We got a great car for England and the staff was incredibly helpful.
We are visiting from the states and normally we just get whatever car is the cheapest and we usually forgo the extra insurance because it's a waste of money.
However, the gentleman recommended we upgrade the car and bundled the diamond/platinum 0 liability insurance or whatever. I was inclined to refuse, but on second thought I really didn't want to have to mess around with international phone calls and the time difference and dealing with the powers that be in the U.K. should an incident occur. It would have been too much of a hassle so I accepted the insurance.
AND BOY WAS IT WORTH IT. We went from a tiny coupe to a slightly less tiny Mini Countryman. It was still a tight fit for 4 people plus luggage but it got the job done.
We have t mobile and thus have unlimited international internet but once we got to rural England, the reception was spotty at best-- not the best situation to be in when you're relying on your phone as a navigation system. The built in navigation system was thus a godsend!
Additionally, the upgraded car came with an automatic transmission. I read in wikimedia commons that it was good to have a smaller standard transmission to navigate the tiny roads, but the automatic really came through in the clutch (pun intended). We had to back into some really tight spots, and to do so uphill and backwards while using the shifter with your left hand would have been near impossible.
So yes, paying the extra £13 or whatever per day kind of sucked but at the same time having the peace of mind while being stuck between a wall and a lorry speeding toward you from the opposite direction on a 16' wide road makes the insurance completely worth it.
Thank you Sixt for knowing what I needed before I even realized it needed it. You saved our vacation and quite possibly our marriage by giving us the upgrade w/navigation, auto and the insurance.
Job well done! read more