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Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 20th, 2007, 04:23 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Brian[_5_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2
Default Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?

I will be traveling in UK and Germany and am trying to figure out if I
should rent a car in Germany or UK. I will be driving more in Germany and
was thinking I would rent in Germany. But will that pose any problems in UK
(i.e. steering wheel on left side)? I know some rental agreements also have
restrictions on taking cars across borders.

thanks,

brian


  #2  
Old October 20th, 2007, 06:34 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
William Black
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,125
Default Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?


"Brian" wrote in message
...
I will be traveling in UK and Germany and am trying to figure out if I
should rent a car in Germany or UK. I will be driving more in Germany and
was thinking I would rent in Germany. But will that pose any problems in UK
(i.e. steering wheel on left side)? I know some rental agreements also have
restrictions on taking cars across borders.


Your major problem will be insurance.

I think you'd probably be better off renting two cars, one in each country.

--
William Black


I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.




  #3  
Old October 20th, 2007, 06:43 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
ALAN HARRISON[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 134
Default Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?


"William Black" wrote in message
...

I think you'd probably be better off renting two cars, one in each
country.


And almost ceratinly cheaper. since a flight from Germany to the UK will be
likely to cost less than petrol to the port and ferry to Britain.

Alan Harrison


  #4  
Old October 20th, 2007, 11:47 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Alan S[_1_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,163
Default Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?

On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:23:08 -0400, "Brian"
wrote:

I will be traveling in UK and Germany and am trying to figure out if I
should rent a car in Germany or UK. I will be driving more in Germany and
was thinking I would rent in Germany. But will that pose any problems in UK
(i.e. steering wheel on left side)? I know some rental agreements also have
restrictions on taking cars across borders.

thanks,

brian


How long will the rental be and where will you be starting
and finishing?

If it is a long term, say a month or more, you may be better
off with one of the French leaseback cars. Apart from better
costs for long rentals the insurance is total and without
excess. Check out the Eurodrive sites for Peugot, Renault
and Citroen.

If it is short term, I agree with the others that separate
rentals on the continent and in the UK are better, both for
driving seat position and for insurance cover.


Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
latest: Slovenia
http://loraltraveloz.blogspot.com/
latest: Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest
  #5  
Old October 21st, 2007, 07:15 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Markku Grönroos
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,095
Default Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?


"Brian" kirjoitti
...
I will be traveling in UK and Germany and am trying to figure out if I
should rent a car in Germany or UK. I will be driving more in Germany and
was thinking I would rent in Germany. But will that pose any problems in UK
(i.e. steering wheel on left side)? I know some rental agreements also have
restrictions on taking cars across borders.

I would rent a car in Germany and stick on that. Crossing borders hardly
will be an issue if the company is any good.

  #6  
Old October 21st, 2007, 08:04 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Markku Grönroos
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,095
Default Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?


"Markku Grönroos" kirjoitti
alahti.fi...

"Brian" kirjoitti
...
I will be traveling in UK and Germany and am trying to figure out if I
should rent a car in Germany or UK. I will be driving more in Germany and
was thinking I would rent in Germany. But will that pose any problems in
UK (i.e. steering wheel on left side)? I know some rental agreements also
have restrictions on taking cars across borders.

I would rent a car in Germany and stick on that. Crossing borders hardly
will be an issue if the company is any good.

Perhaps, I generalized a bit too much. On the other hand you should provide
a bit more parameters in order to make it possible to give reasonable
answers. If you are arriving in and departing from the same country then in
most cases the reasonable choice is to rent a car in that country. If you
arrive in one of the two countries and depart from the other country, then
one lease in both countries probably becomes more economical because oneway
contracts can be punitively expensive.

Driver should rent a car with an automatic transmission if

1. he isn't accustomed to manual ones
2. he should change gears by the hand he doesn't
use doing so at home

  #7  
Old October 21st, 2007, 09:31 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Alan[_1_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 299
Default Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?


"Markku Grönroos" wrote in message
ti.fi...

"Markku Grönroos" kirjoitti
alahti.fi...

"Brian" kirjoitti
...
I will be traveling in UK and Germany and am trying to figure out if I
should rent a car in Germany or UK. I will be driving more in Germany and
was thinking I would rent in Germany. But will that pose any problems in
UK (i.e. steering wheel on left side)? I know some rental agreements also
have restrictions on taking cars across borders.

I would rent a car in Germany and stick on that. Crossing borders hardly
will be an issue if the company is any good.

Perhaps, I generalized a bit too much. On the other hand you should
provide a bit more parameters in order to make it possible to give
reasonable answers. If you are arriving in and departing from the same
country then in most cases the reasonable choice is to rent a car in that
country. If you arrive in one of the two countries and depart from the
other country, then one lease in both countries probably becomes more
economical because oneway contracts can be punitively expensive.

Driver should rent a car with an automatic transmission if

1. he isn't accustomed to manual ones
2. he should change gears by the hand he doesn't
use doing so at home


so if he rents a car in germany (left hand drive) then another when he
arrives in UK (right hand drive) and you sugest using the hand he does not
normally use at home to change gear i assume he has 3 hands anyway
what is the big deal about left or right hand drive "a car is a car" either
you are a competant driver or your not if not use public transport for all
our sakes


  #8  
Old October 21st, 2007, 09:50 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Tom Peel
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 134
Default Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?

