Elizabeth

Renting a car later this month in Italy and Auto Europe has been recommended - not familiar with them - anybody have any (positive or negative) comments? Thanks

Doug

I used Auto Europe for a car rental in Munich. They had the best price by far and gave me a real nice Renault. Actually, the car was from Avis. I think Auto Europe gets the cars Avis figures are overstocked and rents them cheaper. In any case, we had no complaints and loved the savings. (about $50 on a ten day rental)

Ron

Similar positive comments as Doug's for a rental in the UK a couple of years ago. I do not think they are tied to any one major rental company, but rather search out the best rates amongst the major rental companies. When I was picking up my car in Gloucester, another Auto Europe renter was getting a car and he mentioned that it was with a different company that Auto Europe had arranged his rental on the continent.

bob Brown

My experience was the same as the other posters. Got an Avis car through Auto Europe. Rental went ok. Picked the car up in Interlaken and returned it at the airport in Zurich. <BR>

topoftheworld

I made reservations at autonet.com and they ended up by delivering thru Auto Europe in Munich. I was very specific about the car (a BMW of a specific pedigree) and got the make and model I had asked for. Unfortunately, according to autoeurope, they, i.e., autonet.com screwed up and I paid DM 200/wk more than the agreed price, but still, it was the equivlant of what Hertz, Avis or Bixt charged for a dinky little Fiat. <BR>So, be specific, print out all your online communications before you leave and seal the deal.

Tom

I've rented from AE four times, the last being in Germany one month ago. The prices are the best without any compromise on quality. While not the norm, I rented an intermediate car for about $22 U.S./day and was given a new BMW 520i. Even without the upgrade, I recommend them highly.

Maira

A note of caution about renting cars in Italy: there seems to be some Italian law that mandates the purchasing of insurance for all rental cars AND does NOT accepts the coverage offer by your credit card and/or your private car insurance. ASK ABOUT APPLICABILITY OF MANDATORY CAR INSURANCE BEFORE SIGNING ANYTHING.

Beth

Maira's right about being careful about insurance in Italy. Apparently many credit cards which would offer CDW insurance will not cover you in Italy. Notably American Express does not offer its normal coverage. I believe CDW at $10-20 per day will be added to the rental cost, along with VAT. Is this an indication of the relative safety of driving in Italy ??

Richard

When comparing rates,our first choices are AutoEurope and Kemwel. Re LDW/CDW, it's not Italian law but the car rental companies experience that mandates it.

Ann

I rented a car through Auto Europe for England. By calling them direct I got a free upgrade and about another 10 or 15% discount. As speculated above, they do not rent exclusively through one company. Our car was with the British equivalent of National (can't remember what it was called right now). <BR> <BR>As with Tom, we contracted for in intermediate automatic. When we went to pick it up we were told we'd be getting a Mercedes, but for a large extra fee. We said absolutely not, we were not paying anything above our contract! After a toll-free call back to Auto Europe (in Portland, Maine) we were offered a Rover 821i (I believe) for the contracted price. This was quite a substantial upgrade over what we were expecting, and my husband fell in love with the car (he wanted to take it home with us). So, although it seems there sometimes are hitches, the results seem to be worked out in the customer's favor. <BR>