Never use Sixt

I don't see what the complaint is.

Your rental was larger than the one you booked. If you were looking to make some kind of image statement by trying to hire a BMW X1, you were wasting your time. After 100 plus rentals I have only ever once encountered one hire company which asset tracks vehicles and is able to allow you to reserve a specific car.

All others give you what they feel like.

We wanted a Beetle Convertible in Italy but didn't bother booking that class as the alternative was a Micra convertible. We knew that they would fob us off with the Micra.

Everybody should know that both Switzerland and Austria require a vignette for the motorways, and it is clearly indicated at the borders of these countries. I frankly do not think that Sixt is responsible for not informing you of the rules of the road.

"I frankly do not think that Sixt is responsible for not informing you of the rules of the road."

Not responsible but it WOULD be nice that a company earning money from you might treat you as well as a local FRIEND in the same situation would.

Of course it's not their FAULT.. but I would like to see more cross border advice from the agencies even written in their paper protective folders.

About the car size.. not much you can do about that as others have observed.

I know the exact car is not guaranteed, but I'd be very upset to have to drive a huge van around Europe!

Presumably the OP did not ask for a smaller standard sedan as an alternative.

He said it was the only available car that day.

I'm skeptical unless it was a special holiday period.

It always bothers me when I read "never use XXXX". Why not just report problems, like not being made aweare of the Austrian autobahn Vignette requirement? Let people judge whether this lack of service is enough reason not to frequent a given provider.

Why is this tagged as a Trip Report?

I agree Sixt is not responsible for renter's failure to buy the Austrian highway vignette or failure to abide any law.

However Buffs has a valid complaint about getting a big clunker van in place of the latest small sporty SUV. People may not realize that the BMW X1 costs a lot more (50% more) to rent than the VW van. I hope there was a rate reduction.

To avoid such disappointment, I always make two reservations so I can go to the next agency if I don't like the car they have available. Another method is to reserve two cars under your name and your wife's maiden name using different email addresses if there's only one rental company offering the better deal.

I am always suspicious of people who join just to complain about something, usually a car hire company, and use an imperative in their topic title.

The VW T5 costs considerably more to hire than the BMW X1 so there would be no rate reduction.

Never use Sixt / Alitalia / USA Air / Venere.com / Ryan / BOAC / Canadian Pacific / Hyatt / et cetera.

AND NEVER FLY ON THAT BIG FLYING THAT HOWARD HUGHES BUILT.

So there. You have been warned!

Dax: "I always make 2 reservations so I can go to the next agency if I don't like the car they have available".

So what do you do about the 2nd booking if the 1st agency does have an acceptable car? Not turn up? Or phone and cancel? Seems a bit late to pull out right at the last minute like that.

I once got a smaller car than I had booked and paid for in advance, but the local wholesalers representing that hire company refunded me the difference after I got back home.

Why did you take the rental in the first place?

Just say no...

100% Grudge posters are almost always responsible

for 99.99% of their own misery and then post up blaming others

An ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure

Next time consider a Renault or Pugeot lease

will dave u a tonne.

Sorry, but I'm with the poster.
Agetting car that's so different from what you ordered? No.

Sixt (we have used them and have had no problems), I believe should tell anyone using their services what is needed for the road. They know they are dealing with an international clientele. That's called customer service. (Remember that?)

I agree the OP has a valid complaint regards the vehicle, though not regards the vignette - a simple bit of research reveals the need for that.

I don't agree with them joining Fodors just to complain and then ordering the rest of us never to use Sixt based on their one unfortunate experience.

Maybe by joining Fodors before their trip they would have found out about the vignette and saved themselves a little bit of hassle .
Plus I think flying into Munich and then driving to Italy immediately after a (presumably) Transatlantic flight is foolish and dangerous.

No sympathy for the vignette problem - do some homework before you go. For example, if you pick up an Avis or Hertz or whatever rental car at Newark airport for a drive through the tri-state area, they're under no obligation to tell you which roads are toll roads.

However, I have complete sympathy with the OP regarding the vehicle switch. Happened to us - we reserved a small sedan and they gave us a giant people-carrier that was a huge pain to drive around the narrow country roads that were on our itinerary. I have no problem with car rental agencies giving you a car that's "similar" to what was reserved, but when it's completely out of the ballpark (as in the OP's case), then it's a significant failure in customer service and inventory management.

