1979 Ford Escort van RS2000 conversion

Is There A Maximum Age for Van Hire? We Reveal All…

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1979 Ford Escort van RS2000 conversion

All information on this page was believed to be correct as of January 2018.  

Age restrictions and extra fees for younger rental drivers aren’t much of a surprise – “it’s the insurance”, we all say.

It’s less well known that many of the same restrictions apply to older drivers, too. Especially anyone over 75.

Even though a great many people aged 70+ are still perfectly fit and able to drive, it seems that the insurers who cover van hire companies aren’t very keen on older drivers, believing they pose an extra risk.

I’ve found maximum age restrictions from 65 to 75 – with various ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ thrown in to the mix to keep us all confused.

To help anyone who is looking to hire a van and happens to be over 70, I’ve put together a league table of the maximum age limits operated by van hire companies offering national coverage (click here for minimum age limits):

1. National

Top of the league is National Van Rental with an upper age limit of 99!

2. Enterprise

Enterprise van hireIn joint first place is Enterprise. According to their website:

“There is no maximum age limit when renting with Enterprise.”

3. Sixt

Sixt also keeps it straightforward. There is no upper age limit for vehicle hire.

4. Europcar

Europcar van hireEuropcar has no maximum age limit, except at Plymouth, Exeter, Taunton, Pembroke, Carmarthen and York branches, where the maximum age limit is 75 years old (correct as of 29th January 2018).

5. Thrifty

Thrifty Car & Van RentalThrifty’s position is a little more complicated, according to their website. Their “standard insurance age range is 25-70.”

Anyone aged 71-75 should be able to hire a van, as long as they don’t have any medical conditions that are prohibited by Thrifty’s insurer.

Anyone aged 76 upwards probably won’t be able to rent from Thrifty unless they were previously a customer before they were 76, in which case Thrifty say that they: “may be able to help you as a re-renter, but we will need to refer this to our insurer.”

6. Arnold Clark Car & Van Rental

Arnold Clark is an interesting one. They say:

 Drivers over 75 will be asked to provide medical proof that they are fit to drive.

7. Avis

Avis keeps it pretty simple. There is no upper age limit for vehicle rental.

8. Budget

Budget logoBudget’s standard age range appears to be 25-75. Although Budget informed us there is no standard upper age limit for van hire, we’ve heard some locations might have a restriction / need notification if you’re over 75  – it’s worth checking with the specific branch before you book. 

To learn more about rules and restrictions applying to van hire, see our “Van Hire Age / Licence Guidelines” page.

Disclaimer: vanrental.co.uk accepts no liability for any damages or losses suffered as a result of errors or omissions in the information provided on this page.

TNT Goes Electric With New Urban Fleet

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This week saw TNT announce an order for 100 Smith Electric Vehicles Newton delivery trucks. The vehicles will be put TNT Smith Electric Vehicle - Newton into use on urban routes and the vehicles will have a gross weight of 7.5 tonnes – territory currently occupied by diesel-powered vehicles.

The electric vehicles are part of TNT’s ‘Planet Me’ green initiative and offer a number of environmental and economic benefits – including zero road tax and  London Congestion Charge exemption. TNT believes that when all 100 are in operation, they will reduce the company’s CO2 emissions by 1,300 tonnes annually.

The Newtons should also prove cheaper to fuel than their diesel equivalents – and given that TNT’s fleet of 1,950 commercial vehicles and 930 cars slurped a massive £24.83m worth of diesel last year, I guess every little helps!

The vehicles are the first ever 7.5t class lorries that can offer comparable performance to diesel equivalents an maintain zero emissions. The trucks cost just 7p/mile in electricity costs and have a range of 70 miles and a maximum speed of 50mph – ideal for urban delivery work.

According to Tom Bell, Managing Director of TNT Express Services UK & Ireland, the economic argument is as compelling as the environmental case: “On average it costs just £40-a-week to power a zero emission vehicle as opposed to around £200 spent on diesel fuel. The electric vehicles are also exempt from the London congestion charge – approximately £1,750 a year – and do not incur road tax in the UK.”

