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One of the most common concerns when hiring a car is what to do if you don’t have both parts of your UK driving licence. Whether you have lost your driving licence or overlooked it when packing for your trip, it may still be possible to hire a car with Avis in the UK or abroad without both parts of your licence.

The current UK driving licence has two parts – a plastic, credit card-sized photo card licence and a green paper counterpart licence displaying any endorsements. Many people still have an ‘old-style’ pink and green paper licence, which are still perfectly acceptable. Licences are issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

When renting a car with Avis you need to have:

• A full, valid driving licence that has been held for 12 months or more
• No more than 6 points on your licence

Although Avis require both parts of your licence (or your single old style licence), when this is not possible there are ways to rent with just one part of your licence.

Renting in the UK without a paper counterpart licence

If you collect your car within DVLA opening hours (08.00-20.30 Mon-Fri; 08.00-17.30 Sat) we can call the DVLA to check your license for endorsements (an additional £5 charge applies) and you can take your hire car.

If the DVLA office is closed you may be able to rent by signing an indemnity form declaring that you hold a full, valid licence. This will be at the discretion of the office from which you are collecting your hire car. To find out, contact the rental branch before booking.

Renting in the UK without a photo card licence

If the card part of your licence is out of date you can still hire a car with a valid paper counterpart and photographic identification (e.g. passport).

If the paper part of your driving licence is out of date you will not be able to hire a car.

Renting in the USA

When renting in the USA, you can rent a car with your photo card licence only, or with your paper counterpart licence and your passport. If you have neither part you cannot hire a car from an Avis office in the USA.

If you are travelling with someone else who has their licence, they can hire the car and add you as an additional driver. If the reservation is in your name, you will need to make another reservation in the name of the licence-holder and obtain a refund for your initial reservation by contacting 08445 818181.

Renting in Europe

You can collect your car with a valid paper counterpart licence and photographic identification (e.g. passport).

Many offices will let you take your rental car with only your photo card licence, although this is at the discretion of the local office (officially both parts are required). To find out, contact the rental branch before booking.

Avis Preferred customers

Many Avis Preferred customers are business rental customers. If you are renting on business account using your company’s insurance then it is not imperative for you to show your driver’s licence, as your company should ensure you have a valid licence (although rental agents will normally ask for this for duty of care reasons).

If this is not the case, the usual driving licence requirements apply to Avis Preferred customers.

The address on a licence is out of date

If the address on your driving licence is out of date or different to the billing address that you used to book your car, you can still collect your rental car in the UK or abroad.

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Spring and summer are the seasons when hill-walkers flock to Scotland from all over the world to enjoy some of the world’s best mountain scenery and the very Scottish pursuit of Munro Bagging.

It’s not unusual to spend months picking peaks and planning routes to the summits of Scotland’s Munros (the 283 mountain peaks over 3,000ft), but don’t forget to plan the drive to your route carefully as well.

Driving in Scotland is a wonderful experience in itself, and if you are unlucky with the weather it can be the only way to take in the rapidly changing and stunningly beautiful scenery.

What’s more, a carefully planned journey with two cars gives you the opportunity to start and end your day at different points, giving you access to a wider variety of walks.

Your car – essential walking equipment

Scotland can seem vast when you’re stood 3,000 feet above sea-level, with views of mountains, valleys, oceans and islands. It can also seem pretty big when you’re tasked with reaching its more remote areas or if you want to take in several regions or mountain ranges in one holiday.

That’s when you realise your car is an essential part of your walking equipment. Railways in Scotland are limited to routes between larger cities (but do include popular bases like Fort William and Ullapool), and serious walkers need to carefully plan start and end points in order to get the most from their day, but still get down before legs get too tired or the famous Scottish midges come out in droves.

If your party is big enough, renting two cars can give you access to some walks that would not otherwise be possible. You can take two cars to your end point, leave one there and drive to the start of your route in the other. Once you have completed your walk, simply drive back to the start point and pick up the car you left there.

Where to fly for Scotland’s best Munros

The usual (and increasingly affordable) way for people outside Scotland to organise their travel is to fly to one of Scotland’s airports and hire a car. You’ll find Avis in all these airports (contact details can be found on our pages for Glasgow Airport, Prestwick Airport, Aberdeen Airport, Inverness Airport and Edinburgh Airport car hire).

Fly to Inverness for the easiest access to the Central, Western & Northern Highlands and the Western Isles, including the popular bases of Lochalsh (Skye) and Ullapool. Some of the top Munros best reached from this airport include Slioch, those on the Cuillins (Skye), Beinn Eighe, An Teallach and in remote Knoydartt, as well as the most northerly Munro, Ben Hope.

