Book early for the holidays!

Book-Early-for-the-Holidays

Book early for the holidays!

No, we’re not only talking about Easter, but bank holidays and summer too, in fact any time when demand for rentals for more than a day is likely to be high.

Why is this such an issue?

It’s all about the supply chain. There’s a shortage of car parts and new vehicles, making it hard to get repairs done or to add to our fleet.

So if you know you will want to book a rental care for a week at Easter, or in the summer particularly please give us as much notice as you can but certainly a minimum of two weeks

Thank you

 

Offering rented electric vehicles is not yet practical

Electrical-Rental-Vehicles-not-yet-practical

Offering rented electric vehicles is not yet practical

Have you ever wondered why car rental companies do not offer hybrid or electric vehicles for rent?

Mostly, the reason is the availability of the charging infrastructure, but it is also about pricing.

Generally, rental companies require vehicles to be returned with a full tank of fuel and many have petrol pumps available on site or there is a petrol station nearby.

That would not be a practical proposition for electric vehicles.  For example, in Colchester, there are just two charging points in the city near our location. Also, the time it takes to fully charge is considerably longer than filling up a fuel tank.

Setting up charging facilities on our sites would mean a significant investment and there would still be the issue of the time it takes to fully charge a vehicle while a customer waits.

Equally, charging points are not always available near to our customers’ homes or businesses and in a typical town terraced street, how could enough charging points be made available to enable vehicles to be charged overnight?

The investment a rental company would have to make in electric vehicles would be considerable as they are generally considerably more expensive than petrol or diesel-powered cars.

Then there would be the issue of determining a viable level of pricing that would be realistic for the rental company and affordable for the customer.

While in an ideal world it would be nice to offer the option of a more environmentally friendly electric vehicle, sadly, it is not a practical proposition yet.

 

Our fleet is expanding

Our-fleet-is-expanding

Our fleet is expanding

We have taken delivery of eight new MG SUVs and two new 7-seater Dacia Joggers since our last update.

We’re awaiting the arrival of six new, smaller MG SUVs and two MG3s.

However, due to a combination of supply chain issues for customers trying to get parts for their vehicle repairs our rental waiting bookings are now full and we have a waiting list.

It is still worth putting your name on the list if you would like to rent a vehicle over the Christmas period, however.

Do keep in touch!

 

Book early for Christmas and new vehicles

Book-Early-for-Xmas

Book early for Christmas and new vehicles

We are advising people to book now if they are going to need to rent a car during Christmas.

There are very few spaces left so please let us know as soon as possible.

Meanwhile our search for replacement vehicles goes on.

We have recently taken delivery of two new seven-seater people carriers made by Dacia and three Maxus drop-sided vans.

Given the delays in deliveries of replacement vehicles we are actively seeking alternative manufacturers who can deliver on time.

Security Alert

Security-Alert

Security

In the last few weeks four of our vehicles have been stolen, one of them our own recovery vehicle.

One, a brand new car, was found written off a short time later. We also lost a Transit tipper and a minibus.

As times get harder vehicle theft is likely to increase so we would ask all of you as rental customers to be security aware.

Please think about where you are parking your rented vehicle at night and ensure it is somewhere safe and well lit. 

Please also be careful where you are putting the keys.

The same applies to car owners and their own vehicles.

We are ordering a wider range of cars

Car-Manufacturing

We are ordering a wider range of cars

Some of the orders for new cars that we told you about last month have been cancelled by their manufacturers.

They say that they are unable to source the parts they need to make some models.

So we are ordering a wider range of makes and models to ensure we cans supply or fleet and private rental customer order s.

In the meantime, as demand for rentals remains high please allow at least two weeks when ordering your rental – and more if you can manage it.

We will do our best to make sure you can get what you need when you need it.

Fuel supply and prices

Fuel-Supply-and-Prices

Fuel supply and prices

The climate change activists protests have disrupted fuel supplies, particularly diesel for motorists. However, we have fuel on site to ensure all our vehicles are topped up before they go out for rental.

So if customers have had difficulty topping up their rental vehicles before returning them, we can do it.

However, the prices we are charged by our supplier are higher than they are at an ordinary, public garage, and this is reflected in your charges when you return a vehicle.

Hopefully, this will only be a fairly short term issue and prices will return to normal in due course but in the meantime it may be worth trying to top up your rental before you return it.

Please be patient!

Please-Be-PAtient

Please be patient!

The removal of many of the restrictions imposed by Covid has prompted more demand for vehicles as businesses try to return to normal.

However, it will take time to recover from the slump in car and van manufacture that was caused by Covid and in part by supply chain issues.

While Robertsons is doing its best to diversify its fleet, sourcing replacement vehicles even by selecting from a wider range of makers is proving difficult.

We do try to keep some vehicles in reserve for private rental customers but whether you are renting for business or personal reasons please understand that it will take time for things to get back to normal.

Please give us as much notices as you can when you want to rent and we will do everything we can to help.

Lockdown easing and high demand for vehicles

lockdown-easing

Lockdown Easing and High Demand for Vehicles

While the demand for vans has eased off slightly, demand for cars has rocketed thanks to the partial easing of lock-down restrictions this month.

At last people are able to visit loved ones who live at a distance, but they cannot stay overnight. However, this may make using public transport an unrealistic option.

Similarly, people can now get away to self-catering accommodation.

Consequently, as many of our cars are already rented out to local authorities and businesses we have a limited supply for private rental.

We will do everything we can to accommodate you but we ask that you please give us at least a week’s notice ahead of the date when you need a car.

Please remember we are still sticking to all the Covid-19 safety requirements, such as limiting numbers in our offices, providing hand sanitisers to visitors and ensuring all our vehicles are thoroughly sanitised between rentals.