TNT’s Smith Electric Vehicles will be going into service in locations around the UK – including London, Basildon, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Durham, Edinburgh, Enfield, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Luton, Northampton, Oxford, Paisley, Preston and Wolverhampton.

Alternative Fuel Briefs – Compulsory EU Biodiesel Staying & Hydrogen Too Late?

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I thought I’d share a couple of altnerative fuel stories with you that caught my eye today.

Biofuels Here To Stay – EU

It looks like the EU may not be going to back down on the planned 20% biofuel target as readily as has recently been suggested, according to a new story in the news this week.

In a recent speech, EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel provided staunch support for the biofuel movement, saying that just 15% of the EU’s agricultural land would provide enough rapeseed to meet the biofuel target. Boel also noted that 58% of this rapeseed would be converted into animal feed – presumably after the oil had been extracted.

I don’t know about you, but 15% of EU agricultural land actually seems rather a lot to me – especially with staple food prices going up and no notable expansion in farming levels.

How many farmers would have to stop growing wheat and other food crops to produce this much rapeseed?

(via Fleet News)

Hydrogen Fuel – To Long In The Pipeline?

A new report called published in the USA suggests that while hydrogen’s low emission credentials may be sound, it will take far too long for the technology to mature and enter volume usage.

“The Hype About Hydrogen: Fact and Fiction in the Race To Save the Climate” suggests that mainstream hydrogen fuelled vehicles are simply too far in the future to provide the urgently-needed reduction in carbon emissions.

The report, by Joseph Romm of the Centre for Energy and Climate Solutions, suggests that lower-emission petrol engines and hybrid/electric solutions provide more realistic emission-reducing prospects in the near future.

This article in Wired highlights how the current heavy investment in hydrogen needs to be mirrored by investment in electric and hybrid-based solutions if the necessary cuts in emissions – put at an 80% reduction by 2050 – are to be met.

My personal view, echoed by many of the commenters on the Wired article, is that any such change always takes longer than expected to become mainstream. The Earth will survive in the meantime, but the critical short-term issue is to find ways of reducing consumption and emissions using existing internal combustion technology. Hybrids do seem to offer one potential solution – but they are still relatively immature and quite expensive.

(via Wired)

UK Drivers Would Welcome Stop-Start Systems

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A survey of UK drivers by car supermarket Motorpoint has found that 3 out of 4 would buy a vehicle with a stop-start system – a system that automatically stops the engine when the vehicle is idling and starts it again as soon as the clutch is depressed.

For vehicles undertaking extensive urban driving, stop-start systems have been shown to provide fuel savings of 5% – 10%; a very significant benefit, especially for commercial operators.

Although frequent stop-start activity normally increases wear and tear to a vehicle’s starting system and engine, stop-start equipped vehicles are engineered to prevent this problem. A typical stop-start specification includes an uprated alternator and starter battery and built-in safeguards to prevent repeated cold starts or engine overheating.

Currently, Citroen, BMW and MINI offer such a system in their cars and Mercedes-Benz have recently introduced their Eco-Start system on the Sprinter van and Atego lorry. More manufacturers are likely to follow suit – particularly if customer demand continues to grow.

Sixt Van Hire – Special Deals & New Locations

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German-based vehicle hire company Sixt is one of Europe’s largest van, minibus and car hire companies.

They usually have a good range of special offers – and at present right are offering some cracking deals on van hire:

  • Day Hire Specials – £10 off if you hire a van for one day (Mon-Thur) and return it within 12 hours
  • Weekend Specials – 3 days for the price of 2
  • Weekly Hire Special – hire a van for one week (7 days) and get 10% off

All of the above offers are valid until the 15th June, 2008 – so visit Sixt’s website to quote or book right now.

