# Car rental in Europe question



## CSB (Jun 23, 2012)

My niece and her future husband will be honeymooning in Europe this summer. They have booked a car with Hertz since they seem to be the cheapest in terms of drop off charges - they will be picking the car up in one city and dropping it off somewhere else.

Any good deals out there for car rentals that do not have such a charge?


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## PStreet1 (Jun 23, 2012)

We were thrilled with the rate we got from SIXT.  They included the liability insurance in the rate they quoted.  We activated American Express' $25.00 coverage (for up to a 60 day rental) to cover the vehicle itself, hospitalization, theft of our belongings, etc., so there was only a $25.00 charge over the quoted basic rate.  There was no drop off charge.

The car was practically new, about 2,000 miles on it, and it was a wonderfully sized Renualt:  a hatch back that held our 4 suitcases under the cover so they weren't a temptation to thieves.


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## Carolinian (Jun 23, 2012)

I usually find the best rates with consolidators like

www.economycarrentals.com

www.autoeurope.com

www.europebycar.com

They usually use the major car rental companies as the actual suppliers but as consolidators they rates are lower. My last car rental in Poland was through Economy at about 30% off of what the car rental companies wanted directly, and the supplier was National.  The only cavaet would be, if it is Spain, Goldcar rentals is one that all of them use, and if they want to put you with Goldcar, turn it down.


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## PStreet1 (Jun 23, 2012)

We were in Spain, and your warning was why we contacted SIXT directly--and we were very pleased.


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## kiyotaka (Jun 24, 2012)

We want to rent a car from Nuremberg (city center) to Munich (central station)  for a week in Sept. Gemut.com's quote (using Avis) is ~30% cheaper than Avis'. Has anyone use Gemut.com? We'll be staying in Schloss Grubhof in Austria for a week. Then drive up to Munich to drop off the car & staying few days during the Oktoberfest.


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## Carolinian (Jun 24, 2012)

kiyotaka said:


> We want to rent a car from Nuremberg (city center) to Munich (central station)  for a week in Sept. Gemut.com's quote (using Avis) is ~30% cheaper than Avis'. Has anyone use Gemut.com? We'll be staying in Schloss Grubhof in Austria for a week. Then drive up to Munich to drop off the car & staying few days during the Oktoberfest.



Gemut is a consolidator.  I haven't used them but they seem to be placing you with a reliable provider.

Schloss Grubhof has an enormous amount of atmosphere and is in a great area for touring, close to Salzburg and Bertesgaden, and reasonably convenient to Innsbruck.  I have traded in three times.  

If your lucky, your rental car may already have an Austrian autobahn vignette on the windshield.  If not, stop at the border and get one.  Otherwise there is a significant fine for not having it.


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## x3 skier (Jun 24, 2012)

*Short Term Lease*

If you are going to be in Europe for three weeks or so, Renault and Peugeot offer a short term lease of a brand new car that can be very competitive with rentals.

www.renaultusa.com/

Never drove in Europe except in my own car when I took delivery in Munich or once when I had a long term assignment in the UK.

Cheers


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## cgeidl (Jun 24, 2012)

*Gemütlichkeit*

This USB an expert travel agency for Germanic countries and has very reliable information for Germany and Austria. Not a consolidator at all and uses Auto Europe for car rentals .  Auto Europe uses many rental car firms. Gemütlichkeit is worth joining just for good up to date travel information. Used by many travel agencies.


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## kiyotaka (Jun 25, 2012)

Thank you.

Do I need: inter national license? a permit to drive into Munich city center? my cc has CDW, theft, rental co covers liability & fire, should I have SLI (supplement liability ins)?


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## Margariet (Jun 25, 2012)

kiyotaka said:


> Thank you.
> 
> Do I need: inter national license? a permit to drive into Munich city center? my cc has CDW, theft, rental co covers liability & fire, should I have SLI (supplement liability ins)?



No, you don't need an international driving permit as long as you have a driver's license. However, it is always recommended because you might bump into a police officer. An international permit makes your own license more valid since it is a translation of your own driver's license and you can only receive it in your home country with a valid driver's license. It may seem strange but there are many countries and many states in the USA and a police officer may not be able to immediately verify the authenticity of your own driver's license The costs are very low: only $15 for one year. You can get them at your AAA. I would always advise it.


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## bevans (Jun 25, 2012)

I just returned from three weeks with a rental car in Europe starting from Midi rail station in Brussels and returning the car there. I drove into Munich and there is no special license needed but parking is limited so park outside of city center (Marienplatz) and walk in, it is an easy walk. Be sure and check your credit card as they generally limit coverage in Europe. If you have an American Express card you can sign up for their foreign extended coverage for free and pay a nominal amount if you rent a car in Europe. This coverage not only covers cdw but also theft of valuables from your car, theft of car, broken windows and basically makes a rental worry free. Be sure to get navigation or take one with you as it makes it much easier to take side trips as road signs often are not helpful. We took a Garmin european gps but ended up with a Mercedes with nav and automatic transmission as the car we ordered was not available, both were wonderful to have in the big cities. Curt


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## PStreet1 (Jun 25, 2012)

The American Express insurance also covers medical.


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## kiyotaka (Jun 26, 2012)

Thank you all. I just spoke with Andy of Gemut.com & made an arrangement to rent a cheapest car for 8 days, $172.22. It includes liability (up to 50m euros, 8m euros pp) & fire ins. I'm using AmEx which covers CDW & theft. I don't think I need supplemental liability ins. He thinks SLI & international license are not needed, but with you advice, I think I get the int. license. 

Yes, I've already purchased Europe map & installed it to my Garmin nuvi 265W (memory card into the device) & put in lots of waypoints. We want to use it for walking around cities, too. Hope it works well.


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