BMW car rental in London

A week of meetings in the City, a weekend run out to the Cotswolds or a family pick-up at Heathrow — our BMW car rental in London covers all three, with 9 BMW models from £63 a day. We deliver the car to any address locally and to Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Southend airports, and the delivery address, date and time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed.

BMW car rental in London models and classes you can choose

BMW car rental in London puts nine BMWs on this page, spread across five classes — Premium, Sedan, Sports, Electric and Comfort. Every one is automatic, every one seats five, and the range runs from a £63-a-day 1 Series to a £500-a-day M3. What separates them is body style, drivetrain and how much space you get behind the second row.

Which BMW models are on the fleet

Our BMW car rental in London covers 9 cars — X1, i4, 1 Series, 3 Series, X5, 5 Series, X3, M5 and M3. The petrol-to-diesel-to-electric split is 6/2/1: the X1, 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, M5 and M3 run on petrol, the X5 and X3 run on diesel, and the i4 is the lone electric. Drivetrains split three ways too — front-wheel drive on the X1 and 1 Series, all-wheel on the X5, X3 and M5, rear-wheel on the i4, 3 Series, 5 Series and M3, so the layout follows the model rather than the class. All nine are five-seaters with automatic gearboxes. The body mix — 5 Sedans, 3 SUVs, 1 Hatchback — decides boot space before engine ever enters the conversation, so if three large cases travel with you, start with the SUVs and work back.

Premium, Sedan, Sports, Electric and Comfort compared

The Premium band spans the X1 at £84, the X5 at £96 and the X3 at £132, which makes it the widest choice per pound on the page. Sports is the narrowest — two cars, both at £500.

Petrol, diesel or electric — which BMW fits your trip

• Petrol (6 cars): the X1, 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, M5 and M3 — the broadest spread of body styles and power outputs, from 136 hp up to 600 hp.
• Diesel (2 cars): the X5 at 3.0 L and 286 hp and the X3 at 2.0 L and 190 hp, both all-wheel drive and both the natural pick for long motorway runs.
• Electric (1 car): the i4, a 340 hp rear-wheel sedan and the only zero-tailpipe model here.
• Front-wheel drive (2 cars): the X1 and 1 Series, at £84 and £63 a day.
• All-wheel drive (3 cars): the X5, X3 and M5 — worth choosing if the forecast looks wet or you plan a run out to the Cotswolds.

In our experience the diesel X5 and X3 earn their keep on motorway miles, while the i4 makes most sense if your days stay inside the centre — but the i4 is not exempt from the Congestion Charge by being electric, so check the rules for your dates before you commit.

What BMW Car Rental in London Costs per Day, Week and Month

BMW car rental here runs from £63 a day for the 1 Series to £500 a day for the M3, with weekly bookings charged at daily x 6 and monthly at daily x 21. The band you pick decides the figure, not the badge on the bonnet.

Daily rates from £63 to £500

BMW car rental starts at £63 a day for the 1 Series and tops out at £500 for the M3. Between those two sit seven more cars: the 3 Series at £77, the X1 at £84, the X5 at £96, the 5 Series at £110, the X3 at £132, the i4 at £309 and the M5 at £500. The Premium band alone spreads across three cars — the X1 at £84, the X5 at £96 and the X3 at £132 — which is the widest choice per pound on the page. Pick your daily ceiling before you open the class list, and the choice narrows to two or three cars.

In our experience most people book the class first and the model second, then ask whether a bigger engine is worth the step up. It usually is not for a city week: the 1.5-litre X1 and the 2.0-litre X3 cover the same 5 seats and the same automatic box, and the difference lands in boot space and drivetrain rather than in pace — the badge matters less than the body.

Prices by class at a glance

Weekly from £378 and monthly from £1,323

A week is charged at daily x 6, so the cheapest week on the page starts at £378 for the 1 Series, and a month is charged at daily x 21, from £1,323 for the same car. The multiplier applies across the fleet rather than to one model: the i4 comes to £1,854 a week and £6,489 a month, the 3 Series to £462 and £1,617, the X3 to £792 and £2,772, and the M3 to £3,000 and £10,500. Longer bookings change which class pays off — a Sports car at daily x 21 costs more than three weeks of a Premium SUV, so the arithmetic, not the wish list, tends to settle the argument. We see the same pattern in our own bookings: the longer the hire, the further down the class list people move. Check the multiplier against your dates before you commit to a model, because a seven-day trip billed at six days is a different budget from seven separate days.

