Skye or Maillaig car hire?

I was planning on taking the train to Mallaig and then the ferry to Skye , then hiring a car on Skye.

I googled this and one of the first listings was from the Thorn Tree dated July 2008-

"Isle of Skye - car rental
Hi,
we are planning to rent a car for two days on Skye, but can't get in touch with any rental companies on the island. I've tried contacting http://www.portreecoachworks.co.uk/, but didn't get any respond. Anyone knows if they are still in business?"

( They did end up getting a car through Portee.)

I do want to have a car on Skye, I guess I had just assumed that this would not be a problem- but from this post it seems that I was wrong.

Can you hire a car in Skye ? Can you hire a car in Mallaig? If not , what should I do?

I will be coming on rail, via Chester then Glasgow.

Thanks for any advice. When I went to Orkney last spring it was easy to rent a car, I just assumed it would be the same on Skye.

Thanks!

Skye has a road bridge to it so there will not be the same demand as there is in Orkney for car hire.
Try www.skyecarhire.co.uk

Visited Skye last June (last minute trip). There was nowhere on Skye that had cars left. One place was a "maybe" - but when we turned up there was no car. But we wanted to take the train between Fort William and Mallaig (not just for the Glenfinnan Viaduct). Mallaig itself is a pretty town.

In hindsight what we should have done was book a car much earlier. There ARE places that hire cars on Skye. You just have to be quick. Or:

Hire a car in Fort William and drive across the bridge. Would mean missing the train trip between Fort William and Mallaig, but if you REALLY want to, and you have time, then take a day trip return from Fort William-Mallaig-Fort William, then pick up your hire car in Fort William. Best option if you have the time.

Yes, Portree Coachworks are still in business. Give them a call though! Or just hire a car in Fort Willian. The drive is almost as nice as the train journey anyways...