Self drive UK questions

[shrjun]

Can't find a thread in the forum so here goes. Hopefully ideas from someone who has been in that area of GB.

Planning a trip to visit in-laws who live in  Blackpool in June 2023. Will likely fly in via Manchester. Travelling with wife and child.

1. What are my options for a car rental at the airport - do I go with the usual Sixt/Hertz..etc or are there other reliable options? 

Am looking for a manual small car/sedan with unlimited mileage. Would like a  ' decent enough ' car - maybe a Bimmer or equivalent , possibly an M3! 

2. Does Waze / G maps work well there ? 

3. There will be parking at home but how do you usually pay for parking at touristy parking spots ?

 

 

[yishunite]

1. I always found Europcar the cheapest in UK but that was some years ago preCovid

2. Yes

3. Damn ex. Theres many parking apps that can use private user parking lots but different city diff usefulness. Try a few to see what works for u

[Steptronic]

1. I think it depends on the car and time of the year. Some tend be cheaper than other at a time and so on. Better to fix a car and search all these sites online and take whoever is giving it cheap. I book through corporate account - tends to be much cheaper. You can check with your Admin for the possible discounts. German makes are not cheaper for sure. French ones are.

2. Yes both work fine

3. RingGo is an app widely used. There are others sites like YourParking Space.

All the best and happy holidays.

[teomingern]

5 hours ago, shrjun said:

Can't find a thread in the forum so here goes. Hopefully ideas from someone who has been in that area of GB.

Planning a trip to visit in-laws who live in  Blackpool in June 2023. Will likely fly in via Manchester. Travelling with wife and child.

1. What are my options for a car rental at the airport - do I go with the usual Sixt/Hertz..etc or are there other reliable options? 

Am looking for a manual small car/sedan with unlimited mileage. Would like a  ' decent enough ' car - maybe a Bimmer or equivalent , possibly an M3! 

2. Does Waze / G maps work well there ? 

3. There will be parking at home but how do you usually pay for parking at touristy parking spots ?

 

 

Wow! Summer is a lovely time to visit UK... driven a bit in UK... all the way up to Edinburgh from London, also to Wales... UK is easy to drive, same side as us, very similar rules, and everything is in English...

1. I usually use Hertz... actually if you're visiting your in-laws and they live in city areas, then a small city car is best... cheapest decent car would be a Vauxhall or Seat hatch economy car... I used a Seat Ibiza and it was really good... stable and smooth even at 170 kmh...

2. I used Google Maps always... very good instructions... I have always downloade offline Google Maps just in case some areas don't have mobile connection... 

3. I usually just buy a parking ticket from the meter... but then again I drive only outside the major cities... refuse to drive inside London or Manchester or Edinburgh... a bit hairy to drive in these places... London especially... heh...

[Jamesc]

Malaysian who planned to drive from Kuala Lumpur to Germany in a Mercedes Benz ended up going further

After facing a number of challenges, being involved in two accidents and even being hospitalised, Seet Wai Song ended up in the UK

Driving thousands of kilometres in an old car would be a mammoth task for anyone.

But 65-year-old F&B entrepreneur Seet Wai Song is a man with adventure in his veins, and his desire to raise awareness about cancer on his drive from Kuala Lumpur all the way to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany served to spur him on throughout his long journey.

In the end, his excursion in his 50-year-old Mercedes-Benz W115, which Yahoo Southeast Asia previously wrote about, did not end in Germany as originally planned. It went on much further, as he decided to take a scenic drive through Switzerland and France and then on to the United Kingdom.

He had also faced a number of challenges, was involved in two accidents and even had to be hospitalised. But after 108 days, 20 countries and 22,000km, the young-at-heart "Chef on Wheels" is back in Malaysia with countless lessons learnt, and he's looking to inspire other adventurers.

The road to Germany

Seet's journey began in Kuala Lumpur on 1 July. Over two months, he drove across the likes of Thailand, Laos, China, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Turkey, Romania, Hungary and Austria and experienced numerous interesting sights and sounds before eventually arriving in Germany, a few days shy of Merdeka Day.

One of the most thrilling moments over the many kilometres of his expedition, he says, was when he arrived at the Schoene Sterne Mercedes-Benz Festival in the town of Hattingen, and was greeted with much fanfare.

"I was the first Malaysian to arrive (at the event). And it wasn't an easy feat getting there. But it was an exciting achievement for me. I even got to walk down a red carpet," he says.

"One of the highlights of the event was meeting the people there. They wanted to take photos with me. I was even interviewed. I felt very proud."

Hattingen aside, there was also that moment when Seet finally got to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, and achieved one of his lifelong goals.

"As a Mercedes-Benz enthusiast, I had an awesome time at the museum. I learned about its history, from the first car to the latest model. It was very interesting," he says, adding that being at the site where it all began drove home the reliability of his time-tested W115, which he describes as the "perfect car".

Long and winding drive

Seet makes it a point to note, however, that his journey was anything but straightforward. His original goal was to drive across 21 countries and cover 25,000km in 60 days. He soon found out, however, that things don't always go to plan, no matter how much one prepares.

[Jamesc]

Old used cars are the best!

[BanCoe]

On 11/22/2023 at 9:07 AM, Jamesc said:

Old used cars are the best!

With an old man at the helm ( steering)