Renting a car in the UK is a very simple process if you have a clean driving licence, a valid credit card and are more than 25 years old.

If you match this criteria you will find dozens of car hire services in the UK, most of which you will be able to access directly from the air(or sea) port upon your arrival.

Unfortunately not everyone who needs to hire a car is over 25 or has a valid credit card. In these circumstances you can still find companies willing to deal with you but they may charge you more.

You will have to pay higher insurance premiums if you are young, because of the higher number of younger people involved in accidents, and if you do not have a credit card then you will probably be asked to leave a large cash deposit and provide evidence of an address here in the UK.

The best thing to do in your situation is to call some car-hire companies and speak to them about your situation before you begin your journey. Don’t turn up at the airport and expect to be able to hire a car on the spot without a valid credit card.

You can find car hire companies in our “Find a…” section now.

Excess

Most car rental companies will charge you an “excess” if you damage the car during the hire period. This can be over £500, which is a lot of money, so check the company’s policy on this first.

You may consider buying separate insurance to pay for the excess in the event of an accident. Or most car rental companies will give you the option to pay £10-£15 per day so that you don’t have to pay any excess if you have do an accident.

Buying a separate insurance policy you may save some money. For example, you can take out a weekly policy for around £50 a week, which would be cheaper than paying the reduced excess charge with your hire company. You can find insurance companies in our “Find a..” section here.

Alternatively you could just do what the majority of us do; keep the full excess and be careful not to have an accident!

You should check the vehicle for any damage before driving off and agree with the agent on the condition of the car to prevent any disputes when you bring the car back.

You should also be aware that almost all rental companies will supply you with a manual gear change unless you specifically ask for an automatic car when booking.

Driving

Ok so you’ve got the car and a good map, the whole of the UK is yours to discover, all you need to do now is drive; should be simple, right?

Well you probably already know that the British are the one of the few countries in the world that drive on the correct side of the road – the left hand side.

For some strange reason the rest of you insist on driving on the right, but what can we do? We just hope that one day you will realise the error of your ways.

In the meantime you will have to adapt to suddenly having to change gears with your left hand, so it is advisable to practice in a quite car park, if you can, before heading out onto Britain’s busy motorways.

By John Hillman 

USEFUL WORDS

insurance = money paid to cover the cost of repairs if you have an accident

repair / replacement costs = the money needed to repair breakages to a car

excess = the part of an insurance claim that a person has to pay while the insurance company pays the rest

cleaning & fuel costs = money paid to clean and power a car

(unleaded) petrol/diesel = fuel used in cars

mileage allowance = the number of miles you are allowed to travel in the car

GRAMMAR SPOT

Hire, Rent & Let

Hire and rent both have two meanings: ‘ to pay for the use of something’ and ‘to sell someone the use of something’.

British English
Rent is mostly used in situations involving a long period of time (e.g. a house, a flat, a TV)
Hire refers to shorter periods (e.g. a boat, a car, a bicycle, evening dress, a hall for a meeting)

Let is used to mean selling the use of houses, rooms etc.

American English
Rent is used for both long-term and short-term use.

The American expression ‘to rent a car’ is also becoming very common in British English.

Hire, in American English, can be used to mean ‘give a job to’.

Borrow vs Lend
Borrowing is like taking.  You borrow something from somebody.

Can I borrow your bicycle?

I borrowed a pound from my brother.

Lending is like giving.  The verb can be used with two objects, or with the preposition to (like give).

Could you lend me your pen please?

I lent my car to my brother’s girlfriend, and she crashed it.