What's the best holiday hire car you've had?
Discussion
dickieboy28 said:
15 years ago, myself and four uni mates did a month long trip around Spain and southern France. The cheapest/largest car we could get was a Peugeot Partner 1.9 D (naturally aspirated). It was so crap it ended up being brilliant! Drove it everywhere flat out, held it at vmax on the motorway for hour after hour (about 155kph), hit the limiter in almost every gear. It was a general rule to give it full revs and dump the clutch when setting off, surroundings permitting. It went flat out over speed bumps, up dirt roads in southern Spain, effectively abused for nearly 3,500 miles......and never missed a beat! It felt a French car of old, shocking built quality and no equipment but with rock solid and simple running gear. Im still odly fond of them today. Photo attached of the very car. For context a friend was trying to 'entertain' a Dutch girl in the back, hence us rocking the car about. Young and most certainly dumb we were 
That sort of driving is mandated by the rental agreement isn't it??
Diamond Dave said:
Had this for a couple of days in Mallorca back in March - perfect for the mountain roads there ........ and its not the first time this actual car has appeared in this forum!!!!
Seriously though if you've not driven the mountain roads in Mallorca you should, they are just wonderful. The only problem is the plethora of cyclists but if you make an early start in the day there's fewer of them to bother you.
somebody else posted that very car 2 pages back, small world eh.Diamond Dave said:
Had this for a couple of days in Mallorca back in March - perfect for the mountain roads there ........ and its not the first time this actual car has appeared in this forum!!!!
Seriously though if you've not driven the mountain roads in Mallorca you should, they are just wonderful. The only problem is the plethora of cyclists but if you make an early start in the day there's fewer of them to bother you.
900cc Seat Marbella (Fiat Panda)
Menorca
1988
Me and a fellow petrol head student
2 week holiday
Weather turns out to be rubbish, so we hire a car to fill time.
We can only afford a Seat Marbella.
Turns out to be so much better than proper cars with their proper steering and proper suspension.
Handled the dusty 'spine' main island road with ease and came into its own on the 'rib ' roads to the ports and villages by the sea.
Flat out for 2 weeks with windows down.
Never missed a beat, but would have needed a valet for the dust inside, plus the handbrake cable tightening!
Menorca
1988
Me and a fellow petrol head student
2 week holiday
Weather turns out to be rubbish, so we hire a car to fill time.
We can only afford a Seat Marbella.
Turns out to be so much better than proper cars with their proper steering and proper suspension.
Handled the dusty 'spine' main island road with ease and came into its own on the 'rib ' roads to the ports and villages by the sea.
Flat out for 2 weeks with windows down.
Never missed a beat, but would have needed a valet for the dust inside, plus the handbrake cable tightening!
On my honeymoon last year I got through three cars, none of which was the one I ordered.
I had ordered a lovely blue '68 Camaro.
When I got to the airport, they picked me up in a bright red '70 Buick Gran Sport - not quite the Camaro (which needed some fixing, and so not available), but I was happy enough with that. Well, until I discoverd that this VAST car had sod-all leg room for the driver, and the bench seat was fixed so I couldn't move it back! Made it about 50 miles before the apparently full 'gas' tank ran out - turned out the tank was hugely dented and so contained little fuel, but still appeared 3/4 full. To give them their credit they turned up at about 11:00pm to take it away and replace it with...
1976 Cadillac Eldorado, in white. Stick some bull horns on the front and it was a dead ringer for Boss Hogg's car. There was an unlabelled button, that I just had to press to see what happened - Dixie horn!!! Super wafty. This was (and apparently still is) the most powerful engine ever fitted to a FWD car - certainly the biggest at 7.2l - but to be honest it didn't feel it! Still, fabulous for cruising from LA, to Vegas, then San Francisco, top down the whole way. The American Road Trip dream come true.
Back for our last day in LA a fuse blew while the valet parker was trying to put the roof back up, leaving it 1/4 raised. I returned it (slowly!) to the rental place, and for our final afternoon they let us borrow a '68 Buick LeSabre, the only car I managed to return in full working order 5 hours later.
Despite the adventures, I can recommend Regency Rentals http://regencycarrentals.com/collection/classic-ca... - I tried a number of places (desperate to have a classic muscle car for our honeymoon road trip) and they were the only ones that weren't stupid expensive, the next closest was probably double the price. 11 days hire came to $4,382 - $299 per day plus all the extras (insurance, tax, airport collection) that the Yanks like to add on. They let me take it not only out of LA, but out of state (most others wouldn't), 100 miles per day (which I WAY exceeded!), and they went out of their way to fix things when there were problems. The cars showed their ~40 years, they weren't concours condition by any means, but I'm fine with that.
None of the cars I rented are still on the fleet, BTW, but the latest includes a single-seat 1927 Bugatti!!! Something tells me that one is a replica, and not one that bears close inspection...
I had ordered a lovely blue '68 Camaro.
