American Classic Car Hire FAQ's

Below you will find a selection of all the most frequently asked questions. (if, like me you always put the phone down and remember one more thing you would like to ask)

To book or enquire about one of our cars
call: 07800 592058
or email: enquiries@thunderroadclassics.com

How long is a day’s hire?
Can I make a provisional booking without paying a deposit?
How much deposit is required when booking the car?
If I want to book a car for longer than a single day do you offer special rates?
Is there a mileage limit?
What do I do about insurance?
Do you show us how to drive the car?
What about fuel?
What is the security deposit for?
Do I have to pay cash for the security deposit?
Can I postpone a booking in case of a bad weather forecast?
How far ahead do I need to book?
What happens if the car breaks down?
I want to give a present to someone, how do the gift vouchers work?
I want to give a voucher but don’t know which car he/she will want to drive?
Do your envelopes have anything on the outside to identify who/what you are if a gift voucher is to be delivered as a present?
Can you provide a suggested route to take the car?
Can you deliver the cars?
Can I hire a car for a wedding?
Can you supply a chauffeur for a wedding?
Are the cars on the web site the only ones you have?
Are the pictures on the web, library pictures or the actual cars for hire?
Can we use the cars for classic car runs?
Can I take a car down to Le Mans or go touring in Europe?
Can we take a car on a rally?
Where can we leave our normal everyday car?
Can you recommend any local hotels?
What if I do not hold a UK driving licence?

How long is a day’s hire?

A single day is from 08:00 to 20:00 (8:00 pm) the same day. Multiple days hire is from 08:00 the first day to 20:00 on the last day. Alternative arrangements are available upon request.

Can I make a provisional booking without paying a deposit?

Unfortunately no. We have had too many occasions where dates have been booked provisionally and then never confirmed.

How much deposit is required when booking the car?

If the hire date is within 4 weeks of time of booking we normally take the full cost of the hire at the time of booking. Otherwise we take a non refundable £100 deposit.

If I want to book a car for longer than a single day do you offer special rates?

We offer discounts for multiple days hire. Please ring to discuss your particular needs.

Is there a mileage limit?

No. To keep everything simple, and the cost predictable, our rates include unlimited mileage.

What do I do about insurance?

Our daily hire rates include fully comprehensive insurance for two drivers. If you want more than two persons to drive, there is a small surcharge of £10 for each additional driver.

Do you show us how to drive the car?

Yes, we give you a brief “driving lesson” (a drive round a short route) and show you all the controls to ensure you feel comfortable with the car before setting off alone.There is also a brief guide supplied with the car as a reminder.

What about fuel?

All cars go out with a full tank of petrol and the hirer's must return them with a full tank. There are a number of petrol stations within a couple of miles of our base. All of our cars run on Unleaded petrol, some use Premium (95) but most use Super (97 or 98). We will advise you on the type of fuel suited to the car before you drive it away. If for some reason you are unable to refuel the car, we will do this for you and charge the fuel and an administration charge to your credit card.

What is the security deposit for?

The security deposit, payable by manual voucher processing of a credit card on the day of hire, is to cover the insurance excess. This is not charged to the card unless loss occurs. Details are on the website terms and conditions. If the hirer cannot refuel the car, receives any parking or speeding fines, returns the car late or causes any minor damage to the car, then we need to be able to recover these costs. It also allows us to charge any excess on insurance claims, should the hirer refuse to pay any invoice raised against damage done up to the excess limit.

Do I have to pay cash for the security deposit?

No. We ask the hirer to sign a manual credit card voucher to cover the security deposit on the day of hire. This is not charged to your card unless loss occurs.

Can I postpone a booking in case of a bad weather forecast?

We will be happy to re-arrange a date, for safety reasons, in the case of severe adverse weather conditions (ice, snow or severe flooding). We will not re-schedule in case of normal cold or wet weather.

How far ahead do I need to book?

During the Summer the cars can be fully booked for up to eight weekends ahead. Midweek dates may be easier

What happens if the car breaks down?

All cars are covered by RAC breakdown and recovery. In the event of a problem, the RAC will try and fix the car but if they can’t do this, they will bring the car back to base. We keep some common spares in the boot of each car as the RAC tend not to carry spares for cars from the 1960s and 1970s.If the car breaks down close to us we will try and come out to you and replace the car with an equivalent, or upgrade you to one from the next price band.

I want to give a present to someone, how do the gift vouchers work?

We print off personalised gift vouchers showing the name of the recipient, relevant date (birthday, Christmas, anniversary etc) and a picture of the car chosen. The vouchers are then valid for a full 12 months from the date of issue.

I want to give a voucher but don’t know which car he/she will want to drive?

If you are unsure of which car to choose, we can produce a voucher for any car up to a given value.

Do your envelopes have anything on the outside to identify who/what you are if a gift voucher is to be delivered as a present?

No, to ensure confidentiality all mail is sent out in plain envelopes.

Can you provide a suggested route to take the car?

We include maps and suggested routes in a pack of information that is provided to every hirer and which is relevant to the individual car.

Can you deliver the cars?

We are happy to deliver the cars to hotels in the area at no charge. We may be able to deliver further afield, but this will be subject to workload and a delivery charge.

Can I hire a car for a wedding?

Yes, although we do ask you to make sure that the cars are not ‘decorated’ in any way other than silk ribbons (no strings of tin cans, crazy foam etc).

Can you supply a chauffeur for a wedding?

As a specialist in self drive hire we normally do not offer a chauffer or limousine service but please enquire with your personal needs.

Are the cars on the web site the only ones you have?

We try to keep the web site up to date so the answer will usually be yes. However from time to time we may have access to other cars

Are the pictures on the web, library pictures or the actual cars for hire?

All the pictures are of the actual cars you can drive and are owned by us.

Can we use the cars for classic car runs?

In principle yes, but we would assess an enquiry based on the type of classic run involved. Most of the Merlin Events, MSA, Heritage Motor Centre or Haynes organised runs are OK. If a run includes time on circuits or racetracks, this is not covered by the insurance so the hirer will be liable for all costs for any damage caused.

Can I take a car down to Le Mans or go touring in Europe?

The insurance company will only cover the cars for the UK mainland. Special rates apply for insurance outside of the UK

Can we take a car on a rally?

None of our cars have been prepared for rallying, they are all normal road cars, therefore we would not normally allow the cars out for a classic rally.

Where can we leave our normal everyday car?

You can leave this securely garaged on our premises while you are out in your classic car.

Can you recommend any local hotels?

There are many very good hotels in the area: we can advise on a few we know well.

What if I do not hold a UK driving licence?

We can accept European Union and US drivers’ licences, or other drivers with International Driving Permits.