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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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).

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

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"

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"

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.

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.