The Problems with Hiring Self-Drive Minibuses

While it may seem like the go-to idea to hire a minibus to drive yourself to that cracking family holiday park down on the sunshine coast, or to get you and the lads or lasses to the airport for the weekend stag or hen do, it may prove more hassle than it’s worth. The problems you can come against with self-drive minibuses can be vast. Therefore, we’ve compiled a list of the things we think you should be most aware of.

Age Restrictions

Age plays an important part in determining whether or not you are eligible to hire a vehicle, to which there may also be a number of strings attached.

–  Primarily, you must be over the age of 21. At this age you will have had to have your licence for over 2 years and have no endorsements upon it. Generally, drivers under the age of 25 will incur a higher excess/deposit rate.

– Those over the age of 25 will also need to have had their licence for over a year.

– People of 70 years and over will have to meet ‘Group 2’ medical standards. If you are unsure what this entails, you should consult your GP.

It’s worth noting that a lot of places won’t hire to people under 25, regardless of what the law states, or will charge you more. Be sure to check on this with your local rental dealer.

Deposit Costs

Because you’ll be responsible for the vehicle, you’ll have to have the funds available to provide adequate deposits and excess costs for your hire. The possibility of purchasing a damage waiver to bring down the potential costs you could incur is something you might consider, but otherwise you may be required to provide hundreds or perhaps thousands of pounds on top of your rental costs and deposit to ensure the vehicle is covered during your hire period. Hiring a driver circumvents this.

Designated Drivers

A hard truth of hiring self-drive minibuses is that one of your group then has to volunteer themselves as the designated driver. Unfortunately for some younger groups where the number of legally eligible people to drive the minibus may be low, those who go for a night out or weekend away could find themselves having to miss out on the party.

In the same vein, your designated driver will have to be fully rested as well as sober to avoid putting you or your friends in danger. As a result, the conditions upon which you can hire a self-drive minibus become evermore restricting. If you have a tee-total friend willing to drive, then that’s fine, but otherwise being the designated driver can seem a little unfair, so bear this in mind when thinking about hiring a self-drive minibus.

Wyatt Coaches offer quality minibus hire with experienced and qualified drivers at a great value for travel all around the UK. For more information on our services and to get a quote on a trip, our friendly team are on hand to make sure you get where you’re going. Contact us today.