Cheap long-term car hire in Britain?

MY WIFE AND I INTEND SPENDING FOUR MONTHS IN THE UK NEXT YEAR. CAN YOU SUGGEST THE MOST ECONOMICAL WAY TO HIRE A VEHICLE LONG TERM? I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT BUYING AND RESELLING A VEHICLE IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR NON-RESIDENTS.

D. BREWER, FAIRLIGHT

Vehicle insurance and registration are problematic for non-residents and one way to go is a long-term car lease, available from several operators.

Keying in notional dates for a four-month car lease starting in April 2015, the best deal I can find is with DriveAway Holidays (driveaway.com.au), which comes back with a choice of different Peugeots, starting from $4177 for an economy model.

This includes full vehicle insurance cover, third-party liability and theft with no excess. One word of caution however, the Peugeots, Citroens and Renaults that are the mainstay of the car-leasing market are left-hand drive models, which is less than ideal for the UK.

It may suit you better to hire a right-hand drive vehicle, and again there are plenty of options. Keying in the same dates at CarRentals.co.uk I get a price starting from $3984, including full insurance. With VroomVroomVroom.co.uk the price is a keen $2765, which would put you behind the wheel of a manual Fiat 500 from Europcar, and there are plenty of larger options at just a slightly higher price.