Car Hire Tips UK

Dollar Rent A Car was founded in 1965 by Henry Caruso in Los Angeles, California. In 1990 it was acquired by Chrysler. It was originally called Dollar Rent A Car because it had a standardized daily rate of one dollar for sedans.

By 1968, rates were raised to keep competitive prices while maintaining monopolistic competition with other rental car companies.

Dollar has more than 647 worldwide locations in 53 countries, with a significant presence in Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, including more than 358 in the United States and Canada.

Dollar-Thrifty Automotive Group NYSE: DTG is a holding company for Thrifty Car Rental and Dollar Rent A Car, formed in 1990 by Chrysler and spun off in 1997. The company at one time also owned Snappy Rent A Car (which was sold in 1994), Eurodollar and General Rent A Car (which was closed in 1993). It is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The company primarily rents Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles within the United States, though some locations feature other popular brands, such as Mazda, Nissan, or Toyota.

DTAG is a Fortune 1000 company and have over 1,475 locations worldwide including more than 835 locations in the United States.[1] In 2006, the company outsourced its IT operations to EDS.

Car hire is widely available throughout the UK from all the major car rental companies. The UK is one of the world’s most densely populated countries. About one quarter of this total population live in England’s prosperous South-East, with more than 7.5 million people living in the Capital, London. This means it can be quite busy!

The rest of the country is less chaotic and so travellers to the UK often fly into the South East, to popular airports like Heathrow and Gatwick, then hire a car to take them off exploring the rest of this diverse landscape.

Driving in the UK
If you’re planning to rent a car while in the UK there’s some basic information you’re going to need to get you on your way. Firstly, and quite importantly get ready to drive on the left hand side of the road. This is different to most other countries so could take some getting used to. This means that you should always overtake vehicles on the right, and give priority to traffic coming from the right at roundabouts (traffic islands).

It is now illegal to use a hand held mobile phone while driving anywhere in the UK, although you can still use hands free equipment.

If you hold a full driving licence in your own country (and have held that for a minimum of 1 year), you should be legal to drive on British roads. If you’re unsure about this, it’s worth checking with your rental provider at time of booking.

Motorways in the UK are prefixed with an ‘M’ and, once on a motorway, all the direction signs are blue. This is distinct from direction signs on minor roads which are green. Most roads in the UK are toll free although there are a few notable exceptions, those being:

The Severn Bridge (M4) from England into Wales
The Humber Bridge (A15) from North Lincolnshire to Hull
The Dartford Tunnel (M25) East of London
M6 Toll – A new section of the M6 designed to reduce congestion at peak times

All these toll roads are clearly signposted in advance so you should have plenty of time to decide whether or not you want to pay to use them or find an alternative route.

Speed Limits
Speed limits in the UK are rigorously enforced by the police. There are also a huge amount of speed cameras on all types of road. You have been warned!

The common speed limits are 30mph in built up areas, 60mph on single carriageways and 70mph on dual carriageways and motorways. Wherever there is an exception to this rule it’s signposted. Also take note that it’s MPH (Miles Per Hour) as the UK has yet to convert to the metric system of km/h (Kilometres Per Hour) used elsewhere in Europe.

Drink Driving
There isn’t a total ban on drinking and driving in the UK but the limit is quite low (currently 80mg) so it’s not worth taking any risks. It’s not recommended to drink at all when driving.

Avoiding the Rush
With such a dense population, UK roads often become congested with traffic jams, sometimes lasting hours. To avoid these try travelling outside of rush hour times (8am to 10am and 4pm to 6pm), particularly in the South East.

Also, the UK is very busy in the summer months so you might want to consider coming a little earlier or later in the season when traffic is a little less busy.

Weather Conditions
The weather in the UK is highly unpredictable, even in the heart of summer, so always take that into account when planning a journey. The song “Four Seasons In One Day” could well have been written about the British weather so don’t forget your umbrella!

The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company is a privately held St. Louis, Missouri-based rental car company serving customers in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Ireland, Puerto Rico and the U.K.. They are also the owners of the Vanguard Automotive Group, operator of National Car and Truck Rental and Alamo Rent A Car in North America.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the largest rental car company in North America, and has more than 6,900 offices. Enterprise is currently number 16 on the Forbes “500 Largest Private Companies in America” list.

The company is named after the Yorktown class aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, on which founder Jack Taylor served in World War II.

According to Auto Rental News, their 2006 (fiscal year ending July 31) U.S. revenue was US$9.04 billion with a fleet of approximately 720,000 vehicles. The Detroit News reports that Enterprise currently purchases 7% of all new automobiles sold in the United States. As of 2005, they had 5,399 “local market” locations (91% of all transactions), and 419 airport locations (9% of all transactions).