What the rate covers and what it does not

Every car on the page is automatic with 5 seats, whether it is the £84 X1 or the £500 M3, so the daily figure never buys you a gearbox upgrade or an extra seat. Fuel is full-to-full: the car arrives with a full tank and goes back full, and any missing fuel plus a refuelling service fee follow the rental agreement. The deposit, the insurance excess and any delivery fee are set out in that same agreement rather than quoted here. Who pays the Congestion Charge and ULEZ on the car is agreed when booking — the i4 is electric but that does not make the Congestion Charge disappear on its own. Ask the manager to confirm the full picture before the date is fixed, and the daily rate you see is the daily rate you pay.

Delivery of Your BMW Car Rental in London

Rent-Trip brings the car to you: delivery is part of how our BMW hire works, and the address, date and time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed.

To any address in the capital and six airports

• Street addresses: we deliver to any address in the city — a hotel, a flat, an office or a friend's place — with the exact door and time confirmed when booking.
• Heathrow (LHR): 30.3 km by road from the centre, about 45 minutes without traffic; the largest of the six airports we serve, at 84,481,178 passengers in 2025.
• Gatwick (LGW): 48.6 km by road, roughly 70 minutes without traffic, and 42,775,241 passengers in 2025.
• Stansted (STN), Luton (LTN), London City (LCY) and Southend (SEN): the remaining four airports on our delivery list, from 67.4 km by road at Southend to 14.5 km at London City.

How the hand-over is arranged

The car arrives clean and with a full tank, and it must go back with a full tank — full-to-full, with no other fuel option offered. That single rule covers every model on the page, from the X1 to the M3, so there is nothing to negotiate at the kerb over fuel. If the tank comes back short, the missing fuel and a refuelling service fee are charged as set out in the rental agreement.

Where the car is handed over depends on where you are: a hotel entrance in Mayfair, a terminal forecourt at Heathrow, a drop-off outside St Pancras & King's Cross. Delivery outside the places listed above is arranged case by case and is not promised on the site, so raise it with the manager early rather than on the day. In our experience the booking that goes smoothly is the one where the address was pinned down first and the model second — a five-seat SUV at the wrong postcode helps nobody. One manager owns your booking from the first message to the return, which is why we ask for the delivery details up front.

Want the car at arrivals after a long flight? Say so when booking, and the timing gets built around your landing rather than the other way round.

BMW car rental in London charges and driving rules

Two charges sit on top of the hire itself, and both are worked out by the day, not by the trip. The Congestion Charge applies inside the Inner Ring Road; ULEZ covers all 32 boroughs. Which of them your route touches — and who settles them — is agreed when booking, so raise it with the manager before the date is fixed.

Congestion Charge and ULEZ

The Congestion Charge is £18 a day inside the Inner Ring Road, rising to £21 if paid by midnight of the third day after the trip; it runs 07:00–18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00–18:00 at weekends and on bank holidays, and is not charged from 25 December to the New Year bank holiday inclusive. ULEZ is £12.50 a day for non-compliant vehicles, 24 hours a day, seven days a week except 25 December, across all 32 boroughs; the M25 sits outside the zone. The i4 avoids neither charge automatically — electric cars lost the 100% Cleaner Vehicle Discount on 25 December 2025, and from 2 January 2026 pay £13.50 instead of £18 only with Auto Pay. Check your model on the TfL vehicle checker before you plan a route through the centre.

Left-hand traffic and right-hand drive

All our cars are right-hand drive and you keep left unless signs or markings say otherwise (Highway Code, rule 160); when turning, stay close to the left edge (rule 183). At roundabouts you give way to traffic approaching from the right (rule 185) and travel clockwise. Speed limits run 30 mph in built-up areas in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, 60 mph on single carriageway and 70 mph on dual carriageway and motorway — but lit roads default to 30 mph unless signs say otherwise, and many zones in the capital post 20 mph, so read the signs rather than the habit. Holding a phone, satnav or tablet is banned even at a red light: £200 and 6 penalty points.

