| Pick-up location | Birmingham |
|---|---|
| Rental locations | 69 |
| Airport locations | 23 |
Good price, long lines
Pros: I got a brand new car, it only had 65 miles, I was the 2nd person to hire it.
Cons: Check in process was slow, there was a queue of about 8 people in front of me and 2 people behind me (Probably because the prices were so low)
Pros: had my selected car (minivan) ready to go - included gps which was not ordered. car in good condition, comfortable and roomy
Cons: somewhat inconvenient pickup - have to walk with cases quite a long way
Good price, long lines
Pros: I got a brand new car, it only had 65 miles, I was the 2nd person to hire it.
Cons: Check in process was slow, there was a queue of about 8 people in front of me and 2 people behind me (Probably because the prices were so low)
Pros: had my selected car (minivan) ready to go - included gps which was not ordered. car in good condition, comfortable and roomy
Cons: somewhat inconvenient pickup - have to walk with cases quite a long way
Car rental
Pros: The ease of the booking by Kayak
Cons: The rental companies hidden policies of having to supply 2 x household bills.
Large excess of £1250.00!
Cons: Everything
Very bad customer service
Pros: Nothing
Cons: I rented a car paid the rental fees online and at the office i paid all the extra charges only to find out that i had to pay an extra 115£ on top when i dropped off the car and no one knew the reason why i just ha to pay it. While at the office they were also trying to charge another gentleman money for something that he shouldnt have paid for. Very bad service
Huge crack in windscreen in drivers view
Pros: Cheap and efficient
Cons: I needed to extend the car and it was £21 cheaper to do this via a broker which meant I had to make the trip to green motion to effectively hand over another £400 deposit to keep the same car. Why this couldn't be done over the phone, I do not know.
Pros: Good customer service
Cons: Very steep repair
Car rental
Pros: The ease of the booking by Kayak
Cons: The rental companies hidden policies of having to supply 2 x household bills.
Large excess of £1250.00!
Cons: Everything
Very bad customer service
Pros: Nothing
Cons: I rented a car paid the rental fees online and at the office i paid all the extra charges only to find out that i had to pay an extra 115£ on top when i dropped off the car and no one knew the reason why i just ha to pay it. While at the office they were also trying to charge another gentleman money for something that he shouldnt have paid for. Very bad service
Huge crack in windscreen in drivers view
Pros: Cheap and efficient
Cons: I needed to extend the car and it was £21 cheaper to do this via a broker which meant I had to make the trip to green motion to effectively hand over another £400 deposit to keep the same car. Why this couldn't be done over the phone, I do not know.
Worst car rental experience EVER!!
Pros: NOTHING to like about this rental company other than they had a nice driver taking you from airport to their offsite facility...
Cons: Waited 45 mins until another couple aggravated customers got done
My flight was delayed and I was a few hours late... hard to believe, they canceled my reservation and then would reinstate it but the cost jumped almost $300.. I WALKED out and got a car for only $50 more at HERZ.. !!
Bait and switch
Pros: Car was clean, newer model Citroen. Ran well, great gas mileage!
Cons: Deceptive rental practices. Advertised $11.00 per day for the time frame i specified. Total should have been around $100. Inexplicably jumped to $300 plus when I picked up the car.
HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE
Cons: From the moment we arrived to pick up the car, till I dropped it off - I've had a horrible experience. They try to rip you off all the time! Took them a hour and a half to release the car when we first arrived! Firstly, because we booked through Kayak, we had to pay for additional collision damage cover. They kept trying to sell add-ons and getting us to pay more. By the time the car was ready, it was dark and there was insufficient light to inspect the condition of the car in detail. The first thing the agent said to us was that the car is dirty and the second question was are you happy with the tyres? I mentioned that the rims were dirty and he said that's alright. It should have struck me then but since the tyres and the rest of the car seemed okay, I signed off and left with the car. Upon return, within less than 10 seconds of inspection, the agent had said that the rims are scratched and it was only on one particular rim. I know for a fact that I had not touched the tyre or rim anywhere, as I was very carful throughout the rental period. Ironically there were no other problems with the car. Upon arguing with the agent, he said its your fault that you signed off without carefully inspecting the car.
The scam artist in my case was James Ricardo from the Birmingham location.
Oh and their office is not at the airport or the airport train station. You have to make your way outside the station first, then wait until they send a vehicle to pick you up and drop you to their office 5 mins away and same on the way back. If you ask them to drop you at the airport, they give you all sorts of reasons and decline your request.
