Car hire is a way of having the use of a car for a given period of time without all the associated costs of insurance, road tax and deprecation.

The choice of vehicles available is endless, but generally, the cheapest car to rent will be a smaller vehicle and the bigger the vehicle is then the more you’ll have to pay.

If you’re asking…can I hire a car? It will depend on a few things. Firstly, you will need a current Drivers Licence with the necessary categories applicable to the type of vehicle you’d like to hire. You’ll need to produce this when you collect your rental car or van.

If you have a UK or European drivers licence and category “B” on the licence then you can drive any of our cars or vans. If you have an American, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand drivers licence and you’ve been in the UK for less than a year then there would also be no restrictions. Licences from other countries may also be acceptable subject to a referral to our insurance company.

In general, there are more restrictions on hired vehicle insurance because the driver has no financial interest in the vehicle other than any insurance excess he or she may be liable for during the hire.

One restriction would be on the age of the driver. We can hire to anyone over 25 years old and under 71 years old. Drivers between 21 and 24 or drivers between 71 and 75 may also be permitted to drive, but we have to gather a few more driver details and forward them to our insurance company for them to make the final decision. Driving experience is also a big factor and our current terms require at least 5 years driving experience although we can put through referrals outside these limits if for instance the driver is over 25, has a clean driving record and say, 4 and a half years experience.

I really hope this information answers some of the questions, but please see other areas of this blog for more details on other aspects involved in hiring cars and vans.