Tolls and the daily figures worth knowing

• Dartford Crossing (Dart Charge), M25: £3.50 per crossing for cars (class B) pay-as-you-go, £2.80 prepaid, usually 06:00–22:00 every day including weekends and holidays.
• Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels: £4.20 at peak (northbound 06:00–10:00, southbound 16:00–19:00 on weekdays), £1.55 off-peak with Auto Pay.
• Fuel: petrol £1.75 a litre, diesel £1.99 a litre — the X5 and X3 take diesel, the other seven petrol or electric.
• Seat belts: compulsory where fitted; children need a car seat until 135 cm tall or 12 years old, whichever comes first — up to £500.

The Congestion Charge boundary is easy to cross without noticing, so it is worth checking your route against the Inner Ring Road before you set off. Note the crossing time and the charge with the manager at booking and keep the day count straight — the £21 rate only applies if you pay within three days.

BMW Car Rental in London

Paperwork is the part of a booking that goes wrong quietly, so we keep it short and check it early. For a BMW hire the essentials are a full driving licence, your age and the details of anyone else who will drive. The car comes to you, and the manager confirms the conditions before the date is fixed.

Foreign licences and the 12-month rule

A full foreign licence is valid for 12 months from your last entry to Great Britain, and that covers England, Wales and Scotland alike. The clock starts on the day you came in, not on the day you collect the car — a visitor who arrived in early spring and books a BMW in late summer is already several months into the window. An international driving permit is not mentioned in the rule; whether the booking needs one is agreed with the manager when booking. Keep the licence you used to book with you during the trip. If your trip runs close to the 12-month mark, count the months before you choose a long booking — a monthly rate on the 5 Series makes no sense if the entitlement expires mid-way.

Age, second driver and deposit

• Minimum age: the age floor and any young-driver surcharge are agreed when booking, not published as a fixed number.
• Second driver: adding another person to the agreement is arranged with the manager in advance, and the conditions are set out in the rental agreement.
• Deposit: the amount held and the insurance excess are confirmed at booking and written into the rental agreement.
• Payment: the methods accepted are confirmed with the manager, so ask before the date is fixed rather than on the morning of delivery.

What we need from you before the car arrives

Rent-Trip delivers to any address locally and to Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City and Southend, and the address, date and time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed. That conversation is also where the licence details, the age question and any second driver are settled — in our experience it takes one exchange, and it saves a wasted delivery slot. Bring the physical licence you booked with; a photograph on a phone is not the document itself. If your plans change and someone else takes the wheel, tell the manager before the car leaves, not after.

The car itself and the fuel rule

Every BMW on this page is automatic with 5 seats, so there is no gearbox question to settle in the paperwork. The car comes clean with a full tank and must be returned with a full tank — full-to-full is the only fuel option we offer, and a pre-paid tank or full-to-empty is not available. Missing fuel and the refuelling service fee are charged as set out in the rental agreement. Photograph the dashboard at hand-over on your own phone: it costs nothing and settles any later question about the level you started with.

Choosing the Right BMW Car Rental in London for Your Trip

BMW car rental in London gives you nine BMWs, five classes and one question: which one goes with your week? The answer usually turns on boot space, drivetrain and how far you plan to drive, not on the badge. Every car on this page seats five and comes with an automatic gearbox, so the choice narrows quickly once you know the shape of the trip.

Family of five, weekend or business

• Family of five with luggage: the X1 pairs a 1.5 L petrol engine with front-wheel drive and a raised SUV body, and the X5 adds all-wheel drive plus a 3.0 L diesel for heavier loads.
• Long weekend for two: the M3 puts 510 hp through the rear wheels, while the M5 channels 600 hp to all four — both are Sports-class saloons with a five-seat cabin.
• Business travel: the 3 Series and 5 Series are rear-wheel-drive saloons on 2.0 L petrol, and the larger of the two sits at the top of the Sedan band.
• City errands and short hops: the 1 Series hatchback is the only Comfort-class car here, with a 1.5 L petrol engine and front-wheel drive.