Moral of the story - if you have other options, go for those options. If not, be very careful and inspect the car thoroughly and get their signature before you leave with the car.
Never will I hire a car from them again!
Pros: Cheap
Cons: Difficult to get to, issue with time of reservation. Issue reaching kayak support to resolve. Waited 3+ hours to get my car.
Worst car rental experience EVER!!
Pros: NOTHING to like about this rental company other than they had a nice driver taking you from airport to their offsite facility...
Cons: Waited 45 mins until another couple aggravated customers got done
My flight was delayed and I was a few hours late... hard to believe, they canceled my reservation and then would reinstate it but the cost jumped almost $300.. I WALKED out and got a car for only $50 more at HERZ.. !!
Bait and switch
Pros: Car was clean, newer model Citroen. Ran well, great gas mileage!
Cons: Deceptive rental practices. Advertised $11.00 per day for the time frame i specified. Total should have been around $100. Inexplicably jumped to $300 plus when I picked up the car.
HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE
Cons: From the moment we arrived to pick up the car, till I dropped it off - I've had a horrible experience. They try to rip you off all the time! Took them a hour and a half to release the car when we first arrived! Firstly, because we booked through Kayak, we had to pay for additional collision damage cover. They kept trying to sell add-ons and getting us to pay more. By the time the car was ready, it was dark and there was insufficient light to inspect the condition of the car in detail. The first thing the agent said to us was that the car is dirty and the second question was are you happy with the tyres? I mentioned that the rims were dirty and he said that's alright. It should have struck me then but since the tyres and the rest of the car seemed okay, I signed off and left with the car. Upon return, within less than 10 seconds of inspection, the agent had said that the rims are scratched and it was only on one particular rim. I know for a fact that I had not touched the tyre or rim anywhere, as I was very carful throughout the rental period. Ironically there were no other problems with the car. Upon arguing with the agent, he said its your fault that you signed off without carefully inspecting the car.
The scam artist in my case was James Ricardo from the Birmingham location.
Oh and their office is not at the airport or the airport train station. You have to make your way outside the station first, then wait until they send a vehicle to pick you up and drop you to their office 5 mins away and same on the way back. If you ask them to drop you at the airport, they give you all sorts of reasons and decline your request.
Moral of the story - if you have other options, go for those options. If not, be very careful and inspect the car thoroughly and get their signature before you leave with the car.
Never will I hire a car from them again!
Pros: Cheap
Cons: Difficult to get to, issue with time of reservation. Issue reaching kayak support to resolve. Waited 3+ hours to get my car.
| Most popular agency | GREEN MOTION |
|---|---|
| Most popular car type | Economy |
| Average price | $25/day |
| Good deal | $22/day |
On average a hire car in Birmingham costs $25 per day.
Economy (Ford Fiesta or similar) is the most frequently booked hire car type in Birmingham.
Based on ratings and reviews from real users on KAYAK, the best car rental companies in Birmingham are Enterprise (8.5, 12802 reviews), National (8.2, 3672 reviews), and Sixt (7.5, 1065 reviews).
The only car hire company onsite at Birmingham Airport is GREEN MOTION.
The only car hire company that offers shuttle or pick-up services from Birmingham Airport to off-airport locations is GREEN MOTION.
Take a look at our extensive car hire location map to find the best hire cars near you.
As with most bigger cities, it can be challenging to find a parking spot or zoom in and out of the city with a bulky car. Therefore, a compact economy car is a good choice when visiting Birmingham. A smaller car needs less gas, is easier to navigate, and is also less of a challenge for drivers who are not used to driving on the left side.
Unlike many European countries, England’s speed limits are given in miles per hour. Within the city areas, mostly 20 mph is permitted, while in other built-up areas it is 30 mph. The limit is 60 mph for streets with one lane in each direction and 70 mph on streets with two lanes in each direction and freeways (motorways).
Petrol prices in the UK are known to be higher than in many other European countries. The average price for petrol in Birmingham lies around £1.25 per liter (which is about $6.40 per gallon). The cheapest petrol stations are often at Tesco or Sainsbury’s supermarkets. Almost every petrol station in Britain takes credit cards and most of them are also open 24/7, apart from ones in the city center where they might close at 10 or 11 pm.
On-street parking in Birmingham is usually metered, but free on Sundays. There are also parking lots like the Great Charles Street lot or Markets Multi-Storey Car Park, which are reasonably priced between £4 and £10 (approximately $5.00 to $13.00). The most convenient way for parking your car overnight or for a couple of days is by opting for a hotel with a parking space included.
