£650 for 'free' car hire, can i beat that price

[orangeone123]

planning our holiday for next year and so far virgin is coming in quiet competative with their quote. however with the cost of the 'free' car and the added insurance they are wanting just over £650 for a intermediate SUV, 17 may - 7 june. do you think i can get a better price booking it myself.

[gjdjud]

I got a quote £650 odd for a standard SUV for 3 weeks in May next year. That was with fully inclusive car insurance through the stand alone Virgin Car hire. When I got my Virgin Holidays quote I got it without car and then when I got the quote told them about what I could get car wise through their standalone hire and got it added. The "free" car you get with them on the package or fly drive is a bad deal especially as the insurance isn't enough and you have to add extra.

[FloridaDave]

Their ‘Free’ car is total BS. They’re currently selling the hire for that car on those dates for £50 cheaper so you’d be better off seeing if taking the ‘free’ car off completely will reduce your price or even if it doesn’t just tell them you’ll book separately. Shopping around (Alamo Brits, DFCH etc.) you may be able to get cheaper still or a bigger car for less than VH want.

*The above through VH includes all your required insurances and an additional driver.

[Rowlf]

Try the Holiday Autos website. They’ve just done me 3 weeks in a Mustang for £580 from Avis for next month.

[coggie]

Plenty of sites around that will beat that...

[Moorlandman]

£650 for 3 weeks SUV hire is not that bad with Alamo

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Originally Posted by Moorlandman

£650 for 3 weeks SUV hire is not that bad with Alamo

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For an Int SUV that seems high.
This trip I am paying £541.32 - 3 weeks
Aug £719.46 - 4 weeks
Oct £525.48 - 3 weeks

All prices for a Standard SUV

[Softy]

Originally Posted by Rowlf

Try the Holiday Autos website. They’ve just done me 3 weeks in a Mustang for £580 from Avis for next month.

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Good shout. They seem to be having a 20% off sale at the moment. Cheapest for me in August.

[99plums]

Originally Posted by gjdjud

I got a quote £650 odd for a standard SUV for 3 weeks in May next year. That was with fully inclusive car insurance through the stand alone Virgin Car hire. When I got my Virgin Holidays quote I got it without car and then when I got the quote told them about what I could get car wise through their standalone hire and got it added. The "free" car you get with them on the package or fly drive is a bad deal especially as the insurance isn't enough and you have to add extra.

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You should be able to get that for less than £600.
The problem is you’re a bit early, companies like Alamo only load up their prices around 11 months out.
That’s when most of the 3rd party suppliers start showing them.
Alamo thru Virgin being the exception, who do seem to get them earlier.
I would knock the free car off your booking, wait a few weeks then start shopping around once all the websites are showing prices for your dates.

[gjdjud]

Originally Posted by 99plums

You should be able to get that for less than £600.
The problem is you’re a bit early, companies like Alamo only load up their prices around 11 months out.
That’s when most of the 3rd party suppliers start showing them.
Alamo thru Virgin being the exception, who do seem to get them earlier.
I would knock the free car off your booking, wait a few weeks then start shopping around once all the websites are showing prices for your dates.

See more...

I didn't get a free car. It was quote that I got with Virgin standalone car hire. I asked them to add it to the Virgin Holidays quote that had no car hire with it. It ended up cheaper than the £650 as part of the package.