Britons now favour hire cars for long trips

The economic downturn has made families all over UK tighten their strings and live more frugally. Among businesses, among the most adversely affected were car sales, as many families due to buy a second car started opting out.

With virtually no sales in the second hand market, prices were drastically reduced for the cars to start begin leaving the shelves.

Going by the latest reports on the car market scenario, there has been a new trend emerging in the UK car owner’s pattern. Most people are choosing to sell their family car and instead hire a car for family outings.

Occasions such as trips to the zoo, weekends away, Christmas shopping trips, are some reasons that car rentals are now being sought.

Most families are satisfied with this decision, as it gives them peace of mind that extra mileage is not being recorded by their vehicle. This after all, doesn’t decrease the value of their other car in the used cars market. Also, a hired car that has a better fuel economy is easy on the pockets and beneficial in the long run. Car rental companies are excited at the prospect of more customers.

A report released by Europcar this year has stated that 68 percent of the customers interviewed had already used the services of a hired car for a long trip or excursion in and around UK this year.

Almost 49 percent believed that their driving habits had changed. A significant percentage (73 percent) were planning to use a hired car for excursions and long trips this year. This spells great news for the car rental agencies in the next year.