Having spent 3 and 1/2 years working in the car rental industry I think its fair to say I have an insiders view on the rental industry as a whole. One thing that has grabbed my attention recently is Supercar rentals not the standard premium car rental (read BMW, Merc etc) but the mad hatter, fire breathing dragon super car rental.
So where did this interest come from I hear you ask… Well on a trip to Scotland last week (which I will write about later on in the week) we were having lunch at Annandale water – One of the better service stops (J16 A74) when a Ferrari arrived on the back of a trailer (from super cars on demand) and it got me thinking who is that for and why is that up here.
Ferrari being delivered to a service station in Scotland.
From my time in rental I was aware of premium rentals with almost all of the mainstream car rental companies having the likes of 3 series and 5 series BMW, C and E class Mercs which usually go out for a few days for someone wanting to make an impression. However mainly due to insurance excesses (up to £1000) deposit (can be as high as £2000), age restrictions (usual the driver has to be over 30) and the cost of the rental (usually £150-£200/Day) these cars tend to be more commonly rented to insurance and breakdown customers. Which is why amongst other things I had totally ignored this segment of the market, until recently seemed the majority of the big rental companies have also ignored this segment apart from a few locations such as central London and Heathrow. This is now changing with the likes of hertz and Avis now offering super car rentals from an increasing number of locations. Of course there has been minor players (i.e. small operations with one or two locations) providing super premium rentals for a long time for wedding cars or for an experience etc, but the majority of these seem to be shady outfits. Usually located in obscure industrial estates and often have horrendous rental terms (milage restrictions, huge deposits and big insurance excesses).
WHO, WHERE and WHY…
Who? Anyone who qualifies I guess is the correct answer err, but it depends is probably most accurate. In the UK it seems to rent anything remotely premium you will need to be at least 30 yrs old, have a cleanish licence (i.e. not been banned recently) and a credit card. Ohh and most importantly have funds to cover the rental and the deposit, which for a super premium car will be at the best £500+ per day with a deposit in the £000s. If it wasn’t for the age restriction and credit card, ohh and the cost these rentals would appeal to the ‘boy racer’ type like the experience days do. The people that use these services tend to be mature businessmen/women or celebrities. I am aware of people who have rented a ‘nice’ car for a wedding but these tend to be a premium car like a 3 series or c class not a supercar.
WHERE? This is the interesting point now with the mainstream players becoming increasingly more interested in this area of car rental, locations are now become more geographically spread (i.e. not just London). Although still fairly restricted to major cities but there are some companies who deliver nationally.
WHY? To show off at a wedding, for fun, just because?? Considering the cost per day my impression is that despite these hires are becoming more common they are still not massively typical which is why it has taken so long for the incumbents to enter the market. When you look at it objectively you can see why this has been the case: Consider this the cars cost well north of £70k to buy (yes, some will be leased and re-rented but this is the companies insurance liability if it is stolen), cost to insure a premium fleet, extra hassle (keeping cars secure, vetting renters etc.) and all for maybe 2 or 3 times the rental income is it really worth it? My guess is no but then for the main stream firms it’s a case of having full coverage and not allowing competitors to steal away business at any level.
How much? POE? – Yes mostly so if you have to ask you probably cannot afford – ball park for the Ferrari 458 (pictured above) prices start at £625/day for a hire lasting 8 or more days, 2-7 days £795/day, midweek hire £845/day, weekends from £2495 (Fri PM to MON AM).
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