When I got to the airport, they picked me up in a bright red '70 Buick Gran Sport - not quite the Camaro (which needed some fixing, and so not available), but I was happy enough with that. Well, until I discoverd that this VAST car had sod-all leg room for the driver, and the bench seat was fixed so I couldn't move it back! Made it about 50 miles before the apparently full 'gas' tank ran out - turned out the tank was hugely dented and so contained little fuel, but still appeared 3/4 full. To give them their credit they turned up at about 11:00pm to take it away and replace it with...
1976 Cadillac Eldorado, in white. Stick some bull horns on the front and it was a dead ringer for Boss Hogg's car. There was an unlabelled button, that I just had to press to see what happened - Dixie horn!!! Super wafty. This was (and apparently still is) the most powerful engine ever fitted to a FWD car - certainly the biggest at 7.2l - but to be honest it didn't feel it! Still, fabulous for cruising from LA, to Vegas, then San Francisco, top down the whole way. The American Road Trip dream come true.
Back for our last day in LA a fuse blew while the valet parker was trying to put the roof back up, leaving it 1/4 raised. I returned it (slowly!) to the rental place, and for our final afternoon they let us borrow a '68 Buick LeSabre, the only car I managed to return in full working order 5 hours later.
Despite the adventures, I can recommend Regency Rentals http://regencycarrentals.com/collection/classic-ca... - I tried a number of places (desperate to have a classic muscle car for our honeymoon road trip) and they were the only ones that weren't stupid expensive, the next closest was probably double the price. 11 days hire came to $4,382 - $299 per day plus all the extras (insurance, tax, airport collection) that the Yanks like to add on. They let me take it not only out of LA, but out of state (most others wouldn't), 100 miles per day (which I WAY exceeded!), and they went out of their way to fix things when there were problems. The cars showed their ~40 years, they weren't concours condition by any means, but I'm fine with that.
None of the cars I rented are still on the fleet, BTW, but the latest includes a single-seat 1927 Bugatti!!! Something tells me that one is a replica, and not one that bears close inspection...
Best rental car we've had was in NYC. We rented a car for the day from the city to JFK in the evening for the flight, so we could explore some more of the state, plus it was cheaper and more convenient than a cab. We upgraded to a Cadillac CTS. I went with my dad to pick it up from Hertz where we were given a Mercedes key. When we went to the underground car park, we found our car - a Mercedes GL450 V8! It had all the options- leather, tv's, electric folding seats etc. It was a barge and un-driveable around NYC but it was still really nice.
jke11y said:
They'll be sold off via BMW dealers once they've done 6-12k miles, so maybe BMW option the cars so to help with resale. We had an ex-avis 120d M sport bought via a dealer, was a great car.
Given how I, and pretty much everyone I know, drive hire cars, I'm always surprised at people buying ex hire cars 
gav5ta said:
This with out doubt! Drive round the whole island of mahe in the Seychelles stopping of at various beaches. Local kids love seeing them flying about! 
This has to be the best yet.
RizzoTheRat said:
jke11y said:
They'll be sold off via BMW dealers once they've done 6-12k miles, so maybe BMW option the cars so to help with resale. We had an ex-avis 120d M sport bought via a dealer, was a great car.
Given how I, and pretty much everyone I know, drive hire cars, I'm always surprised at people buying ex hire carsTheres always loads of great ""ex-demo"" 6-12 month old motors floating around the dealer network though.
hairyben said:
Hardly anyone ever buys ex-rental cars
Theres always loads of great ""ex-demo"" 6-12 month old motors floating around the dealer network though.
I knew exactly what we were buying and it was cheap enough to make it worthwhile - we did 30k in it in a year, and sold it for £2.5k less than I paid from a BMW dealer. Didnt even put a set of tyres on it, and it was faultless for the 30k. Probably pure luck mind you, I am sure most have been abused. Theres always loads of great ""ex-demo"" 6-12 month old motors floating around the dealer network though.
jke11y said:
hairyben said:
Hardly anyone ever buys ex-rental cars
Theres always loads of great ""ex-demo"" 6-12 month old motors floating around the dealer network though.
I knew exactly what we were buying and it was cheap enough to make it worthwhile - we did 30k in it in a year, and sold it for £2.5k less than I paid from a BMW dealer. Didnt even put a set of tyres on it, and it was faultless for the 30k. Probably pure luck mind you, I am sure most have been abused. Theres always loads of great ""ex-demo"" 6-12 month old motors floating around the dealer network though.
Nissan 350Z when they were first released - just a long weekend in the Alps, but I was 25 and so the Z was by far and away the most exotic car I had ever driven, and it absolutely stopped traffic in Alpine towns, which I rather enjoyed.
Most recently I had a 1.4 Turbo Meriva, however which was somewhat less exciting.
Most recently I had a 1.4 Turbo Meriva, however which was somewhat less exciting.
jke11y said:
I knew exactly what we were buying and it was cheap enough to make it worthwhile - we did 30k in it in a year, and sold it for £2.5k less than I paid from a BMW dealer. Didnt even put a set of tyres on it, and it was faultless for the 30k. Probably pure luck mind you, I am sure most have been abused.
Maybe you got the hallowed "mangers car"
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