A lot of people can quite honestly say that they would love to own and drive a more environmentally-friendly car – but they simply can’t afford to change their current car. I know that’s true for me.
However, one solution for light car users who live in towns and cities is not to own a car at all – something I’m quite keen on! Car hire companies are making this easier and easier for ordinary mortals by increasingly offering free delivery and collection services and the like.
Several car hire companies are now also offering special low-emission ranges of rental cars. Two such companies are Hertz (with its Green Collection) and Avis (with its Avis Eco Collection). Both offer genuinely low emission cars – such as the Toyota Prius, VW Golf Bluemotion and the Seat Ibiza Ecomotive – available for hire – at very ordinary rates.
To learn more about either companies’ offerings, click on the banners below:
It’s hard to believe that there was a time when the residential streets of our towns and cities were gloriously wide and empty – rather than endlessly lined with parked cars that leave just enough width for a single stream of traffic.
To help you imagine what it might be look, take a look at this video of how Los Angeles might look with no traffic:
Damage to the wing mirrors, body panels and paintwork of parked cars is a common result – I know, it’s happened to me more than once. On-street parking is one of the curses of modern urban life; our towns and cities just aren’t designed for it.
The average urban car owner uses their car for just 4.6 hours per week – meaning that it spends 97% of the time parked up, according to new research from car rental firm Europcar. The reality is that car owners will often use public transport instead of their own car because it makes much more sense – and avoids the cost and stress of parking at both ends of what is often a short journey.
My position is much like this – I live in a town centre and can walk or catch the bus everywhere I need to go in a typical week. I struggle to use my car once a week. In fact, the only reason I still own a car at all is that my car is actually a campervan that I use for holidays. If I did just have a car, I would have sold it by now and switched to renting a car when I want one for the weekend.
This would have a number of benefits for me – in the six years I have lived at my current address, which has on-street parking only, I have experienced the following damage to the vehicles I’ve owned:
Minor dent caused by a dustbin lorry – no proof
Bumper paintwork damaged by a dustbin blowing over in gales one night
Major dent and damage to rear door lock caused (I think) by a supermarket delivery van one dark evening. No evidence and no way of recovering (considerable) costs of repairs
Miscellaneous minor scratches and tiny dints caused by passers by, children’s balls, bicycles, etc…
I’ve also seen other people lose wing mirrors and gain dents on their cars, as well as a few acts of vandalism. At my last address, my car got keyed. This isn’t unusual, either – according to Europcar, 44% of city car owners say there car has been damaged or vandalised due to long-term on-street parking.
It’s a pain in the neck, and frankly, I hate it. Washing the campervan is a pain as I have to do it in the street, so have to dive out of the way when traffic comes past. Any maintenance jobs are similarly awkward, and the whole thing is even more frustrating because most of the time I don’t even need the thing – it just sits there on the street, getting dirty, depreciating and occasionally being damaged.
If it wasn’t for my campervan being an essential part of my holiday lifestyle, I’d switch to renting only – especially as many companies (like Europcar and my local branch of Enterprise) will now deliver and collect for free, so I wouldn’t even have the hassle of getting to and from the car rental office.
To celebrate the opening of the new Sixt Station at London’s Heathrow Airport, Sixt is offering car hire customers at Heathrow the choice of a free upgrade or free sat nav hire on all bookings of 4 days or more.
This cracking offer is only available for rentals that take place between now and 31st May 2010 and is subject to availability.Click on the banner below for an instant online quote or to book car hire from Sixt:
Here’s another great reason to do it – pre-book airport car parking through Park & Go between now and the end of May 2010 and you may get it completely free!
Here’s the deal:
Book your airport car parking with Park and Go before the end of February 2010 and you could get it for free!
It’s all very simple! Once you have completed your booking for Park & Go’s airport parking product you will receive a unique booking reference number.
If this number ends 00 (double zero) Park & Go will refund you in full and you get the booking for free.
To get your refund all you have to do is send your email confirmation to freebie@parkandgo.co.uk and they will take care of the rest.
Terms and Conditions
1. Closing date for entries: 23:59pm on 31st May 2010.
2. The Prize: Free Airport Parking. Park and Go will refund winning bookings upon receipt of a valid claim.
3. No cash or other alternative in part or full will be offered in lieu of the specified prizes. Prizes are not transferable.
4. By entering participants will be deemed to have accepted and be bound by the rules. All entry instructions form part of these Terms and Conditions.
5. In the event of unforeseen circumstances Park and Go reserve the right to offer alternative prizes of equal or greater value.
6. Park and Go reserves the right to amend, alter or terminate this promotion at any time due to circumstances beyond its control.
7. Park and Go’s decision is binding in all matters.
8. The prize winners will be contacted by email within six weeks of winning.
9. Winners must respond to notification of their prize within 14 days otherwise the right to claim the prize will be lost and the promoter reserves the right to re-award the prize.
All information is correct at the time of print.
A prototype of the Renault Fluence Zero Emission electric car
The cars are due for delivery from the third quarter of 2011 and will be available for hire in cities across Europe – the primary market for electric cars at present. Renault’s Zero Emission (Z.E.) range will initially be made up of three models:
Fluence Z.E. (pictured above) – a four-door saloon
Twizy Z.E. – a small, city car
Kangoo Z.E. – an electric version of Renault’s popular Kangoo small van
Car hire company Sixt will be offering electric car rental in London, stating from the 4th March, 2010. Sixt’s Fulham branch will be offering the Citroen C1 Ev’ie for hire – an all-electric version of the popular C1 supermini.
The C1 Ev’ie apparently has a range of up to 75 miles, a top speed of 60mph and can be charged for as little as 95p in electricity costs. Drivers of electric cars in London gain access to a number of benefits, including:
Exemption from the London Congestion Charge
Designated parking spaces and recharging spots
The electric C1 will be on display at Sixt’s Fulham branch and will be available for rent from 4th March.
The era of low-cost airlines has got us all used to saving money when travelling abroad – and given the prices that some of the budget airlines charge, your car hire can be more expensive than your airline ticket!
While there isn’t much I can do about that, there is one area where it’s easy to make big savings by simply booking ahead: Airport Parking.
Airport parking is pretty much essential if you are planning to drive your own car to your departure airport and leave it there while you’re away. The problem is the cost. It’s easy enough to turn up at most airports and park in the airport’s official car park – without any pre-booking or planning. However, your bank manager may not thank you for it when you get home.
A far better solution is to pre-book your airport parking so that you don’t have to pay the top whack rate that’s charged to drive-in customers.
Pre-booking also gives you access to more car parks – some of which are a little further away from the airport but much cheaper. These usually include a free courtesy bus transfer service to get you to the airport, so aren’t really any more inconvenient than most airport car parks (you need to use a bus at some of these, too!).
Websites such as Park and Go search through a large number of airport car parking operators to find the best available dealers, including any discounts that are available for pre-bookers.
East Midlands Airparks Service: £26.40 (5 minutes from airport, 24-hour security, transfer included)
Prestige On Airport Parking: £44.99 (on-site at the airport, Park Mark Safer Parking Award holder)
That’s right – the on-site airport car park is nearly double the cost of the off-site airport car park. Any ideas which one I should choose? True – you might save a few minutes with the on-airport car park – but by leaving home a few minutes earlier, you could save £22. Seems a good deal to me.
