Hertz Pick Up at LHR - Beware [Forced an Unsuitable Vehicle for Planned travel]

[PERLHR]

Motorways are often carparks...same as here.
I was more referring to the country roads with hedges and rock walls and supposedly 2 directions.
We have cough roads but they are generally wide enough for 2 way traffic.

Have another trip over there soon...is this EV nonsense still going on?

Well maybe they can be car parks but then again think about the actual number.of cars on the road compared to Australia. I can hardly believe it until I saw that that only Australia can you have 6 cars on the road and a traffic jam. No lane discipline and generally poor driving. If the UK behaves like that no cars would go anywhere. Ofcourse in quant places like Devon, Cornwall and Scotland and in the country there is hedges and narrow roads. You deal with it however and you don't really want 3 lane freeways in such areas. EV...nonsense as you say.....well yes they are quite popular in UK and from what I can see still have an interest in Australia.

 

[jastel]

They can have them if they like but when I hire a petrol car that is what I want to get...

Bad driving happens everywhere.

 

[PERLHR]

They can have them if they like but when I hire a petrol car that is what I want to get...

There is no reason why you should not receive a petrol car if ordered. The UK is not all electric for.hired cars...far from it...still well in the minority.

 

[jastel]

Hope you are right...but this thread is about exactly that - being forced to have an electric car instead of petrol.

Just looking for more current experiences.

 

[DC3]

… only Australia can you have 6 cars on the road and a traffic jam. No lane discipline and generally poor driving …

Should have gone to Specsavers

 

[DC3]

I was more referring to the country roads with hedges and rock walls and supposedly 2 directions

Some their cough roads.

 

[Flyerwin]

I had the opposite problem when I was in Hobart recently - asked for an EV but got given a petrol minivan lol. When I travel interstate for work I always try to get an EV as I drive them normally but I agree when you go overseas on holiday and driving long distance it makes sense to get a petrol vehicle.

 

[DC3]

…when I was in Hobart recently - asked for an EV but got given a petrol minivan …

 

[PERLHR]

Some their cough roads.

It's beautiful....can't say Aussie is much better. Half the roads are unsealed or just stop

 

[markis10]

Hertz have offloaded all their electric cars in USA. Caused a slump in 2nd hand E V values.

Hertz have offloaded half of their EV fleet, previously they had 60K. The slump in EV values is mirrored here as well as in the US, and is mainly due to technology dropping prices and at least locally the wave of Chinese imports. There were 1.3M EVs sold in the US last year and 4M in the last 4 years.

If you rent an EV make sure you have Plugshare on your phone. I have done 10000kms in an EV rental over the last 4 weeks up and down the east coast of Aus.

 

[jase05]

Have another trip over there soon...is this EV nonsense still going on?

I’ve rented cars twice at LHR in the last 12 months and haven’t encountered it. I use Sixt as they are located at the Sofitel T5 so generally arrive in the evening, stay the night and grab the car in the morning. Been very happy with their service

 

[dsotm]

Hertz LHR are hopeless, hopeless, hopeless. I will never, EVER rent a car from them again. The last two times, our booked car was unavailable and they wanted us to take a lesser category compact at the same price I'd booked! (an intermediate SUV). The most recent time they forced an electric Polestar on me as a substitute for a 5 hour stopover. When I turned the car on, it said battery life was 50%. The desk rep said if I didn't fully charge it before return, Hertz would charge me a 50 UK pound recharge fee.

They are just horrible, rude and unhelpful. I rather rent from Guido's Pizza Delivery and Car Rental than Hertz. When I put a complaint through UK Resolve they pushed back saying everything was done in accordance with their policies and values. I was offered 350 points as compensation. Forget it. Rant complete.

 

[clifford]

Well maybe they can be car parks but then again think about the actual number.of cars on the road compared to Australia. I can hardly believe it until I saw that that only Australia can you have 6 cars on the road and a traffic jam. No lane discipline and generally poor driving. If the UK behaves like that no cars would go anywhere. Ofcourse in quant places like Devon, Cornwall and Scotland and in the country there is hedges and narrow roads. You deal with it however and you don't really want 3 lane freeways in such areas. EV...nonsense as you say.....well yes they are quite popular in UK and from what I can see still have an interest in Australia.

My nephew has recently arrived in Oz from the UK as a permanent resident, and one of the first comments he made was how bad the drivers are here (in WA).

Couldn't disagree with that (as a dual AU/UK citizen). But, in 50 years of driving in Australia, I've never had an accident on a road (car parks notwithstanding).

 

[jastel]

So looks like it is still 50/50 results...