(OT) Christmas Car Rental Horror!

[PeterCrespin]

Am arriving at LHR as usual for a couple of weeks with family over Christmas/New Year. Routine is to book a hire car from the USA as it's always far cheaper and the credit card covers insurance. Usually $250-$270 ish for 2-3 weeks in the smallest car. So far so normal.

I just went on line now and 26th-10th in the cheapest little car is $950!!!! That's with Europcar and the rest are even higher. It drops to normal-ish rates if I wait until the 28th but that can't be done because of a big family event in Wales on 28/29. Time for some bowing and scraping, gentlemen...

1) Does anyone know of an off-airport rental outfit who might not price gouge quite so much?
Or..
2) Does anyone within a taxi or train ride of LHR have a spare car (any clunker will do) that they could rent me on the QT until the 30th, when I would come down to LHR to rent a car at normal prices.

I'm a reasonably safe pair of hands, IAM member cars and bikes, blah blah. Ex-racer but never fell off (except once scrambling, where it's expected).

Yours hopefully...

Pete