(Registering on Fodors just to post a "never use..." complaint is another topic. I don't like that either.)

Given that the VW van is not as sporty and fun to drive as the BMW and is larger with more capacity than needed, but huge it is not. Compared to the BMW, the VW is just 20" longer and 5" wider. Was the Beemer going to be a diesel as well? If not, the OP probably saved money on fuel.

The strange thing is VW multivan is not on the rental fleet list for Sixt in Munich at all, but I see it in their leasing fleet and their Ukraine rental fleet so they probably just want to get rid of it since the renter is going to Italy. Personally I would never accept a large delivery van in place of a sporty SUV, buffs should have tried another competitor company (which is usually in the next kiosk booth) even with a clock ticking.

A second / back up reservation would have been the ounce of prevention since all the rental companies don't guarantee the actual car that you may get. It is standard practice for hotels, car rentals and airlines to overbook, so the consumers should prepare for alternative measures.

"just say no" - how ridiculous. and I'm with the poster re the vignette. Customer service would have been nice.

"To avoid such disappointment, I always make two reservations so I can go to the next agency if I don't like the car they have available"

I would love to hear how you operate this ridiculous scam. Hire companies ask for payment in advance or at least a substantial deposit just to stop inane behaviour like this.

Clearly there are a lot of irresponsible people renting cars, so I am not surprised that they have so many complaints.

DickieG.. many large companies do NOT ask even for a credit card. The PREPAID prices,yes, do require a credit card.

Lincasanova

are these for bookings direct with say Hertz? I have never actually done this over the huge number of rentals we have contracted. Their direct prices are usually far higher than through brokers such as AutoEurope. If it is possible to do what Dax suggests, it is hardly a surprise that their prices are higher!!!

Yes , I always booked directly with Hertz or Sixt in fact I have never done the prepaid rate. I don't think the difference is significant.

Sixt is actually my favorite agency for Berlin and Munich because they deliver the car to any hotel that I stay at. It used to be a free delivery but now they charge a small fee for delivery.
It saves time to have the agent drive the car and contract to the lobby. Sixt has had deals which requires a deposit for their special cars that they only have a limited number (Benz/BMW) but they absolutely guarantee the exact car for that deposit so no surprises. In that case I don't need a second back up reservation. I found Sixt to be not as good outside Germany, ok in Switzerland and I had a rather bad experience in Paris with Sixt for car return. In Germany I can drop/return the car with the hotel concierge (certain hotels only) and everything is always smooth.

You have just explained to me the business model operated by the brokers like AutoEurope. They make sure idiotic behaviour as described by you is discouraged and pass on the lower rates to me.

I am very particular about the cars I own at home.

I do not give a damn what I drive whilst travelling as long as it large enough to carry people/bags.

haven't found Autoeurope to have any spectacular savings for me, personally. I do always look at them, but if booking direct is the same, I end up going direct.

haven't found Autoeurope to have any spectacular savings for me

I think that the savings exists where the CDW can be carried by the client's credit card. Direct rentals might offer the same type of deal, but who wants to argue the possibility in a foreign language?

I've had some significant savings with Autoeurope. In addition, in at least one case, it presented a beneficial change in the terms of the rental (in allowed border crossings) that was not available on that rental company's own website. But it's always good to shop around all the same.

fwiw - I wouldn't expect a rental company to prepare me for road rules and toll collection methodologies by country, but would appreciate the ones that did. But swapping out car models that do not have the same equipment, capacities for people and luggage and aren't industry standards for the same class isn't cool. We don't reserve these things for no reason and "it's better!" depends on why you chose what you chose, but the assumption that bigger should make you happy misses a lot of possibilities. One can tell just from looking at pics of the two vehicles that there are more differences than style. Ride quality I guarantee would be different and for 2200km, that matters. As would accessibility, as your wife experienced and created a lesser experience for you both. It would as well for a number of people I know who would be troubled getting into and out of the VW, but not the BMW. They're just not necessarily interchangeable.

Dickie: << ... AutoEurope. They make sure idiotic behaviour as described by you is discouraged and pass on the lower rates to me>>.