Fort William, the outdoor capital of the UK, lays in-between Inverness and Glasgow. Although Inverness is closer, the drive from Glasgow to Fort William takes you past the famous Loch Lomond and through the ever-changing scenery of Glen Coe. Fort William is wonderfully positioned as a gateway to the Highlands and Islands. It is the start of the road to the isles, one of Scotland’s most iconic drives, and close to Glencoe, perhaps the single most popular area for mountaineering in Scotland and home to the knife edge ridge of Aonach Eagach and the Three Sisters of Glencoe: Beinn Fhada, Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubh.

Glasgow provides great access to the Southern Highlands and Glasgow Airport is in fact the closest airport for those travelling to the Isle of Mull. Ben More, Mull’s only Munro, is the most remote Munro of all, and is often the final Munro for Munro Baggers (enthusiasts who tick off the peaks).

The Cairngorm Mountains can be reached from Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness. As well as being Scotland’s main ski resort, the Cairngorms also boast several popular Munros, the highest of which is Lochnager.

Useful links for planning your holiday

The links throughout this post take you to further relevant information. You can also find a full map of the Munros of Scotland on www.munromagic.com, detailed routes on www.walkhighlands.co.uk and enjoy a more personal take on the Barber Family’s blog.

To help you plan some more family-orientated activities, you can see some of the best family activities in Scotland on the Europe & Beyond blog (www.europe-autos.com).

And to get you started with finding accommodation, some self-catering options in the areas mentioned above can be found at Scotland Holiday Cottages (http://www.holidayhomesgroup.co.uk/scotland.html).

Share your exciting Scotland adventures with us…

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We’ve had some great new cars join the Avis Select Series fleet this year so thought it was time for us to provide more reviews and opinions on them – Rob has already taken a look at the gorgeous Peugeot RCZ so in this post the funky Citroen DS3 gets put under the spotlight.

When the Citroen DS3 first hit the scene last year, I didn’t know what to think of the styling – sure it was eye catching and different, but I was never 100% convinced while Jeremy Clarkson highly rated the car in his column in The Times. But it has only been since driving the DS3 DSport we currently have on our Select Series fleet that my mind has been made up – I love it!

When arriving to collect the DS3, I was given the choice of a couple of colours (I walked past at least 6 variations on my way to the desk) but being brand loyal opted for the red with white roof! Up close the car is very stylish, with daylight running lights, 17” black alloys, darkened rear windows, ‘floating’ roofline and chrome detailing it made a striking first impression – certainly a break-away from the ‘retro’ look of some other cars in its class.

Getting into the cabin I was even more impressed, the sports seats were a very comfortable combination of leather/alcantara and the instrument binnacle laid out very nicely, I particularly liked the digital gear change indicator! The interior overall had a very high quality feel to it with all the toys you’d expect such as Bluetooth connectivity, climate control, cruise control, etc.

The car was a pleasure to drive with the engine being very responsive in the lower gears but also suited for motorway cruising in higher gears, overall providing a great package. Despite feeling the handling could have been a bit sharper to match the fantastic style and performance of the rest of the car; I was still slightly sad dropping off the car and found returning to my “daily drive” a bit of a let down…

I’d highly recommend that you rent a DS3 if you get the opportunity and with our growing number of Select Series locations you can easily pick one up. And don’t forget to leave us your feedback on what you think of the Citroen DS3 or any of our other fleet!

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Customers who may be delayed tomorrow, Thursday 30th June, do not need to worry about being late for your Avis rental.

If you have a reservation with Avis at any UK airport for Thursday 30th June and are delayed due to the public sector strike, Avis will make sure we hold your reservation and have a car for you when you clear security.

If you have decided not travel and still have a reservation we would ask you to contact 08445818181 to cancel or amend your reservation.

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Due to popular demand we are pleased to announce we have extended the availability of our Select Series Fleet!
The Avis Select Series guarantees the make and model of the car you want to drive away in. This option has been so popular we are doing our very best to make the service available across more of our UK network.
New to Newcastle Airport, both the Fiat 500 and Citroen DS3 are available to rent with the Select Series
COMING SOON
The Select Series fleet will soon be available from the following locations: Bristol Airport, Liverpool Airport, London City Airport, Manchester Piccadilly and Cambridge. We will shortly update you on which models of car will be available so watch this space!
The Avis Select Series offers a range of fleet to suit all needs and can be booked online or through our UK reservations team on 0844 581 8181.
Your feedback is invaluable to the development of our products and services. We trialled London City Airport due to feedback from one of our bloggers, Robert Speirs, showing that we do take your blog feedback into consideration.
Please do share any thoughts or feedback you may have on this and, in the mean time, we hope you enjoy the improvements to our Select Series!

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Avis is pleased to announce that we are now able to deliver your hire car to any address of your choice through our Avis Home Delivery Service. So whether you need your rental car at your place of work, a relative’s house or your hotel, just give us a call and we will arrange it.

We can even deliver with as little as 4 hours notice (subject to station opening hours), for the great value of £10 per delivery or collection.

