hamlet

Just a heads up to any of you folks who are renting from Auto Europe for an upcoming trip -

Their rates have dropped and the current rate for my upcoming car rental is about $100 less than what I was originally quoted a few weeks ago. If you find out that your rate is less too, you can call them and they will give you the newer rate.

nonnafelice

Not all the rates have dropped -- it probably depends on the country, and maybe also the specific car. I just checked, and the car we are planning to rent in Italy later this year is still exactly the same price through Auto Europe UK as it was when we booked it. The price through Auto Europe US is $60/week higher than it was when I checked it about a month ago.

We are renting through the UK office, although we live in the US, because it's saving us about $100 on a week's rental for the same car.

Patrick

Being an "over planner" I've often tried booking the car along with everything else way ahead. AutoEurope has often told me to be sure to check back as they know prices will go down. Sometimes they can only quote a price from one supplier as others don't have prices yet, so as the others come on line with them, prices may become more competitive. But yes, this is a very good heads up for all of us!

PLMN

When I read this earlier today I called AutoEurope about my rate for my car in Venice.

He said we already had the lowest possible rate, so there was no reduction.

(They had matched a lower quote from another company when I called originally, about $200 less. So I didn't really expect them to be able to go any lower. Didn't hurt to try though.)

Mary_Fran

I just checked the rate I got and paid two weeks ago on AutoEurope UK, and it is now about $25 less for our 12-day trip. Autoeurope UK requires you to pay at the time of rental, so they'd need to give me a refund, and their rate was so much better than AutoEurope US, I don't think I'll pursue a refund.

We're leaving for Spain two weeks from tonight! Can't wait!

isabel

I just tried Auto Europe US site and the UK site - I put in the exact same dates, car, and locations and got a better deal with the US site. First of all, on the UK site they didn't have the "Basic" rate (without the CDW insurance). All they had were "inclusive" rates. But even comparing one inclusive rate to the other the US site came out quite a bit cheaper.

Do you think this is a fluke, am I doing something wrong (can't think what that could be)?

Also, there was another thread recently that mentioned other rental companies like AutoEurope (in other words, not the biggies of Hertz, etc, but the companies that contract with the actual car companies). I can't find that thread at the moment. I'm looking for other places to try besides AutoEurope which I've always used in the past but which now appears to not be the cheapest.

Patrick

Isabel, the only times I tried the UK AutoEurope site was for rentals in the UK. In both cases I found the US rates from them to be cheaper. So no. I'm not sure what the deal is that a number of people claim the UK site is always cheaper. Sometimes I think they're looking at the actual number in pounds and comparing it to the number in dollars. Duh? I do know that's often the case with people comparing the US AutoEurope rates quoted in dollars and comparing them to other companies where they are listed in euro.

Patrick

MaryFran, I realize my post might be interpreted as not believing your better rate. That wasn't my intent. I'm sure that sometimes it is a better rate, I just couldn't seem to find it so -- when comparing full coverage to full coverage or the opposite.

SandyBrit

isabel

Have used www.nova.co.uk - and very satisfied.

Sandy

Patrick

Don't know about others, but nova wouldn't let me drop off at a different location -- or at least at none of the three I tried.

Mary_Fran

Patrick,

I just compared the two sites again, AutoEurope US and UK. The Renault Clio we rented from AutoEurope UK is currently 185 pounds, or $331.42 US, for 12 days in Spain, inclusive. Same input into AutoEurope US is $468.67.

Regarding Nova, we did find fewer pickup/dropoff spots, but we were able to pick up (an automatic!) in Florence and drop off in Sorrento.

good2travel

There was one mention of the UK site not listing a rate without CDW. This is due to the fact that you can not rent a car in the UK without insurance. Some type of regulation.

Betsy

Here's some info from SlowTalk, the SlowTrav message board, about renting from Auto Europe US vs. Auto Europe UK. Hope this helps.

http://slowtalk.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&...;m=26010105511

isabel

Apparently the rates are inconsistent if sometimes the UK site is cheaper and sometimes the US site is cheaper. I guess it might be worth checking both each time.

good2travel - I have to disagree with you about the UK requiring insurance. I rented cars there twice in the last four years and both times I used my credit card for the insurance. There was never even any discussion about it like there is in Ireland and Italy.