To each his own, some people don't mind prepaying for a mystery car from a surprise company, or prepurchasing a mystery plane ticket on a surprise airline/routing/departure time as long as they get to their destination. Others place importance in their comfort, convenience and ability to choose(get) what they want. We all like to save money though in different ways/things. We should judge ourselves not others.

VW Multivan - 8 seater
Inconveniences, for example;

It forced to struggle for 30 minutes to pass through a small rock-made gate standing on the slope of an old castle hotel. There was 2.5 cm clearance on both sides with both mirrors folded.

My friend was not sure if I could get into his parking space in the basement of his apartment, of which entrance gate gave me about 1.5 cm clearance for the van's roof. The longer the vehicle's wheelbase is and the steeper the entrance slope is, the less clearance is given.

A superintendent of some parking lot tried to charge extra for being large, either front or back, sticking out 30 cm from the grid line.

The gate pole of some parking lot I hit by mirror was luckily not steel but plastic.

Large truck approaching me on narrow road always made me tense. I asked myself while slowing down "Can we pass by each other without hitting each other by mirrors?" or "Don't I slip off the shoulder of the road?"


How could Sixt justify their poor inventory control?
The agent who delivered the van to my hotel explained in English, no better than mine as second language for both, that the van was within the same category of BMW-X1 (or its equivalents). If so, Sixt,s category seems to be different from common sense.

I wish time allowed me to search for other rent-a-car company, and a big weekend of All saints' day (Nov. 1) was not just around the corner.


Vignette:

I appreciate that some readers picked up my point out of my poor English.
It is clear that complying with local rules is my responsibility and not Sixt's. The homework was not exhaustive, which picked up Suisse Vignette but not Austrian one. The carelessness spoiled by toll gates in other countries missed sign(s) on the border.
Reminding and warning is not Sixt's responsibility either but such service would be valuable to a customer like me visiting from outside of the continent, and seems to be neither costly nor detrimental to their business.

I like challengers in the market against major established global players, but if quality and service is not better, it may be sensible staying with majors for a while.

Buffs

"How could Sixt justify their poor inventory control"

I agree with your point in principle but not in practice.

It is ridiculous that large hire companiies cannot provide you with the exact car that they have offered. They must asset track their vehicles and know where they are at any one time and so should be able to offer you a BMW X1 registration number XXXXX on any given day.

However, in reality they clearly do not offer this service.

Vignette: The company should already have stickers on theirs cars for Austria and Switzerland. It's a waste of money if the rentee must buy a vignette every time. Vignettes are good for a year.

<<I like challengers in the market against major established global players, but if quality and service is not better, it may be sensible staying with majors for a while>>

Not sure that Hertz/Avis are any better than Sixt in Munich. I had picked up a car from Avis in Munich to drive to Vienna, Austria and ended up stuck in the snow because Avis did not tell me that the car was not equipped with winter tires. We had to leave the car and took the train. It was illegal to drive without winter tires in Austria but allowable in Germany to rent out cars without winter tires back then.

VW Multivan T5 2.5 TDI 130 PS
Maße und Gewichte
Leergewicht: 2.274 kg
Länge: 4.890 mm
Breite: 1.904 mm
Höhe: 1.945 mm
Radstand: 3.000 mm

LOL. If you're unable to drive this car, you shouldn't drive at all. 1.90 cm isn't exactliy what I'd call wide. This T5 is actually smaller than my car and most Benzes or BMWs on our roads. 1.90 even entitles you to drive in the left lane on the autobahn at construction sites, whish I could do that!
Nice try anyway

What's the English word for "Ausholen", when you want to turn right, you first steer to the left in oder to turn right. You should have learnd that in driving school...

DickieG,
They make quality cars, people talk about preciseness in Germany and I have always respected their technology. So, I automatically assumed they offer quality services in this industry.

DAX,
Your experience seems to be as bad as mine or even worse.

Thanks to all the comments here. Based on those, it looks that I was crying for the moon.

It is sad your vacation could be ruined by poor services of this industry and you pray for good luck to avoid.

Logos: swing out / a wide turn

this is still going?

"unable to drive" and "ENJOY driving" a car are two different things.

...Especially when you are paying. Seems no one else wanted that thing either, or it wouldn't have been there.