Day1: London - Oxford - Bicester Village - London Day2: London - Bicester - Bath - London

Budget was fine, the only issue I had with Budget was the car completely smelled of smoke for the entire time I had it, if it wasn't for the fact it was all they had in my category I would have changed it.

Qeeq made an error and actually booked me in a lower category than what I paid for, this was however corrected at the Budget Car Rental Office with speaking to Qeeq over the phone, Qeek agreed to pay the extra charge to correct the category and I eventually claimed the money back with minimal effort from them a couple of weeks later. Very good 'instant' customer service from Qeeq on the phone.

Expected Ford Focus, was offered something far smaller. Ended up paying double what we thought we were paying to get larger car which appeared to be old and pulling to one side. During our trip warning light came on regarding tyre pressure. Checked one of the front tyres was bald in patches and there was no spare tyre or repair kit. Headed back to hotel and did not use car for the rest of the day. Had to rely on relatives to ferry us to New Year Function. AA guy came next day & said was technically legal but he offered to follow us to Glasgow Airport for replacement. At least this one was a much nicer car but half way through the last week a warning light came on again about tyre pressure. Checked and all tyres seemed to be ok. Not a happy experience.

Rep was very helpful and accommodating

Booking was easy and pleased with the price - however, at collection, the info Budget had was that Easycar had only booked and paid for a Fiesta (or similar), despite me booking a Focus - significant price difference. Budget man was very helpful and have it's what we needed.

Car was very good

We hired from Belfast airport. Check in was fine and they had our details to hand. We were a little surprised that there would be extra insurance if we travelled into Republic of Ireland (something that should be covered at booking). There was the option to take it then or call and arrange if needed. We declined. The car itself was a disappointment. We had booked a Ford Focus. We know they can substitute for an equivalent but the car we were given C3 Aircross was a poor substitute. At the check in desk we did not know what this was like. From the outside it looks ok but driving it wasn't great. It was underpowered (1.2 petrol), poor suspension (bottomed out on some N. Ireland roads), cheap plastic interior and uncomfortable rear seats. It may have been fine for 2 people but not for a family of 5. We had chosen a Focus as my family is 5 adults and as we have one in the family at home we knew it would be ok for the 6 days we would be there. Although on paper they may think C3 Aircross was an equivalent, it did not feel like it. Had I known more about the car at check in I would have declined. I know in future to check more details if offered an equivalent e.g. engine size, dimensions. At the check in desk they said the car had no marks on it and the yellow slip was clear. On arrival at the car park we found small scratches on the rear bumper (from bags) and on the rear door (see photos) and small marks on some of the alloy wheels. We found a Budget rep. and got this noted on the yellow slip so we were not billed for this at the end. The front tyres were legal but not far from the wear indicators. (Make sure you check the car & tyres on arrival at the carpark.) Handing back the car was easy. There was a representative there and it took just a few minutes for them to check the car over and hand the keys back. No need to return to the desk in the terminal.

Easyrentcars was easy to book through and offered a good deal on the gap insurance, far less than at the desk with budget. We had not benefit from the price drop as we paid the price first advertised. However, this may mean that the price was the best price at the beginning. The price was the best we could find on the internet and considerably less than booking direct with the large rental companies. Email contact from Easyrentcars was helpful and had all the details we needed for check in. Top tip for any hirers - remember to read the detail in the email about your DVLA license check code and take that with you. I would book through Easyrentcars again as their price and service was good. (I'll just make sure I check Budget's car substitution before taking the keys.)