candj83

Has anyone here returned a car at Europcar's 38 Avenue Des Ternes location in Paris? Was it easy? It seems to be a fairly straight shot off the major roads. I have been researching options for returning a europcar rental, rented from AutoEurope. The hours for this location are listed as being open through the lunch hour, which is good for us since we may return sometime between 12-14 depending on when we arrive. It also appears to be an easy walk to the public transport which we could use to get to our hotel.

I have researched returning at CDG, Versailles, the train stations in Paris, or the La Defense location. We will be coming from Normandy. CDG is a bit out of the way, but could work? Versailles is closed over lunch. La Defense is not available as an option with AutoEurope. The train stations appear to be very tricky to actually find the return drop so I'm reluctant to select those.

We're leaning towards the Des Ternes location but I'm curious to see if anyone has returned there with success...

Christina

I don't know where you will be coming from in Normandy, but Europcar is generally open during lunch hour at any rail station location. If yo uhave no particular reason to want to be around Ternes, I'd probably pick gare Montparnasse as making the most sense from Normandy. And of course there are metro lines right there.

If you were coming from Caen, for example, you'd just come into paris on the autoroute de Normandie (E5/A13), through Porte d'Auteuil onto the peripherique, and then up through Porte de Vanves or something like that. But it depends where you are coming from. Of course, if you are coming from Vernon or Rouen or something, you could easily just come into Paris at Porte Maillot, also, and Ternes wouldn't be bad for that. I wouldn't go around the Etoile myself, that scares me.

I wouldn't do CDG, that's for sure.

Sarastro

Coming from Normandy, I would just stay on A13. To reach the address you mention, you would need to change to A14 which will have higher tolls and more traffic.

I would follow Christina's suggestion and return the car at Montparnasse. The train station surcharges, if you are required to pay them, are for pickup at a train station; not drop off.

The way your question is worded opens the possibility that you may not understand that you are renting <i>through</i> Autoeurope and not <i>from</i> Autoeurope. Your actual rental will be at a company such as Sixt, Citer, or Europcar.

Be sure to read your pickup voucher to understand fully any charges which are not covered in your Autoeurope payment - and there will be some which are paid at drop off directly to the rental company.

candj83

We will be coming from Honfleur. The reason why I did not want to return at Gare Montparnasse was that I have read of many travelers having major difficulty finding the actual return within the station. I do not know if our GPS would take us to the actual return or just the general vicinity...I would hate to get stuck not finding actual car return...

Yes, I do understand that AutoEurope is a broker for Europcar. When selecting the rental, it actually shows us who we will be renting through, which is Europcar.

It is a savings of about $100USD to rent through AutoEurope instead of Europcar directly. Sarastro, your statement makes me nervous of how many extra charges there may be. Would we be better off to rent directly through Europcar?

kerouac

No no no, do not take the A14 for any reason. Just get on the périphérique and get off at Porte Maillot. Avenue des Ternes is the next street over.

ParisAmsterdam

Should you decide to return the car at Montparnasse here's a streetview shot of the garage entrance right beside the Meridien Hotel. You can see the car rental signs on the left side of the opening:

https://goo.gl/maps/kGmfC

candj83

ParisAmsterdam, that street shot is incredibly helpful! Thank you so much! That clarifies things a lot.

So the advice is to NOT get on the A14 because of tolls and traffic? If we were to return at Montparnasse, it looks like we could take A13/E5 to Paris, get on the Périphérique, and then exit for Montparnasse? Does this route look accurate? https://goo.gl/maps/m7wqM

candj83

Also, I forgot to ask...I feel like this is a stupid question, but does the europcar signage continue within the parking garage to find the actual return? I only ask because of all the stories I've read about others not being able to find the return. I'm wondering what went wrong for them and how we can avoid their mistakes.

Sarastro

<i>It is a savings of about $100USD to rent through AutoEurope instead of Europcar directly.</i>

Does renting Europcar direct give you free unlimited miles? Just read, actually read the Autoeurope pickup voucher where charges are explained. Expect to pay road tax, environmental fee (if you rent an automatic) and a possible location surcharge (if you pickup at an airport or train station).

Even if the price is the same, there are many intangibles using AE, not the least of which is having someone who speaks English who can assist anytime during the rental when a problem arises. Be sure to make a note of AE´s free phone number from France.


<i>I'm wondering what went wrong for them</i>

They were probably not prepared and left too much to chance. Use googlemaps and street view to find the entrance in advance which I believe is on the east side of the station and somewhat had to see.

Michael

<i> Expect to pay road tax, environmental fee (if you rent an automatic) and a possible location surcharge (if you pickup at an airport or train station).</i>

Wouldn't these fees apply even if renting directly from Europcar?

Sarastro

<i>Wouldn't these fees apply even if renting directly from Europcar?</i>

Yes but they are likely to be included in the original quote. With quotes from Autoeurope, these charges are paid separately at drop off.