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The cheapest airlines don’t always offer the cheapest car hire rates, tourists are warned

May 31, 2011 By Anita Kumar Leave a Comment

A new survey by Travelsupermarket.com found that the best deals on car hire are not to be found through budget airlines, but by going to a car hire provider independently to find the most cost effective deals.

Many tourists fall into the trap of booking car hire at the same time as booking their flights as many misguidedly believe they’ll receive a competitive deal by purchasing more than one service through the one provider. However the research by the comparison website found that airlines are not offering the most cost effective deals on car hire, in fact, the savings can be considerable if you opt to book through an independent provider.

In the most extreme cases, the cost of car hire can be three times more expensive when booking car rental during a peak summer period through an airline as opposed to an independent car hire operator.

While one airline offered a quote for car hire of £1,055 for a two week hire of a medium sized family car in Portugal in the middle of summer, when booked independently, the research found the same deal could be bought for just £429.

Although it may be extremely convenient to book car hire at the same time as booking a flight, the savings can be massive, as much as £676, if you avoid this pitfall and make your own car hire booking for your summer holiday this year.

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Car hire firm launches luxury chauffeur transport service in India

May 13, 2011 By Anita Kumar 1 Comment

Car hire giant Avis has launched a brand new luxury chauffeur driven limo hire service for customers travelling in India.

A number of locations in the country will offer the premier limo service including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The new Avis chauffeur service will offer customers the chance to be chauffeur driven in a top quality Mercedes E Class limo so they can enjoy a relaxing and comfortable ride whether they’re visiting India for business or leisure purposes.

The chauffeur driven Mercedes E Class service is available in two different packages including half day and full day packages. Avis believe the chauffeur driven car hire service will be popular with those looking to enjoy sightseeing or city tours in India, airport transfers, or those needing top quality transport to a corporate or business event.

The car hire giant say the chauffeur driven service will also allow customers on short visits to India to manage their time better as clients can be collected directly from the airport and taken onto their meeting, event or hotel, making the most of their time in the country.

All of the chauffeurs employed by Avis are highly trained and reliable so as to ensure all customers receive a very high standard of customer care.

Avis has also introduced a number of special offers on its new service so customers can experience the luxurious chauffeur service at a very competitive rate.

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Great savings to be had on pre paid car hire bookings

May 5, 2011 By Anita Kumar Leave a Comment

If you’re planning to hire a car during your summer getaway, you’d be well advised to book your car rental in advance in order to make the most of the superb savings many car hire providers are offering for online and advance car hire bookings.

International car hire operator Dollar and Thrifty offer value for money deals on car rental from its centre across the world, while Avis and Budget offer discounts on advance and online bookings regularly on American destinations as well as Hertz and Alamo. Sixt car hire also have a current deal on advance bookings for car hire in Spain.

The average saving on pre paid car hire is around 10%, while some companies offer as much as 15% and 20% discounts from their car rental rates for customers who book online before a specific date.

However the discounts are, more often than not, deducted from the hire rate itself, and don’t apply to added extras which you may take out with the car hire provider such as insurance, child booster seat hire and satellite navigation system hire.

So if you want to save money on your car hire for your upcoming holiday, make sure you check the special offers page on all major car hire providers to search out the very best pay in advance deal or online booking rate for holiday car hire.

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Car rental firms in US join together to oppose plans for new legislation

March 9, 2011 By Susan Taylor Leave a Comment

Three leading car hire firms, Hertz, Avis/ Budget, and Enterprise who own both Alamo and National, have all joined together to oppose new legislation proposals in the US put forward by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Under the new proposals, it would become illegal for car hire companies to lease a vehicle to a paying customer if the car has been subject to a recall order from the manufacturer. Current laws forbid the sale of cars which are affected by a recall notice in the US, and the proposed new rules would extend this rule to car hire companies as well.

The Safe Rental Car Act is the proposed legislation which the car rental companies are opposing as they believe the act has been drawn up based on inaccurate evidence.

The proposed legislation came off the back of a study conducted by the NHTSA which found that during the period of June 2006 – July 2010, 90 days after a recall notice on 10 GM and Chrysler models between this time, Enterprise had fixed 65% of their affected cars, while Avis/ Budget had corrected 53% of theirs, and Hertz had remedied 34% of their affected hire cars.

However the three car hire companies argue that this data is not a true reflection of the situation as the findings are not up to date. Since the proposed legislation is based on this study, the car hire firms are recommending that the new rules be reconsidered.

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Cheaper car hire rates predicted for the New Year

December 21, 2010 By Anita Kumar 1 Comment

There’s good news on the horizon for car hire customers as experts are predicting cheaper rates in the New Year as the industry recovers from the effects of the economic downturn which has been hampering services over the last two years.

As car rental firms struggled to get financial backing from the banks to purchase new vehicles for their fleet, the number of hire cars available was heavily reduced, which pushed up the cost of rentals as there was still the same amount of demand, but not enough cars to go around.

The cost of car hire in certain holiday hot spots rocketed by as much as 500% as a result which hit holidaymakers hard.