All nine seat five, so the real difference is boot volume and drivetrain. A rear-wheel-drive saloon is the sharper drive on dry motorway tarmac; all-wheel drive earns its keep on wet B-roads and gravel car parks, which is worth settling before you pick a class.

Out-of-town trips and the electric i4

Trips beyond the capital are arranged case by case, and delivery outside the places we cover is not promised on the site — so raise the destination with your manager when you book, not on the morning of collection. In our experience the trip that catches people out is the one-way run to a cathedral city or a university town with a late return: the car is fine, the timing is not. Tell us the route and the return time and the class choice usually makes itself.

The i4 is the only electric BMW on this page, at £309 a day — a rear-wheel-drive saloon with 340 hp and a five-seat cabin. It suits city work and medium runs well; for a long motorway day, plan charging stops before you leave rather than hunting for a charger at the far end. The two diesels, the X5 and X3, are the natural pick for high motorway mileage: 3.0 L and 2.0 L units respectively, both all-wheel drive, both SUVs.

Matching the class to the kilometres

Premium covers three cars from £84, Sedan two from £77, Sports two from £500, Electric one at £309 and Comfort one at £63 — the spread is wide, and the cheapest car is not automatically the right one. An £84 X1 and a £132 X3 are both Premium SUVs, but one is front-wheel drive on a 1.5 L petrol engine and the other all-wheel drive on a 2.0 L diesel. If your week is mostly inner-city with a couple of airport runs, the smaller car does the job; if it includes a 300-mile round trip with four passengers and bags, the larger drivetrain pays for itself in comfort.

Rent-Trip keeps the hand-over simple: the car arrives clean with a full tank and goes back full, and one manager settles the address, date and time with you before the booking is fixed. Pick the class around the trip, then let the paperwork follow.

Why Book BMW Car Rental in London with Rent-Trip

Rent-Trip has 9 BMWs on this page — five classes from Premium to Sports, every car automatic and every car a five-seater. The car is brought to the address you give us, and one manager stays with your booking from the first message to the return. That is the whole proposition: you pick the model, we bring it.

Delivery, full tank, one manager

• Delivery to your address: we bring the car to any address in the city and to Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City and Southend, with the address, date and time agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed.
• Full-to-full fuel: the car comes clean with a full tank and must go back full; if it does not, the missing fuel and a refuelling service fee are charged as set out in the rental agreement, and no other fuel option is offered.
• One manager, start to finish: the model, the delivery point, the timing and the paperwork details are settled with the same person, so nothing is re-explained at hand-over.
• Nine cars, one brand: X1, i4, 1 Series, 3 Series, X5, 5 Series, X3, M5 and M3 — you are choosing between BMW bodies and drivetrains, not between rental firms.

In our experience the delivery detail is what people underestimate. A traveller landing at Heathrow at 07:00 does not want to find a desk, queue and then drive an unfamiliar car out of a multi-storey — they want the X1 waiting, tank full, at the terminal they named when booking. We cannot promise a specific terminal or a specific minute on this page, because that is exactly what the manager confirms with you; what we can say is that the address and the time are agreed before anything is fixed, not discovered on the day.

What you are actually booking

The range starts at £63 a day for the 1 Series and reaches £500 for the M3, with weekly charged at daily x 6 (from £378) and monthly at daily x 21 (from £1,323). Those multipliers matter more than they look: a longer booking changes which class pays off, and a Premium band of three cars between £84 and £132 gives the widest choice per pound on this page.

Two practical notes before you choose. First, the class sets the body and the drivetrain, not the badge — a Sedan is a Sedan whether it is the 3 Series or the 5 Series, and the difference you feel is rear-wheel drive and boot space rather than the badge. Second, the i4 is the only electric BMW on this page and it does not escape the Congestion Charge automatically; who pays it is agreed when booking, so raise it in the same conversation as the delivery address. Sort both at once and the rest of the trip is just driving.