Renting a car seat/booster seat in the UK
July 20, 2017 12:47 PM Subscribe
We're renting a car in England soon and need a booster seat for the rental car. Google is surprisingly not turning up tons of options, and what I'm really looking for anyway are personal experiences with companies. We could pick up the seat at Heathrow if necessary -- and we won't be staying in central London, but in Kent. We really only need it for rides to/from the airport and for one longish drive on one of the days of our trip.
Do you need one of those backless booster seats? It might be easier and cheaper to bring one than rent one. I'm guessing you already checked with the rental car company?
Otherwise, it looks like these folks rent car seats and will delivery to Heathrow. Some words to try in your searching: car seat hire (not rent).
posted by bluedaisy at 12:56 PM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Otherwise, it looks like these folks rent car seats and will delivery to Heathrow. Some words to try in your searching: car seat hire (not rent).
posted by bluedaisy at 12:56 PM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Here's another option. I think "hire" is the helpful British English word.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:58 PM on July 20, 2017
posted by bluedaisy at 12:58 PM on July 20, 2017
Response by poster: I'm guessing you already checked with the rental car company?
Yes, should have mentioned -- they don't rent them.
posted by trillian at 12:58 PM on July 20, 2017
Yes, should have mentioned -- they don't rent them.
posted by trillian at 12:58 PM on July 20, 2017
I've used the Baby Loft company bluedaist linked to rent a car seat in London, and they were great.
posted by Catseye at 1:03 PM on July 20, 2017
posted by Catseye at 1:03 PM on July 20, 2017
Not quite the answer to your question, but I would recommend travelling with your own if you're flying there. We have done this several times -- including just this past month to the UK -- and have found the process of checking in a child's seat and picking it up at the airport so simple that there seems little point in hiring.
Policies of hire companies seem to vary a fair bit but you can easily pay £10 a day for a child seat which, over the course of a rental, can add a lot to the cost of the rental as a whole (with two seats, up to 50%...) Others offer flat-rate rental for the whole period but even then I'd not be surprised to pay £50 a seat. Whereas I've yet to come across an airline that charges extra to carry child seats.
posted by 8k at 1:07 PM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Policies of hire companies seem to vary a fair bit but you can easily pay £10 a day for a child seat which, over the course of a rental, can add a lot to the cost of the rental as a whole (with two seats, up to 50%...) Others offer flat-rate rental for the whole period but even then I'd not be surprised to pay £50 a seat. Whereas I've yet to come across an airline that charges extra to carry child seats.
posted by 8k at 1:07 PM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Booster? Just bring it. I tie a Graco one to my backpack or check it. They're $25 new or $5 at a garage sale.
posted by k8t at 7:15 PM on July 20, 2017
posted by k8t at 7:15 PM on July 20, 2017
Same as above, but going out from the UK - taking car booster seats was always really easy, and free.
Check with your airline, because they don't even count as hand luggage etc (though this (and the free part) may be different if you already have (e.g.) a buggy as well).
Worth checking if there are any shops at/near the airport that sell them, since you can pick them up from <£10.
posted by thingonaspring at 12:11 AM on July 21, 2017
Check with your airline, because they don't even count as hand luggage etc (though this (and the free part) may be different if you already have (e.g.) a buggy as well).
Worth checking if there are any shops at/near the airport that sell them, since you can pick them up from <£10.
posted by thingonaspring at 12:11 AM on July 21, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by tinkletown at 12:56 PM on July 20, 2017