Child Seat Hire With Van Rental: How Much Does It Cost?

A group 1 child seatIn today’s article, I’m going to continue my ‘How Much Does It Cost?’ series with a look at child seat hire, a widely available optional extra on car and van hire.

Although you may be more likely to need a child seat when you’re hiring a car, most of the big van hire companies also offer this service with van hire, since these vehicles do have three seats and are often used for family removals and other occasions where a child may be travelling in the van.

As anyone who has bought a child seat will know, a child seat isn’t simply a child seat. Broadly speaking, child seats come in four types, catering for children from birth up until 12 years old (or 135cm in height). Here’s a brief explanation (all ages are approximate, weight and/or height are more important to ensure a good fit):

  • Group 0 / 0+: Rear facing, suitable from birth until 9/12 months or 0-13kg
  • Group 1:  Age 1-3 years or 9-18kg
  • Group 2: Age 4-6 years or 15-25kg
  • Group 3: Full seats or booster seats for children aged 6-12 years or under 135cm

Group 2 and 3 are sometimes combined, and you may see this in some rental companies offerings, too.

If you’re a parent and in need of a child seat, you’ll probably know this stuff already, but if you would like more information you can find details of the legal requirements for child seats in a guide I wrote for SimpleMotoring.co.uk a while ago, as well as some more details on the different types of child seats.

Hiring a child seat?

A group 2 or 3 child seat boosterSo what do you need to know if hiring a child seat from a van hire company?

Well, vans are unlikely to have ISOFIX mounting points than cars, so child seats will have to be fastened using the seat belt option or by using an ISOFIX base onto which an ISOFIX seat can be mounted.

You can expect reputable hire companies to offer you a suitable package to fit in the van you’ve hired. If you ask for assistance fitting the seat, you may be refused – most hire companies seem to have a policy that the customer must fit the seat themselves, presumably to avoid insurance/liability claims in the event of an accident where the seat was incorrectly fitted.

As with cars, passenger air bags should be deactivated when you use a rear-facing child seat, although I don’t know how feasible this is with common models of van.

How much does it cost to hire a child seat?

I’ve gathered together the daily rates for child seats from all of the main hire companies listed on vanrental.co.uk, together with details about the terms and conditions where I’ve been able to find them. This isn’t an exhaustive guide, but it should give you an idea – remember that advanced booking is normally required:

  • Europcar & National: Child seats of all sizes cost £10.99 per day, up to a maximum of £109.99 per rental. Lost, damaged or stolen seats will incur a £200 charge. Booster cushions cost £3.99 per day, up to a maximum of £39.99 per rental. Lost damaged or stolen booster cushions will incur a £50 charge.
  • Hertz: Hertz only offers child seats and booster seats for larger model vans; at the time of writing*, these were listed on Hertz’s website as Ford Transit Dropside and Tipper models only. Child seats are available to cater for children aged 9 months – 6 years (9-36kg), not for younger children. Hertz’s daily rate for child seats is £11.88 per day, up to a maximum fee per rental of £83.16. Booster seats are available to suit children from 6-11 years of age, for a daily rate of £4.62, up to a maximum fee per rental of £32.64.
  • Sixt: Baby seats (Group 0+ / 0-13kg), child seats (9-18kg) and booster seats (15-36kg) are available for a daily rate of £10.00 or £59.99 per month.
  • Thrifty: Child seats are available to suit children from birth to 12 years/135cm. All seats are £5 per day, with a maximum of 10 days charged. Subject to local availability, contact the hire branch directly to confirm availability.
  • Argus Car Hire: As a broker, availability and cost of child seats varies depending on the rental supplier for your booking.
  • Van Hire 3000: As a broker, availability and cost of child seats varies depending on the rental supplier for your booking.

Who is the cheapest?

Thrifty’s child seat hire is by far the cheapest of all the companies listed – at £5 per day up to a maximum of 10 days charged, it leaves you wondering how much profit companies charging more than £10 per day are making on each child seat.

In my last article on the cost of sat nav hire, Thrifty was also cheapest (along with Hertz), so it’s definitely worth getting a quote from Thrifty if you want to hire a van with extras.

To learn more about the true cost of van hire, check out the following articles:

*This article was written on 9 August 2013.

2 thoughts on “Child Seat Hire With Van Rental: How Much Does It Cost?

  1. Pingback: Van Hire For Students & Young Drivers: How Much Does It Cost For Drivers Under 25? - Van News: The VanRental.co.uk Blog

  2. Pingback: Van Hire For Students & Young Drivers: How Much Does It Cost For Drivers Under 25? | Van News: The VanRental.co.uk Blog

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.