A Mental Rental car question.

[warren t claim]

For family reasons to boring to go into here I have to take a trip across the Irish Sea to the IOM for a couple of days next month. While I'm there I'm hoping to escape and spend a couple of hours hooning over the mountain. Obviously the Pug isn't going to be up to this so I was wondering what would be a good, cheap rental car to take with me? Obviously I don't mean £400 a day Boxters and M3's, I'm talking about a low group car that is fun to drive but cheap to rent. It needs to be chuckable and have decent acceleration up to 110ish. No Diesels please!

 

Any suggestions? What do Enterprise, Avis etc have on their daily rental fleet these days?

[Volksy]

I'm slowly working my way through enterprises fleet..

You can't really go wrong with the New Fiesta, they seem to stock pretty high spec models, (I got a Titanium), which are well equipped and handle well.

The higher up their range you go, they lower spec they seem to be, My Disastray is a 1.6 SE.

 

Note though that most rental companies won't guarantee what make or model you get, just the Class of vehicle.

[Milford Cubicle]

Chevy Aveo

[Mr H Sceptre]

Focus?

[Mr Lobster]

I don't wish to piss on youir chips here, but your problem is this bit -

 

IOM

IOM isn't part of the UK in a technical sense so if you take a rental car abroad you need the same docs as if you were going to France or wherever so VE103B form, European Breakdown cover etc. Not that many rental companies like cars going abroad - some won't allow it at all. Those that will charge you something like a 50% premium on the daily rate and will want a minimum length of rental.

 

Secondly, IOM Police are fairly hot on the fact that a lot of drug dealers use rental cars to get their products onto the island and are VERY hot at pulling them. And seizing them. The trouble is, even if you are innocent but you haven't got the rental companies consent and hence the 'right' paperwork they can / will seize the car. And its very expensive recovering seized cars from the middle of the Irish Sea.

 

In short, it'd be easier to get there on foot and then rent on the island.

 

Sorry to put a downer on it but having worked in Liverpool renting cars out up until last month it's something I got involved in very regularly.

 

Let me know if you need any more info!