How do Thrifty do it so cheap

[ilikestellaartoi]

I'm coming back to the UK for my wedding in September and figured arranging a nice hire car well in advance would give me the best deal.
I booked a RRS with Thrifty on March 7TH for 12 days 8-20 September for £908 after their pre-pay discount. This was already much cheaper than other equivalents at that time.
I've just taken a look now out of interest and for the same rental period (only 2 months before) it has dropped to a ludicrous £704. This is outstanding value and now I'm a bit peeved that I booked so long ago!
Avis prices for the same car and the same period currently stand at £2664 which is completely bonkers.

How on earth do other rental companies manage to charge such high prices in comparison? I can't see how it is due to the Thrifty fleet being naff, my last 3 series from them was brand new.

It's almost worth cancelling and re-booking except I don't trust myself to not miss any penalty charges.

[anonymous-user]

I'd imagine it's just supply and demand - bookings for that class of car are too low compared to the number of them they have on fleet so they're cutting prices to stimulate demand. Even if they rent it out below cost that's still better than it sitting earning nothing.

Good luck with the wedding

[ilikestellaartoi]

charltjr said:

Good luck with the wedding

Thanks

[rawy]

I hired a RRS from Thrifty earlier this year, I guess the way its so cheap is that they go over the whole vehicle with a fine toothcomb when you return it & bill you for every little scratch.

They check the roof, under the bonnet, under the wheel arches, look for misaligned bumpers, charge you per panel not per scratch.

Unlike Hertz & Enterprise who seem to understand wear & tear, I don't think Thrifty in the UK especially on the prestige stuff do.

Luckily I had a excess insurance policy, so their £130 bill was paid back to me within a week.

Rawy

[ilikestellaartoi]

Last car from them I stupidly kerbed the back right wheel. Had the full insurance and didn't have to pay anything when dropping the car off. Just chucked the chap the keys and jumped on the bus.
I also remember having an Eos from them a few years back and they tried to charge me for something to do with the tyres, once again showed him the full insurance policy thingy they do and he shut up.

Guess it depends on the location, I always seem to get my cars from them at Heathrow Sheraton.

[ging84]

if no one is booking them they'll slash the price
the reason the others don't is most likely that they've got other stuff they'd rather rent to you, but if there is a gap in their range, maybe all their cheaper luxury vehicles are booked but they've got a few higher end one, they'd rather upgrade someone than have them go elsewhere and have cars sat unused

[fatboy b]

I'd check the excess. I just hired a car in NI for 2 days for £32. The excess was £850! To reduce that to zero doubled the hire cost.