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Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?
"amslink" kirjoitti glegroups.com... 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. I doubt that rental contracts usually prohibit the use of ferries for crossing the Channel. Anyways, most international companies do allow their cars to be driven from Germany to the UK. |
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Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?
"Markku Grönroos" wrote in message i.fi... I doubt that rental contracts usually prohibit the use of ferries for crossing the Channel. Anyways, most international companies do allow their cars to be driven from Germany to the UK. But why bother? The insurance will be loaded. The cost for dumping the car at one end will be astronomical. The 'wrong side' steering wheel will be a problem at one end. It will also mark you out as 'not from around here' and increase the chances of it being stolen. It'll cost more than an air ticket to drive it across Europe, take more time and serve no useful purpose. The only possible reason for doing this would be if you have a large quantity of luggage that you're not prepared to risk with a carrier. Otherwise it's just a waste of time and money to no good purpose. -- 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. |
#13
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Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?
"William Black" kirjoitti .. . "Markku Grönroos" wrote in message i.fi... I doubt that rental contracts usually prohibit the use of ferries for crossing the Channel. Anyways, most international companies do allow their cars to be driven from Germany to the UK. But why bother? Well..... The insurance will be loaded. ????????????? I believe that typically an insurance for a rented car from Germany does add little if at all insurance fees when it is supposed to be driven to the UK. The cost for dumping the car at one end will be astronomical. At this point we agree. The 'wrong side' steering wheel will be a problem at one end. Well, not anything very much. Perhaps one should adjust his mirrors a bit. Head lights *might* be another issue. It will also mark you out as 'not from around here' and increase the chances of it being stolen. Irrelevant. It'll cost more than an air ticket to drive it across Europe, take more time and serve no useful purpose. Well, this is rather complex an issue with many parameters. Moneywise this is probably true if there is only one traveller riding in the car. But what about there are five of them. Moreover, many people might want have a peek in some of the regions between Germany and the UK. When a Finn drives to Madrid, he typically drives through Sweden, Denmark, Germany and France. From Helsinki it takes about 3500 kilometers to do so without excessive meandering enroute. For a medium size car 2x3500km means combustion of around 500 litres or more. And then comes crossings of all sorts of sea straits and gulfs. One might consider flying to Madrid and renting a car there. It typically isn't more expensive and you save at least one week not to drive a car from Helsinki to Madrid and back. This is what many decide to do. And yet others decide to drive all the way from the North. The only possible reason for doing this would be if you have a large quantity of luggage that you're not prepared to risk with a carrier. There can be many other reasons too. |
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Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?
"Markku Grönroos" wrote in message i.fi... It will also mark you out as 'not from around here' and increase the chances of it being stolen. Irrelevant. Only if it isn't stolen. If it is then 'welcome to a world of sitting in police waiting rooms and hire car offices' -- 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. |
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Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?
"William Black" kirjoitti .. . "Markku Grönroos" wrote in message i.fi... It will also mark you out as 'not from around here' and increase the chances of it being stolen. Irrelevant. Only if it isn't stolen. If it is then 'welcome to a world of sitting in police waiting rooms and hire car offices' I guess it is rather tricky to steal entire cars in these days. At least in Finland we have had a secured ignition (or whatever that is in English) in all cars which are manufactured after 1997: censors in the engine block don't let the plugs to spark unless they receive the corrcet key code (which is sent by the ignition key). |
#16
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Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?
I should have been more specific. I arrive LHR 23 Oct. Need to be in Germany
24-31 Oct. Then back to London 31 Oct - 2 Nov. Then back to Germany 2 -5 Nov. Then back to LHR 6 Nov... I was hoping airfare from London to Germany would be cheap but everything I see is in $350 ballpark (except for the cheap airlines which I am skeptical over...). thanks, brian |
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Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?
Brian wrote:
I should have been more specific. I arrive LHR 23 Oct. Need to be in Germany 24-31 Oct. Then back to London 31 Oct - 2 Nov. Then back to Germany 2 -5 Nov. Then back to LHR 6 Nov... I was hoping airfare from London to Germany would be cheap but everything I see is in $350 ballpark (except for the cheap airlines which I am skeptical over...). It's your money, but there's no reason to be skeptical over the budget airlines. They have some of the highest reliability rates of all the airlines. That said, it's generally quite cheap to fly from London airports to Germany- there is so much competition. But, as with the budget airlines, the other airline prices get higher the later you leave it. When did you try to book? It does sound like quite a lot of driving... maybe a ferry crossing would be possible if you decide to do it by car all the way- though even then, it won't be cheap. -- (*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website "He can't be as stupid as he looks, but nevertheless he probably is quite a stupid man." Richard Dawkins on Pres. Bush" |
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Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?
William Black wrote:
"Markku Grönroos" wrote in message i.fi... It will also mark you out as 'not from around here' and increase the chances of it being stolen. Irrelevant. Only if it isn't stolen. Do you have any evidence that foreign cars are more likely to be stolen in the UK than domestic (proportionately) or even particularly targeted? If it is then 'welcome to a world of sitting in police waiting rooms and hire car offices' Which will happen with a domestic auto theft too. -- (*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website "He can't be as stupid as he looks, but nevertheless he probably is quite a stupid man." Richard Dawkins on Pres. Bush" |
#19
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Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?
Markku Grönroos schrieb:
"William Black" kirjoitti .. . "Markku Grönroos" wrote in message i.fi... It will also mark you out as 'not from around here' and increase the chances of it being stolen. Irrelevant. Only if it isn't stolen. If it is then 'welcome to a world of sitting in police waiting rooms and hire car offices' I guess it is rather tricky to steal entire cars in these days. At least in Finland we have had a secured ignition (or whatever that is in English) in all cars which are manufactured after 1997: censors in the engine block don't let the plugs to spark unless they receive the corrcet key code (which is sent by the ignition key). A German TV program a few months back showed how thieves steal modern cars. They open the bonnet and replace the motor electronics block with a cracked version. |
#20
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Traveling in UK and Germany - where to rent car?
Brian schrieb:
I should have been more specific. I arrive LHR 23 Oct. Need to be in Germany 24-31 Oct. Then back to London 31 Oct - 2 Nov. Then back to Germany 2 -5 Nov. Then back to LHR 6 Nov... I was hoping airfare from London to Germany would be cheap but everything I see is in $350 ballpark (except for the cheap airlines which I am skeptical over...). thanks, brian It sounds like you left looking at flight bookings way too late. Take a look at the Air Berlin site, flights on Oct 24th STN-DUS oneway are 165 Euros plus taxes, a week later they're down to a fraction of the price. BTW Air Berlin is NOT a cheap airline, it just offers far better value for money than Lufthansa. T. |
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