Alan wrote:
"Markku Grönroos" wrote in message
ti.fi...

"Markku Grönroos" kirjoitti
unalahti.fi...

"Brian" kirjoitti
...

I will be traveling in UK and Germany and am trying to figure out if I
should rent a car in Germany or UK. I will be driving more in Germany and
was thinking I would rent in Germany. But will that pose any problems in
UK (i.e. steering wheel on left side)? I know some rental agreements also
have restrictions on taking cars across borders.


I would rent a car in Germany and stick on that. Crossing borders hardly
will be an issue if the company is any good.


Perhaps, I generalized a bit too much. On the other hand you should
provide a bit more parameters in order to make it possible to give
reasonable answers. If you are arriving in and departing from the same
country then in most cases the reasonable choice is to rent a car in that
country. If you arrive in one of the two countries and depart from the
other country, then one lease in both countries probably becomes more
economical because oneway contracts can be punitively expensive.

Driver should rent a car with an automatic transmission if

1. he isn't accustomed to manual ones
2. he should change gears by the hand he doesn't
use doing so at home



so if he rents a car in germany (left hand drive) then another when he
arrives in UK (right hand drive) and you sugest using the hand he does not
normally use at home to change gear i assume he has 3 hands anyway
what is the big deal about left or right hand drive "a car is a car" either
you are a competant driver or your not if not use public transport for all
our sakes


Having driven in the UK and Europe with both lefthand and righthand
drive cars for many years, I can only say that managing the switch from
one steering position to the other is mentally much harder than
switching from one road side to the other.
  #9  
Old October 21st, 2007, 11:00 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
amslink
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 20
Default Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?

On Oct 20, 4:23 pm, "Brian" wrote:
I will be traveling in UK and Germany and am trying to figure out if I
should rent a car in Germany or UK. I will be driving more in Germany and
was thinking I would rent in Germany. But will that pose any problems in UK
(i.e. steering wheel on left side)? I know some rental agreements also have
restrictions on taking cars across borders.

thanks,

brian


The real challenge is cross border policies for hire companies.
Firstly boarding cars onto ferries is usually excluded so the tunnel
is the only means of crossing the English Channel but most hire
companies in Europe do not allow their cars to be taken into the UK
anyway, because of the difficulty of driving left hand drive cars in a
right hand drive country.

Renting in the UK and driving to Germany is achievable providing you
have very deep pockets as the hire company will load penal charges for
insurance, breakdown cover and so on, basically to discourage you from
the practice.

As to automatic versus manual transmission, you will pay a lot more
for an automatic but if you are used to left hand drive in your own
country, you will not find a stick shift too hard to adapt to. On the
other hand if you do take a left hand drive car into the UK, I suggest
that automatic is the only way to go as you have one less thing to
worry about.

Regards,

Graham
http://www.ams-link.co.uk

  #10  
Old October 21st, 2007, 11:01 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Markku Grönroos
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,095
Default Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?


"Tom Peel" kirjoitti
...
Alan wrote:
"Markku Grönroos" wrote in message
ti.fi...

"Markku Grönroos" kirjoitti
aunalahti.fi...

"Brian" kirjoitti
...

I will be traveling in UK and Germany and am trying to figure out if I
should rent a car in Germany or UK. I will be driving more in Germany
and was thinking I would rent in Germany. But will that pose any
problems in UK (i.e. steering wheel on left side)? I know some rental
agreements also have restrictions on taking cars across borders.


I would rent a car in Germany and stick on that. Crossing borders hardly
will be an issue if the company is any good.

Perhaps, I generalized a bit too much. On the other hand you should
provide a bit more parameters in order to make it possible to give
reasonable answers. If you are arriving in and departing from the same
country then in most cases the reasonable choice is to rent a car in that
country. If you arrive in one of the two countries and depart from the
other country, then one lease in both countries probably becomes more
economical because oneway contracts can be punitively expensive.

Driver should rent a car with an automatic transmission if

1. he isn't accustomed to manual ones
2. he should change gears by the hand he doesn't
use doing so at home



so if he rents a car in germany (left hand drive) then another when he
arrives in UK (right hand drive) and you sugest using the hand he does
not normally use at home to change gear i assume he has 3 hands
anyway what is the big deal about left or right hand drive "a car is a
car" either you are a competant driver or your not if not use public
transport for all our sakes

Having driven in the UK and Europe with both lefthand and righthand drive
cars for many years, I can only say that managing the switch from one
steering position to the other is mentally much harder than switching from
one road side to the other.

True. And the other chap is not very good at reading comprehension........
For instance an old dog like me has little difficulties driving on left (I
have had pretty much experience as a pedestrian in traffic driving on left).
For instance a couple of years ago I hired a car for a month in Thailand.
All their fleet of "normal" cars came with the automatic transmission. And
for a very good reason so. Most of the western drivers are supposedly
familiar with driving on right.

 




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