Great Escape Car Hire

[mikesumner]

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to ask if anyone has had any experience of the classic car hire firm Great Escape, either as a firm or more specifically with their DeLorean that they have available?

The reason I'm asking is because I'll be turning 30 in 18 months (boo) and having come to terms with the fact I'll probably never be in a position to fulfil my life-long dream of owning a D, it seemed like the next best thing to hire Great Escape's car and make my 30th a special and memorable day by driving about in a scenic part of the country for a few days.

I know it's not for a while yet but I'm just getting all my research done so that it'll be easier to organise when the time comes.

Any advice or knowledge you'd like to impart will be gratefuly received, as always.

[Chris Williams]

The owner is a club member and I have seen some forum postings of people who have hired it and have seen nothing but good comments.
Chris

[mikesumner]

Chris Williams Wrote:The owner is a club member and I have seen some forum postings of people who have hired it and have seen nothing but good comments.
Chris

Brilliant.

I shall look forward to spending my 30th birthday in it in that case.

[Rissy]

mikesumner Wrote:I'll be turning 30 in 18 months (boo) and having come to terms with the fact I'll probably never be in a position to fulfil my life-long dream of owning a D.

Never say never. I had money put away to the side, which i was very slowly building up to buy a BMW, which I wanted to use to replace my Civic. Got really bored looking for BMW's, and suddenly out of whim-sake, started looking for Delorean's. 2 months later, one was sat in my dad's garage. That was me at 32. Only just bought the BMW finally in January of this year. So, 30, is definitely not too late, even if you're only just starting to put away savings now.

Just eat porridge 5 days a week, and treat yourself to a McDonalds at the weekend. You can live on that! :wink:
Walk or cycle as many places as you can. Try not to burn fossil fuels. At this point, you can assess when you need a car, and when you don't. When you don't, SORN it. Saves you money on Tax. (obviously you need to SORN it for months at a time, rather than days or weeks at a time, otherwise it's not worth it. Also, make sure you tax it for 12 months, otherwise you'll be charged a £25 administration fee for refunding unspent tax (something they don't want you to realise - I only made that mistake ONCE! :lol: )

Learn to live in your house with a coat on if it gets cold. Keep the thermostat low. Lights: Energy saving ALL the time. Off when your not in a room. Remember, Daylight is FREE. Don't leave the TV talking to itself...etc (all obvious, but you'd be surprised how others live when you start concentrating on these things).

You get the idea.

(No i'm not tight. I'm frugal)

[Chris Williams]

Quote:No i'm not tight. I'm frugal

No but I am!
Rissy is right in everything he wrote. Likewise I only ever used my DeLorean for the six months of the summer, Though was taxed for the 12 then cashed in and SORNED for the rest. Still started and driven up and down the road (private)when the weather was good mind.

Chris

[mikesumner]

I can't fault your logic guys.

I hadn't realised how frugal I am until I read Rissy's comment. I have an almost obsessive hatred of lights being left on or the telly performing to itself, so I'm on the right track.

I think what made me come to that conclusion is the whole thing of heading towards turning 30 and so far not having achieved much in my life, so I think I started to expect the next few years to be as testing as the last few. That said, every day is a new opportunity to turn things around I guess.

[Guinney1971]

Rissy Wrote:(No i'm not tight. I'm frugal)

Mate, you're Scottish.................

[Chris Williams]

Quote:Rissy wrote:

(No i'm not tight. I'm frugal)


Mate, you're Scottish.................

Funney an old boss of mine used to say about me being from Yorksire that 'a Yorkshire man is just a Scotsman with the generosity squezzed out' never understood it myself.
Chris

[jwrayth]

I drove this car back in March of this year (2012) and had a blast. Rented it to surprise my Girlfriend (no, really She is a massive BttF fan. I turned up dressed as Marty McFly too), and spent a day wizzing around the Cotswolds. They give you a brief before taking away the car, and as with any rental give you a run down of any known issues and encourage you to inspect the car before pulling away.

Only issues I had with the vehicle were the fuel gauge seemed a little temperamental (occasionally dipping randomly on flat roads) and the drivers side door lock jammed a few times (and climbing over and out the passenger side is sure to make you lose any cool factor of having the car!). Oh, plus the car is all in KM not MPH, so when you agree the drivable distance with the car I'd recommend converting it to KM so you can accurately track it on the day (as they charge extra if you go over). Other than that, the car ran great and I had a fantastic time

I'd give is try and pick a time of year when it's less likely to be icey / wet. My initial booking had to be delayed thanks to poor weather in the UK, as Great Escape weren't willing to let the car go out on a weekend of potential heavy rain or ice (which is fair enough). Oh and watch out for toll roads though! I accidentally ended up on one in Oxford and looked like a right tool having to get out the car to pay the man since I couldn't reach over and out the tiny window to pay him, heh :lol:

[mikesumner]

Thanks for that mate.

I've taken everything you said onboard as I didn't realise it was in KM so I'll make sure I work everything out accordingly when I hire the car. I'm sure it'll be great. It's one of those things I don't expect to do more than once after all.

[mikesumner]

jwrayth Wrote:the drivers side door lock jammed a few times (and climbing over and out the passenger side is sure to make you lose any cool factor of having the car!).:

Out of interest when the door lock jammed were you able to open the door from the outside? It's just that I'm taking my best mate with me when I hire the car so if I know that works then I'll just get him to go round and free me that way.

[jwrayth]

Yeah, the outside worked fine I think it was just the inner door lock switch jammed sometimes rather than the lock itself being at fault.

[Rissy]

My passenger door (only) has jammed twice. On both occasions, it was because the passenger only half closed it, I presume only catching one latch, and leaving the other hanging. Bumping the door closed more fully, locking it, and then unlocking it, and then grabbing the handle to open it, normally works for correcting the situation.

[kckoopa]

Rissy Wrote:My passenger door (only) has jammed twice. On both occasions, it was because the passenger only half closed it, I presume only catching one latch, and leaving the other hanging. Bumping the door closed more fully, locking it, and then unlocking it, and then grabbing the handle to open it, normally works for correcting the situation.

Hi, yep it's my car!

Haven't been able to replicate the issue so I think this is probably the likely cause, the passenger lock is quite stiff from the inside and doesn't always trigger on the central locking but I haven't had any probs with the drivers side.

[mikesumner]

kckoopa Wrote:

Rissy Wrote:My passenger door (only) has jammed twice. On both occasions, it was because the passenger only half closed it, I presume only catching one latch, and leaving the other hanging. Bumping the door closed more fully, locking it, and then unlocking it, and then grabbing the handle to open it, normally works for correcting the situation.

Hi, yep it's my car!

Haven't been able to replicate the issue so I think this is probably the likely cause, the passenger lock is quite stiff from the inside and doesn't always trigger on the central locking but I haven't had any probs with the drivers side.

Hi,

I look forward to hopefully driving your car in early 2014.

I'm just glad you felt you could offer it out to other enthusiasts as those of us that haven't the means to buy one have no other way of experiencing the car than to do this, and with yours being the only one for self-drive hire in the country it's a very appealing prospect.