However as the car rental industry starts to emerge from the gloom of the recession, the after effects are also paling in significance. Many operators are now able to obtain the backing of the banks, which means they are in a position to add to their fleet of rental cars.

This spells good news for car hire customers as there will be an increase in the choice of rental cars available which will in turn, help keep rates competitive between car hire providers.

The advice being given by car rental experts to those planning to book car hire is to do so as far in advance as possible in order to take advantage of early booking incentives being offered.

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Avis car hire launch female only chauffeur service in India

December 2, 2010 By Andrew Lloyd 1 Comment

Avis rent-a-car has become the first premier car hire provider to launch a female only chauffeur hire service in India.

The female only chauffeur hire service will be available in India only initially at a top Mumbai hotel, The Oberoi. A fleet of luxury cars, including the BMW 5 Series, will be used for the service based at the Oberoi Hotel. Avis are planning to roll the scheme out to other parts of the country if there is enough demand.

It is anticipated that the service will be especially popular with females travelling alone in India. Avis believe their female chauffeur policy will help alleviate any feelings of insecurity a female traveller may have when visiting an unfamiliar city alone.

All of lady chauffeurs are aged between 25-53 years of age and are all fluent in English which will benefit those visiting India on business from the UK. Each chauffeur has undergone 2 months of training before getting behind the wheel as an Avis chauffeur. The training includes enhancing customer relation skills, instruction on handling a luxury car, and improving their navigation ability around the city of Mumbai and other local areas.

Avis car hire currently operates in 16 cities across India, but has outlined expansion plans to launch a number of new branches in various locations across the country.

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Car hire bidding war hots up

September 15, 2010 By Tony Roberts Leave a Comment

The battle to take over car hire firm Dollar Thrifty is hotting up between the two main contenders, rivals Avis and Hertz.

Hertz have announced that they’ve upped their offer to take over the US car rental firm to $1.43 billion in cash and shares, which works out at $50 per share. Hertz are believed to be the favoured bidder with Dollar Thrifty as they are offering a $45 million breakup fee should the deal fail, something which Avis cannot afford to match.

Last week Avis made their most recent bid for the company which was $1.3 billion, which has now been topped by Hertz with their $1.43 billion bid.

Negotiations began in April after Hertz made an offer of $41 per share to the smaller company. At this point Avis waded in with a higher bid of $47 per share, which was later rejected.

Hertz is the largest player in the global car hire market but at present, the majority of their sales come from business client customers. Dollar Thrifty, on the other hand, is a key player in the lower end area of the market. Taking over Dollar Thrifty would enable Hertz to take a share of the domestic leisure market, an area which Hertz is keen to enhance its presence across the world.

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Complaints from car hire customers on the up says consumer group

July 23, 2010 By Andrew Lloyd Leave a Comment

A leading consumer group has revealed that complaints from UK motorists, hiring vehicles in Europe has risen dramatically this year.

The UK European Consumer Centre (UKECC) who conducted the research believe that British holidaymakers need to be vigilant when hiring a car outside of the UK so as to not leave themselves open to potential extra charges which could be added on without their knowledge.

In the first 5 months of this year, the UKECC found a 30% increase in the number of complaints lodged from UK car hire customers in Europe compared to the same period in 2009. The countries where the most complaints were made included Italy, Spain, France and Ireland.

One of the biggest pitfalls is often in the wording of car hire contracts in the EU which can differ greatly from those in the UK. The consumer group is advising car hire customers to thoroughly read, and understand their contracts prior to signing up.

Other areas where car rental customers get stung with extra charges, which in turn causes complaints, arise as a result of not signing off their hire agreement properly, or not running through the hire return checklist thoroughly. By failing to do this, the customer is leaving themselves open to extra fees which the car hire company can add on after the customer has left.

In order to prevent more car hire customers getting caught out, the UKECC has created a leaflet where they can find plenty of advice and tips to ensure a problem free car hire experience in the EU this summer.

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Avis offers chauffeur driven executive car hire at Shanghai’s World Expo 2010

June 15, 2010 By Andrew Lloyd Leave a Comment

Car hire giant Avis has been named as the designated car rental operator for Shanghai’s World Expo 2010 which runs from May right through until October.

70 million visitors are expected to descend on the World Expo which offers international fair and expositions. The event has been dubbed by many as the “Olympic Games” of science, technology, and economy.

Due to the fact that international driver permits are not recognised in China, Avis are offering their car rental service along with a personal chauffeur. Now visitors to the World Expo in Shanghai can enjoy all the city has to offer without having to worry about navigating a car through the busy Shanghai traffic, or finding their way through an unfamiliar city.

Avis has invested in 100 new executive vehicles ahead of the World Expo including models from Audi and Mercedes Benz in order to offer potential clients the pick of the finest vehicles on the market.

Due to the international aspect of the event, and that visitors from all over the world will be descending on Shanghai during this time, Avis has set up a bilingual call centre to help customers make their bookings. Plus all chauffeurs offered as part of the car rental scheme are English speaking.

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