Call us on 0844 544 1901 to book your Avis Delivery today and get your journey off to a smooth start.

We look forward to reading any comments you might have on our new and improved Home Delivery Service!

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During the period of air travel disruption in the UK caused by the volcanic cloud, Avis is committed to trying harder to fulfil the travel needs for all customers who have been affected.

We will not be charging the non-cancellation fee on bookings during this period, so customers do not need to call us to cancel a reservation.

Also, any car rental bookings that have been pre-paid for during this period, but cannot be taken as a result of these disruptions, will be fully reimbursed.  Customers can claim their refunds by emailing customer.service@avis.co.uk

For further information visit www.avis.co.uk/message

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We have recently updated you all on our most recent standard car rental Fleet but another customer, Peter, has highlighted that we haven’t mentioned our fantastic Prestige range.

We thought this might be an interesting post for the blog so would like to share the following vehicle models that are part of our Prestige range, the stylish way to get around:

• Aston Martin: DB9 Coupe, DB9 Volante, DBS, V12 Vantage, V8 Vantage and V8 Vantage Cabriolet
• Audi: A3 Cabriolet, A5 2.7 Sportsback, A5 Cabriolet, A5 Coupe, A8 SE Executive, Q5 4×4, R8 V10, R8 V10 Spyder, R8 V8, TTS Coupe and TTS Roadster
• Bentley: GTC
• BMW: 3 Series Touring, 330d M Sport, 5 Series, 5 Series Touring, M3 Coupe, X3 4×4, X5 4×4, X6 4×4
• Ferrari: 430 F1 Coupe, 430 Spider, 599 GTB Fiorano and California
• Infiniti: FX37 Limited Edition 4×4 and G37 Cabriolet
• Jaguar: XF, XJ, XK R 5.0 Cabriolet and XK R 5.0 Coupe
• Lamborghini: Gallardo LP560 and Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder
• Maserati: Quattroporte and Quattroporte S 4.7 V8
• Mercedes: A Class, B Class, C Class, C Class Estate, E Class, E Class Cabriolet, E Class Coupe, E Class Estate, E63 AMG, ML350 CDI 4×4, S Class, SL500, Viano
• Nissan: GTR
• Porsche: 911 Carrera 2S, 997 Turbo, 997 Turbo PDK (Gen 2), Cayenne GTS 4×4, Cayenne S 4×4
• Range Rover: Discovery 4 HSE 4×4, Sport Autobiography 4X4, Sport Supercharged HST 4×4, Vogue 4×4
• Toyota: Prius Hybrid 
• Volkswagen: Scirocco

Similarly to our Select Series, you can guarantee the vehicle you drive away in but the booking process is slightly different.  For Prestige you can request the vehicle and the Prestige team will contact you within 24 hours to let you know availability of that specific model at the location you have specified.

Not only do the vehicles include in-built Satellite Navigation but often include a free additional driver and, in most cases, Fully Comprehensive Insurance.

If you would like to know more about Avis Prestige, or to make a booking, you can visit our dedicated website:http://www.avisprestige.com/ or call our reservations team on 020 7591 0444.

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In June last year we shared an updated list of our current available car rental fleet. Robert, a customer (and keen blogger) has asked for an updated version. I have looked into this and am pleased to share the following main models from each car group:

Small:
Fiat 500, Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 107, Peugeot 207, Renault Clio, Skoda Fabia, Vauxhall Corsa, VW Polo

Medium:
Ford Focus, Nissan Note, Peugeot 308, Vauxhall Astra, Vauxhall Meriva, VW Golf

Large:
BMW 1 Series, BMW 3 Series, BMW S3, Ford S-Max, Mercedes C-Class, Mercedes E-Class, Peugeot 3008, Peugeot 5008 Sport, Renault Grand Scenic, Vauxhall Insignia, Vauxhall Zafira, VW Passat

Estates/Station Wagons:
Ford Focus SW, Peugeot 207 SW, Peugeot 308 SW, Peugeot 407 SW

The fleet will obviously differ per location but if you have any thoughts, questions or general feedback we are always pleased to receive it!
Rodger

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Our offices will be closed for the Royal Wedding and May Day break and we wanted to let you know that during that period we will not be able to respond to your comments. The blog team will be back on Tuesday 3rd May, so please keep your comment coming and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

In the meantime, most questions about your rental can be answered on the FAQs section of our website. And if you need to contact us directly, our call centre will be operating regularly, every day, from 7am to 10pm. The number is 0844 5810 147.

All our other contact details can be found here; http://www.avis.co.uk/CustomerService/Contacts

Most of our Airport branches will operate normal hours, however some of our smaller local branches may be open shorter than normal business hours. All open branches can be contacted, to find you local branch details please click here.

From all of us at Avis, have a fantastic break and enjoy your Royal Wedding celebrations.

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