected and returned the car, the staff preferring the outlook of the coffee bar enjoying a quick ciggie (who says this habit is declining?). However, once they returned, they were pleasant, my passport and driving licence were checked and the details recorded, the paperwork printed, and we were directed towards the car-bay to collect the car, a SEAT Cordoba. I also enquired about, and took the excess insurance waiver premium which set be back 80 Euros for 6 days. Additional drivers and car seats will cost you extra as well.
We were advised that the car was a quarter full of unleaded petrol, and that we were to return it with the same level (or higher as there was no way I was siphoning it off) to avoid any additional charges. I shouldn’t worry too much about the petrol though as it is ridiculously cheap in Lanzarote, equivalent to around 40p a litre for unleaded and 35p for diesel.
I would also point out that the petrol gauge is back to front on the Cordoba and I mistakenly thought I had nearly a full tank, when in fact I was running nearly on empty, thankfully, roadside petrol stations are a plenty in Lanzarote.
Interestingly, although the car was central locking, we were not given a remote control key. Unlike Europcar, we were also not given any diagram of the car indicating any damaged areas. We had a quick check around the car to ensure that everything was intact and there was nothing missing and we were away.
The car had air conditioning, radio (there is now an English broadcasting radio in Lanzarote) and tape deck. The Cordoba boot is enormously spacious, and warning signals and breakdown kits were supplied in the boot. We were also supplied with a 24 hour number in the event of a breakdown.
ANYTHING ELSE? Not really, we had a pleasant week driving around the island visiting various places of interest such as Timanfaya and Jameos del Agua, and now I want to buy a Cordoba (but the diesel version if I can get hold of one).
It is also worth remembering if driving in Lanzarote, that you must carry your passport, driving licence and hire paperwork with you at all times, else, if you get stopped by the police, you could find yourself with a hefty fine.
SUMMARY £125 for 6 days hire plus 80 Euros to remove the excess waiver on the insurance. The telephone service in the UK was superb, collection was swift, and when the staff in Lanzarote Airport were around, they were extremely helpful and spoke excellent English.
I have head from others than Hertz are very expensive, and I too have found this when trying to book in the UK, all I can guess is that either we got very lucky through using the BMI Mastercard, or they have substantially reduced their prices.
Highly Recommended – if you book in advance.
For more info visit: www.hertz.co.uk or call them on 08708 44 88 44 (calls cost 10p a minute)
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Well done on getting a diamond on this review. I have used Hertz before and found them to offer a very good service. I would certainly use them again. Sarah x
PumpkinPie 04.03.2005 19:11
very detailed, informative and good to read.
jo145 26.02.2005 17:43
Congratulations on the Diamond. My husband is browsing for a car hire place in Tenerife for easter, I noted your remark about no cars for Christmas so will bear this in mind and book before we go. Jo
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Dec 30th, 2004
(Dec 31st, 2004)
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