V-Flyer

Ok, as many of you know, I'm going to be in Edinburgh for all of August. I also have a lot of kit to take with me, so flying isn't really an option. My car is also as small as it get before being re-classified as a matchbox toy. So I'm looking at options;

- Rent a mini van. Either do this as a two-day rental either end of the festival, with a pick up in Reading, drop off in Edinburgh and vice versa. Or, rent a van for the whole month. Looking around at quotes, I can't seem to find anything better than £80 each way for one-way rental, or £450 for the whole month; and that's before insurance.

- Buy a van or car? Not such a radical idea - potentially cheaper to buy a van than rent one, as long as I'm not looking for luxury; and if I take into consideration the resale value just after the festival I might be able to pick up a decent runner & sell it after August without it costing too much. Problem with this model may be a year's worth of insurance. I could also potentially just sell my car and buy something more practical, I just never saw myself as an Estate car driver... !

- Lease. No idea where to start on this one, so it may not get very far as an idea; but leasing is probably cheaper than renting. Might come unstuck with minimum lease periods.

- Borrow. By far the best idea if only I knew someone with a little van who wasn't using it in August...

- Ship it. Get someone else who has a van to do the driving, and just take the plane. I think this might get pricey given the amount of kit and the distance involved.

Any other suggestions out there?

Ta muchly,

Pete

Small contribution from me: parking in Edinburgh is shocking.. depending on where you will be living, if a parking space is not provided, you will NOT have ANYWHERE to park.

Good point. So one-way renting would probably be the best option then?

You may want to check with Centurion on the car insurance cover to see if it applies to UK rentals seen as the new level of insurance cover is for worldwide rentals. This is the new Platinum level of Insurance that is due to be rolled out to Centurion later in the year as part of the Centurion refresh, but I called and they have extended the new enhanced Platinum cover to my account.

Worth looking over on FT to see if there are any car hire discoutn codes flying about that you could use.

Thanks,
Richard

Pete,
If you consider the buy and sell in a month option there are insurers that offer 1-28 day cover, so you wouldn't be stung with a whole years worth.

There are loads of vans on ebay etc for very little cash an escort diesel van for example should make it up north do 40+mpg and cost a few hundred quid (most of which you should get back when selling)

If you have AA cover it doesnt even have to make it all the way

When you say "a lot of kit".. what kind of kit?

Okey Dokey - so its gotta go freom Reading to Edinburgh - and whatever you are taking isnt coming back - is that correct??

Also assuming you have about as much as can fit in a smal estate car?

MY first port of call woudl be Yellow Pages or Yell.co.uk and suss out the prices of someone else - "white van man" doing the job - I think you will be suprised at the cost as these boys are always looking to take a full load - it removes all the aggro for you and as you say you can fly!!

Leasing wont work over such a short period and all the other options of hiring and buying have been covered.

Is there no one else who is going up there at th esame time who has got a bigger set of wheels than Pete and can lend a hand, share petrol etc??

Maybe there is a craigslist.org type site to meet up with someone going in the same direction around the same time?

Pete I have a few friends/van drivers that I use from time to time, give me a bell, I am sure I could get something sorted.

Barry.

If your looking at Renting we have always found Enterprise to be really well priced and excellent service - particularly if you can do it over a weekend (midday Fri - 10am Mon, or 10am Tues if a bank holiday). Their weekend rates usually cover vans - well they did when we hired one.

Good luck!
Mat xxx

Thanks for all the replies. Bazz - expect a call

There is a fair amount of kit (and most of it is coming back), which includes a large A3 printer, couple of computers, full sized camera, luggage and 2 people - so the car sharing idea may not get very far (we'd take up all the room). Renting looks like a good option, especially to avoid the parking problem (yes, now you mention it, I've seen that problem before). Interestingly Enterprise are quoting 80 quid to hire it from Reading to Edinburgh, but only £40 to hire it from Edinburgh to Reading. Odd.

Pete

With Enterprise have a look at the other branches nearby. Each one has its own pricing structure, maybe a bit of a mare to pick up but the next one down the road may have a different price.

Mat xxx

^^ My Cousin is an Enterprise Branch Manager (Doncaster)

have you looked at the cost of a tow bar and renting/buying a secure trailer.

Originally posted by pixuk
Any other suggestions out there?

Steal a van