Enterprise’s primary focus is the local rental car market, specializing in car rentals to consumers who need a replacement car as the result of an accident, mechanical repair or theft, or who require a vehicle for a special occasion such as a short business or leisure trip. In the late 1990s, Enterprise Rent-A-Car also began expanding its operations to include the airport market, and now serves airports in the United States, Canada, the UK and Ireland.

The main television advertising campaign for Enterprise Rent-A-Car shows a car wrapped in brown paper, and features the slogan “Pick Enterprise, We’ll pick you up!” Enterprise has become famous for their offer to pick up customers and bring them to the rental office.

Enterprise will rent to all qualifying individuals over 18 years of age (21 in UK), typically without an additional fee for replacement rentals.

Thrifty Rent A Car is a rental car company based in the United States. Founded in 1958, it became a public company in 1987 and in 1989 it was acquired by Chrysler, where in 1990 it was combined with Dollar Rent A Car. Dollar Thrify Automotive Group was spun off in 1997.

The company currently has more than 1,100 locations worldwide, largely operated by local franchises, though some are owned by the company directly. The company primarily rents Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles, though some locations feature other popular brands, such as Mazda, Nissan, or Toyota.

Thrifty is one of the worlds largest vehicle rental companies.

Dollar-Thrifty Automotive Group NYSE: DTG is a holding company for Thrifty Car Rental and Dollar Rent A Car, formed in 1990 by Chrysler and spun off in 1997. The company at one time also owned Snappy Rent A Car (which was sold in 1994), Eurodollar and General Rent A Car (which was closed in 1993). It is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The company primarily rents Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles within the United States, though some locations feature other popular brands, such as Mazda, Nissan, or Toyota.

DTAG is a Fortune 1000 company and have over 1,475 locations worldwide including more than 835 locations in the United States.[1] In 2006, the company outsourced its IT operations to EDS.

Car hire in Portugal is widely available from all the major car rental companies. Portugal is a popular tourist destination, particularly to its southern coast in the region of the Algarve which attracts millions of visitors each year.

Portugal has a long maritime history and boasts one of the best coastlines in Europe along its breathtaking Algarve coast. Meanwhile, the capital, Lisbon is an intriguing mix of cobbled streets, open and airy piazzas and hilly suburbs sitting on the river Tejo.

Driving in Portugal
If you’re planning to rent a car while in Portugal there’s some basic information you’re going to need to get you on your way. Firstly, and quite importantly if you’re British, get ready to drive on the right hand side of the road. That’s the wrong side if you’re British! This means you should always overtake on the left.

All occupants of a vehicle are required to wear seatbelts whilst travelling, both in the front and the back. Also, it is required that children under 12 years do not travel in the front seat of a vehicle.

There are toll (portagem ) roads in Portugal. At road tolls you may notice green lanes, these are for drivers who have subscribe to an automated paying system, and you must not use them unless you have subscribed. Make sure you have currency to hand to pay for tolls, because if you are unable to, you will be fined. Visitors to Portugal are required to pay traffic fines on the spot, and they can be expensive.

Parking
When parking, your car must be facing the same direction as the traffic, the exception being if a road only allows parking on one side of it. If you park illegally the car can be immobilised. Do not park in close range of a bus or tram stop or of a road junction (18 metres distance is required from a road junction).

Fuel
Petrol Stations are generally open from 7am until 10pm or midnight, although some are 24hours. You can pay with any major credit card, but be aware that this may incur a surcharge. The fuel octane rating is 98 for leaded petrol and 95 or 98 for Super Unleaded.

Speed Limits
The common speed limits are 50km/h (31mph) in built up areas and 90km/h (56 to 62mph) everywhere else, except motorways where it’s 120km/h (74mph).

Cars towing are restricted to 70km/h (43mph) on open roads and 100km/h (62mph) on Motorways. Drivers who have held a licence for less than one year must not exceed 90km/h (55mph). There is also a minimum speed of 40km/h (24mph) enforced on motorways.

National Car Rental is a rental car company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The company was formed in 1947 when a group of 24 independent car rental operators with 800 vehicles and 60 locations joined together to form National Car Rental.

In 1959, the group incorporated as a for-profit corporation. Over the years, National developed its products and in 1954, they became the first car rental brand to offer one-way rentals for those wishing to rent cars in one town and leave them in another.

In 1966, National equipped its regional reservation offices with the “Telemax” computer system, officially becoming the first car rental company to bring computers into daily reservation operations. After airline industry deregulation in 1976, National opened its doors to the new wave of leisure travellers when it became the first to offer flat rates to car renters.

Since 1987, National has marketed the Emerald Club to its renters, which was the first frequent-renter program in the car rental industry.

National Car Rental is now one of the world’s largest rental car companies and serves customers through a network of more than 2,000 locations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Africa and Australia.

The Hertz Corporation (aka Hertz Rent A Car or simply Hertz) is the world’s largest car rental company, with 1,900 rental locations in the United States and 5,100 worldwide.

