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Car Rental Review – Hertz London City Airport (LCY) – Citroen C4

Florian Buechting Other Transportation No Comments

Hertz London City Airport (LCY)

Hertz London City Airport (LCY)
3.9

Rating

 3.9/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very good car
  • Efficient processes
  • Improved issue handling

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Long walk from terminal to office
  • Limited Opening Times

A Rock of Ages musical trip to Peterborough near Cambridge in February 2023 required me to rent a car. For this trip, I flew to London City Airport (LCY) and also grabbed a car there from the airport’s Hertz office. Here is my rental car review.

 

Hertz London City Airport (LCY) – The Rental

I had a four day rental at London City Airport in February 2023. The rate was prepaid. The total rental fee for a four day rental, C Class (e.g. Opel / Vauxhall Astra) was 182.77 EUR. That’s actually also the class of car I received, as I got a brand new (and damage free) Citroen C4. The rental was from Thursday morning to Sunday evening.

 

Hertz London City Airport (LCY) – Location & Office

The rental car facility is shared among the three rental companies operating there, Avis/Budget, Europcar and Hertz. It is located East of the airport, close to the main parking area. The directions are easy to find. Hertz at London City Airport is operating from 8:00 to 16:00 hrs local time, they are not open on Saturdays and Sundays. Thus, I had to use the key drop boxes, which are located in the terminal building. The limited opening times lead to the situation that I had to wait for about one hour at London City Airport (LCY) after the arrival of my flight. Not too serious, but the landside services at this place are very limited, so that this may feel bothering.

There are good directions given to the rental car offices (which are left to the terminal behind a major car park area). However, especially with luggage, the walk may be a bit of bothering, independently from the car rental provider. London City Airport (LCY) is simply maximizing the quality of an airport by the size available – and that does affect this part of the operations as well.

The offices are not located in the congestion charge zone of London.

 

Hertz London City Airport (LCY) – Receiving The Car

There are not too many rentals from London City (LCY) – which is also somehow reflected by the opening times of the offices. I just had to wait very short to receive the car. The rental process was really efficient and friendly, so that it took me just a very few minutes before I could head off to Peterborough.

 

Hertz London City Airport (LCY) – Returning The Car / Issue Handling

I just drove the car to Peterborough (which is some 90 minutes away from London) and parked the car there from Thursday afternoon to Sunday morning, where I did not need any kind of mobility. However, when I tried to have some trips around, the car lit up the pressure warning for the first time: I am very sure that this was rather a technical defect on the valve or the tire itself, as I had a straight motorway drive without any challenges. I recognized quickly that the car has a problem and called Hertz’s emergency service.

In contrast to my September 2022 rental with Hertz at Newcastle Airport (NCL), the company worked with a new service provider which was very helpful and result-orientated. Furthermore, I did not have any connection issues on their phone line. I reported the damage on the front right tire, the service provider confirmed that it is likely a technical issue and that the tire could be replaced easily at some of their service stations- on the day after, Monday. As the tire flattening was very slowly, we agreed that I will try to bring the car at least back to Stansted Airport (STN), the closest Hertz station open on that day (some one hour drive), closely monitoring the condition of the car. Finally, the tires just lost some 0.3 bar on the route so that I could return the car and put the keys into the keyboxes provided in the airport terminal.

 

The Car – Citroen C4

Apart from that tire issue, Hertz provided me an amazing car. It came with a usage of just 2,000 miles. The Citroen C4 even had a head up display and GPS. Even regarding that I am not that used to driving on the left hand side, the car was really convenient and easy to drive. I do not blame the tire damage to Hertz. It of course significantly impacted my travel plans and I was at the airport earlier than expected, but I feel that it is rather an issue the previous renter should have reported – it is extremely hard to spot during a typical rental car turnaround.

 

Hertz London City Airport (LCY) – My View

Renting a car at Hertz London City Airport (LCY) has finally been a good experience. The limited office times are – of course – bothering. However, even though I had to interrupt my travel plans, I overall appreciate the improved issue handling implemented by the company.

 

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