New Locations

In addition to the great van hire deals above, Sixt are hard at work expanding their UK network of rental branches.

They’ve already opened van hire branches in Croydon and Walthamstow this year – and are set to open a new branch in Epsom early in May.

To top it off, 2008 saw Sixt open a new, specialist van hire centre at London’s Heathrow Airport. As Beverley Oliver, Sixt’s UK Head of Sales, explains, the company felt it was necessary to provide a specialist commercial vehicle hire centre to meet demand at the airport:

“The commercial vehicle sector is extremely specialised, so we have ensured that our new van centre boasts not only an accessible location, but also knowledgeable and experienced staff who can offer a first class service to our commercial customers.”

Sixt’s Heathrow van hire centre is staffed with experienced specialists who are familiar with all aspects of van rental and operation – meaning that whatever you requirements, you will be able to get expert, friendly help.

More Electric Van News & New Models

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As I blogged in April, this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show at the Birmingham NEC saw several manufacturers unveiling or promoting their electric van models.

It’s undoubtedly a fast growing sector of the market and I’ve since found that there were even more electric vans and trucks on display than I realised!

There’s a great write-up on What Van’s website that covers most of the interesting new van models that were at the NEC – plus a link to an excellent slideshow with high resolution pictures of all the new models…

Van Hire Deals From Europcar & National Van Rental

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As the winter weather finally starts to show signs of receding, I wanted to take a few minutes to remind you about some of the special deals and offers our van hire partners National and Europcar are currently providing.

National Van Rental

  • Free Additional Driver on all van rentals
  • GPS units for hire at selected branches

National’s ‘Free Additional Driver’ special offer is currently in full swing. It’s a great deal, allowing you to have a second driver on every van rental for no additional charge.

An additional driver usually costs £7.27 per day when hiring a van from National, so this really is a money saver on top of their already competitive rates.

National are also one of the first major car and van hire companies in the UK to introduce the option of hiring a GPS (satellite navigation) unit with your car or van. At present, GPS units are only available for hire from National’s Heathrow, Gatwick, Oxford, Kings Cross and Marble Arch branches.

Europcar

  • Great rates on one-way van hire
  • Discounted mid-week van hire
  • Hourly van hire

Europcar is one of Europe’s largest car and van hire companies, with a fleet of 6,000 vans in the UK alone. It is also still the only major van hire company in the UK to offer van hire by the hour.

Hourly van hire can work out really well if you only need a van for an hour or two – to collect some furniture, for example – saving you the cost and hassle of having to do a daily rental.

Europcar also currently have a fantastic mid-week van hire deal – with daily rates starting from just £22.50 a day from selected locations

(Currently available at Aberdeen City, Aberdeen Airport, Carlise, Dundee City, Edinburgh City, Edinburgh Airport, Glasgow Gity, Glasgow Airport, Inverness City, Inverness Airport, Teeside Airport, Newcastle Airport).

To book hourly van hire or mid-week van hire, visit Europcar’s website now.

Any mention of Europcar wouldn’t be complete without discussing their superb one-way van hire deal. The truth is that although one-way van hire is extremely useful for renters, it’s an expensive pain in the neck for van rental companies – who end up with their hire vans in all the wrong places!

That’s why most companies charge a huge extra fee for one-way hire – often £200+.

Europcar, on the other hand, have managed to put together a special deal that lets you have one-way van hire for an extra charge of just £24.99.

There are some conditions – the rental must be between 8am Monday and 4pm Thursday, it only applies to panel vans (not Lutons) and I’m not sure whether it’s available between all rental branches.

However, it’s still a great offer – if you need one-way van hire, it’s well worth getting a quote from Europcar to see whether you are eligible for this deal.

Mercedes Launch LNG Sprinter With 1200km Range

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Mercedes-Benz have launched a natural gas-powered version of its popular Sprinter van. The van, which Mercedes Sprinter XLWBhas a supercharged 1.8 litre petrol engine, generates 156hp and can run on petrol, LNG or CNG. Drivers can switch between natural gas and petrol power and the combination of a full petrol tank and a full gas tank will give the van an impressive 1200km range, according to Mercedes.