Hertz also maintains a heavy equipment rental division known as the Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation, aka HERC. It is headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey. HERC has nearly 300 branches throughout the United States and Canada.

The company was begun by Walter L. Jacobs in 1918, who started a car rental operation in Chicago with a dozen Model Ts. In 1923, Jacobs sold it to John D. Hertz, president of Yellow Cab and Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company, who renamed it the “Hertz Drive-Ur-Self System”.

The company has passed through a number of hands, including General Motors, RCA, and United Airlines. As a public company, Hertz was traded on the NYSE under the symbol HRZ until the purchase of outstanding stock by Ford Motor Company.

From 1994 to 2005 it was a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. On June 13, 2005, Ford issued a notice that Hertz would be spun off in an initial public offering. On September 13, 2005 it was announced it was to be sold to a private equity group (composed of Clayton Dubilier & Rice, The Carlyle Group and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity) for $15 billion in cash and debt acquisition. The sale was completed on December 22, 2005.

Because of its past affiliation with Ford, the rental fleets of most Hertz locations consist of Ford and Ford brands such as Mazda, Mercury and Lincoln. It is not uncommon, however, to find Hertz rental cars from non-Ford companies such as Toyota, Hyundai, Kia and General Motors.

Europcar is a Paris based car rental company owned by the French investment company Eurazeo, after its sale by the Volkswagen group in June 2006. The company was founded in Paris in 1949.

Europcar today operates a fleet of over 200,000 vehicles at 2,825 locations in 143 different countries covering Europe, North America, The Middle East, Africa, Latin America, the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean and Asia Pacific.

While Europcar is an international car rental company, the brand is best recognized in the larger European economies, particularly, Germany, France and the UK. Their core markets are in leisure and corporate rentals.

As part of a cost-cutting strategy, Volkswagen chose to divest from its Europcar holdings. On June 1, 2006, the sale of Europcar to French investment company Eurazeo was completed.

In 2007 Europcar purchased Vanguard EMEA for €670 million. Vanguard EMEA is the operator of National car rental and Alamo Rent A Car in Europe. As part of this purchase a partnership was made for any business that Europcar would send to North America it would be directed to National Car Rental, instead of their previous North American Partner Thrifty Car Rental.

Budget Rent A Car System, Inc. is a car rental company that was founded in 1958 in Los Angeles, California by Morris Mirkin.

With its original fleet of 10 cars the company lived up to the ‘Budget’ name by undercutting the daily and per mile rental rates of the established airport based car rental companies. Mirkin was joined in 1959 by Julius Lederer (husband of Ann Landers). In 1960 the headquarters was moved to Chicago, Illinois and the rental fleet expanded with franchised and wholly owned rental outlets.

The company was eventually acquired by Transamerica Corporation, and then sold in 1986 in a leveraged buyout by Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen Ltd., along with management and selected investors. It was taken public in 1987.

The public company was purchased by Team Rental Group in 1997, which took the name Budget Group. In 2002 the company’s assets were sold to Cendant Corporation, which also owned Avis.

In September 2006 Cendant Corporation separated into four independent companies by spinning off its real estate division, now called Realogy, Inc., and its hospitality services division, now Wyndham Worldwide, and by selling its travel distribution services division, called Travelport, Inc., to an affiliate of The Blackstone Group.

In 2006, following the Travelport sale, Cendant, now composed solely of its vehicle rental services businesses, renamed itself Avis Budget Group.

Avis car rental is an American owned company and has two major brands that it promotes its car rental products using, those being Avis (obviously!) and Budget Rent a Car. Avis is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey USA. In addition to the main brands, Budget Truck Rental are also part of the Avis Budget Group.

Avis Budget Group operates the Avis brand in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, India, Australia and New Zealand. In other parts of the world, the Avis brand is operated by Avis Europe plc, a separate company which licenses the Avis brand from Avis Budget Group. All together, Avis currently has over 4000 branch offices worldwide. Avis is one of the largest car rental agencies in the world.

Avis is a leading rental car provider to the commercial segment serving business travelers at major airports around the world, and to leisure travelers at off-airport locations.

The company was founded in 1946 with 3 cars at Willow Run Airport[1], Detroit by Warren Avis (b.1915, d. April 24, 2007). It established branch operations across the U.S. over the next few years, becoming the second largest car rental company in the country by 1953 and by its tenth anniversary in 1956 had opened its first international offices in Europe, Canada and Mexico.

Their corporate motto is “We Try Harder.” It was adopted in 1962 [1] to make a more positive reference of Avis’ status as the second largest car rental company in the U.S., at the expense of its larger competitor The Hertz Corporation. In 1981, the company instituted its system of vehicle tracking, that was coincidentally named Advanced Vehicle Identification System, or “AVI.S”.

Avis has been owned by a number of other companies over the years, along with several periods of being a public company.