# Car rentals in Germany



## AKE (May 25, 2009)

I was looking for a car rental (automatic) for July and the prices for the well known companies were ludicrous - by the time you added in the CDW, theft protection etc etc it was close to $1000/week for a small car.  Then I found a number of websites which looked really like car rental brokers - their prices are half that of the big companies but I know nothing about them.  Has anyone dealt with these types of organizations for car rentals? It seems that they include the CDW etc etc in their rate AND if you have an íncident' then you pay (up to a max of 1500 Euros) and they reimburse you.  They appear to provide this service for North America as well - they are based in various countries such as England, etc.


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## ScoopKona (May 25, 2009)

I've had the luxury of a friend's car in Germany. Yeah, it's fun to tear-ass around the autobahn. But if I was spending my hard-earned coin, I'd just go with the rail pass. You can get ANYWHERE by rail in Germany, and it's far more relaxing. Best of all, the central station in 99.9% of the towns and cities is right where you want to be as a tourist.

Let's face it. It's frikkin' _Germany._ The trains run on time. They're clean. And they're efficient. There's a shop in the station that sells beer, wine, and nibbles. It's my absolute favorite way to travel.

http://www.raileurope.com/rail-tick...german_railpass.affiliates&collectCGIParams=1

(Edit) PS -- The Rhein River train from (around) Frankfurt to (around) Bonn is the most breathtaking day you'll have. And you don't have to pay attention to the road. Load up on beer, wine and nibbles. LOML and I did that trip. We got to Bonn and said, "Damn, let's do THAT again." So we had lunch, said "Wie gehts" to Beethoven, and went back south. Great day. Ended up in Munich by the end of the day. Having a rail pass is _clutch_ for Americans in Europe.


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## Carolinian (May 26, 2009)

I use both car rental and rail for my travels, depending on what works better for a given trip.  Each has its pluses and minuses.  Many castles, for example, are hard to reach without a car.

Rail passes are usually poor value.  Point to point rail tickets work out much better for most itineraries.  Germany, like the UK, has cheaper prices for point to point tickets if you buy them early.  Also, use the specific website of the particular railroad, NOT Raileurope.  Raileurope hits you with a markup, that for some countries can be massive, on point to point tickets.  

For a good price on a rental car, see:
www.autoeurope.com
www.europebycar.com
www.economycarrentals.com
www.easycar.com
www.carjet.com

I have personally used the first three with good results.  Just did my last rental with Economy Car Rental in France a couple of weeks ago.  I got a small, but not smallest car, and paid about US$250 all-in for a week.

Also remember that if you have a gold or platinum credit card, it will include coverage on CDW without any extra fee.

Prices have gone up, but with these companies you will be far below what you have been quoted.


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## Carolinian (May 26, 2009)

I just plugged in a couple of random dates for July, pickup at FRA airport with Economy Car Rentals, and it showed all-in prices for an economy car for the week for US$378 and for an intermediate car $382, both with automatic transmission and A/C.  Manual transmissions are, as usual in Europe, cheaper.


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## mav (May 26, 2009)

We have used Auto Europe many times  and really like them. Have fun! We are heading back June 11th thru July 30th.  I just booked our air this past Sunday and got $681 per seat complete. Very happy with that price !


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## Carolinian (May 26, 2009)

In the last six months or so, every rental I have priced has had Economy Car Rentals beating both EuropeByCar, the one I have used most, and Auto Europe, often by a significant margin.  I also like that with them you pay a small deposit up front, and then most of the price at the time you pick up the car, rather than the prepaid vouchers used by EuropeByCar.  The prepaid vouchers have worked fine, but its just that a cancellation would probably be stickier.


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## mav (May 26, 2009)

Carolinian said:


> In the last six months or so, every rental I have priced has had Economy Car Rentals beating both EuropeByCar, the one I have used most, and Auto Europe, often by a significant margin.  I also like that with them you pay a small deposit up front, and then most of the price at the time you pick up the car, rather than the prepaid vouchers used by EuropeByCar.  The prepaid vouchers have worked fine, but its just that a cancellation would probably be stickier.



  YIKES!  This time we booked a lease car since it was for 49 days. It came to just under $2,000 complete. I didn't check anywhere else. Carolinian, next time I will check your other sites. Don't want to check now since I have already booked..


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## hibbeln (May 26, 2009)

We have used the following in Europe...

Economycarrentals.com (just last month in Greece)
Europebycar.com
carjet.com
autoeurope.com

and all have been just great.

We have also used Hertz in Germany (many years ago) and used www.sixt.com just last summer for a German car rental (they had good insurance coverage that came standard and beat other car companies by a LOT!).
It pays to check around and compare apples to apples with the insurance coverage.

Even if you've booked, it you haven't actually paid you can usually cancel the booking and rebook with another companY!!!!


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## Rmelnyk (Jun 14, 2009)

I rented out of Munich at the train station, all inclusive, automatic,$560.00, and this was for a BMW, automatic (Hertz.)

Since they drive on the right a manual would be OK.  The city driving is a bit much but the roads are wide and drivers excellent.  Out of town and the skies the limit.  Have a great adventure.  

Please check the trains they are just great.  Point to point was the best buy. I traveled to Prague and then Budapest and then back to Munich, and the train stations always had great food...loved the BRATS and BEER.
Roman


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## thheath (Jun 20, 2009)

*Recommendation for German Car Rental*

When I went to Germany last year I did much research on a car rental.  I finally booked with a broker/consolidator here in the states www.gemut.com 

The quote is free, you can cancel without penalty and do not have to prepay like many.  They will book your rental through one of the large agencies in Germany.

As many have probably heard an International Driver's License is now mandatory and being enforced by most rental agencies.


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## Enrico (Jul 17, 2009)

I can't decide on whether to rent a car or do the train.  I've looked at the RailEurope 4 day Germany rail pass...this would get us from Hamburg to Munich and back; then also afford us a couple of day trips to Salzburg and one other locale.  Cost for the four of us would be $780.  They make a big deal of making reservations for the train legs.  Is it necessary?  If so, that adds $44 to each leg, so another $176.

I have couple of cars reserved.... a mid-size wagon (Puegot) with Avis for $462 and full size wagon (Mercedes) with National for $541; both for 8 days.  I exhausted just about every car rental site and those were the best prices.

Any thoughts or comments appreciated.  We leave on 7/28...coming up quick!


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## Carolinian (Jul 18, 2009)

Use the car rental discounters, not the direct company portals, for the best price.

RailEuope is often a joke on their prices.


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