Mercedes claim that the Euro 4-compliant, gas-powered Sprinter will have operating costs up to 30% below those of diesel-powered Sprinters and the vehicle has been successfully trialled by Deutsche Post, DHL and UPS in Germany. Compressed natural gas is especially popular in Germany, as the fuel benefits from a reduced tax rate that will last until at least 2018, offering van operators guaranted savings over diesel during that period.

Although Mercedes have offered natural gas conversions of Sprinters before, this is the first purpose built gas/petrol Sprinter van. The van should be available for sale anytime now, although I’m not sure how the price will compare to diesel models.

More Hydrogen Fuelled News

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Following my recent post about the UK’s first hydrogen fuel station, news comes that a much larger station is planned for London by 2010 to power a fleet of ten hydrogen buses.

Interestingly, five of the buses will be powered by internal combustion engines burning hydrogen while the other five will use a fuel cell/electric motor system.

The fuel station will be provided by Air Products – the same company that is providing the University of Birmingham’s hydrogen fuel station.

At the other end of the market (size-wise), PSA (makers of Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat vans) have unveiled an experimental hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric version of the ever-popular Peugeot Partner small van. The electric motor is powered by a 10kW fuel cell that’s been specifically designed for small van use and fits under the bonnet, giving the van a 300km range.

The hydrogen itself is stored in an ‘exchangeable rack’ – meaning that it can be swapped for a new, pre-filled rack if a refuelling facility isn’t available. This could be a useful feature given how few hydrogen fuel stations are likely to be available for the next few years.

Impressively, the vehicle can also be started at temperatures down to -20C – so cold starts should never be a problem in the UK or most of Europe.

(Thanks to Just-Autos.com for this story.)

A Gaggle Of Green Vans + UK’s First Hydrogen Fuel Station

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Here’s a quick round up of alternative fuel news from this week.

Electric Dream?

This week’s Commercial Vehicle Show at the Birmingham NEC has seen a host of new vehicle announcements – not least from electric vehicle manufacturers and converters.

Commercial Motor Editor Brian Wetherley has posted a review of some of the most interesting electric contenders on his Big Lorry Blog and it is encouraging to see some of the electric vehicle companies I have previously written about making a high profile appearance at this major trade show and getting interest from major fleet operators.

It’s not hard to imagine that electric vans and light trucks could become popular with van hire companies in urban areas, too. In London especially, the tightening rules in place in the LEZ (Low Emissions Zone) mean that operating zero emission electric vehicles might be of financial benefit for both the hirer and the hire company.

UK’s First Hydrogen Fuel Station

This week also saw the opening of the UK’s first hydrogen fuel station at the University of Birmingham. The university – which is home to a number of research initiatives into fuel cells and alternative fuels – will run five hydrogen vehicles alongside its existing fleet of electric, petrol and diesel vehicles in order to learn more about the performance and efficiency of such vehicles.

The hydrogen fuel station has been installed by leading hydrogen supplier Air Products and is able to fuel around six hydrogen vehicles each day – but the hydrogen fuelling plant has been specifically designed for compact, easy installation and is only intended for limited scale usage at present. As I wrote about recently, such hydrogen fuel stations generally only require mains electricity and water, making them easy to install and adapt for mobile use.

Mainstream car makers experimenting with hydrogen vehicles are keen to encourage hydrogen fuel stations, due to the ‘chicken and egg’ scenario currently faced. Even when efficient, affordable hydrogen-powered vehicles are available, there is no fuelling infrastructure in the UK or Europe to make their use possible.

Although hydrogen fuel is zero emission when in use, producing hydrogen remains quite costly in energy terms. I think it’s still an open question as to whether electricity or hydrogen will win the race to become the next mainstream fuel – my gut tells me it might be electricity, but what do I know?