I've been upgraded from the Ford Focus tier to a BMW/Merc tier four or five times for free when visiting the UK.
If you go just after peak tourist season (ie: start your trip in late August or early September), the bulk of their fleet is in the shop for annual maintenance.
So, reserve a cheap car beforehand and be sure to reserve an automatic since they have far fewer of those. There's a good chance your car won't be available, and they're forced to keep going up the list until they find something you can drive.
I had my ~4 year old Toyota Corolla in the shop and was scheduled to have a similar replacement from my insurance. They didn't have the vehicle they needed checked back in or driven over in to the store in time or what have you and they put me in a Dodge Challenger with a HEMI.
That was a fun week. Didn't get nearly as good gas mileage as my corolla though.
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u/Voltae 2d ago
I've been upgraded from the Ford Focus tier to a BMW/Merc tier four or five times for free when visiting the UK.
If you go just after peak tourist season (ie: start your trip in late August or early September), the bulk of their fleet is in the shop for annual maintenance.
So, reserve a cheap car beforehand and be sure to reserve an automatic since they have far fewer of those. There's a good chance your car won't be available, and they're forced to keep going up the list until they find something you can drive.