Any Reason NOT to Rent Thru AutoEurope/Kemwel?
 

In the past I have used both these sister companies for car rentals in Europe and have been fairly pleased with the results.

I currently have a reservation through AutoEurope (the rental is being supplied by Europcar) for a week in and out of the Munich airport. A "more or less" comparable deal would be costing me about $150-175 more if I used my more usual company (Hertz).

Auto rentals can get to be REALLY "personal" things as we have seen in numerous posts here over the years and other than some exceptional tale of bad experiences I am wondering if anyone can come up with a reason to avoid AutoEurope/Europcar, etc.

Yes, i want CONVENIENCE; no I am not willing to "go into town" to pick up other than the airport since I am heading NORTH from there and I know that means more money.

Is this whole business of using a wholesaler vs. "the others" a "no-brainer" or have I been missing something all these years?

Having done more than 100 rentals through AutoEurope with no negative experiences, I would have to say it's a good decision.

I agree--- AE customer service after the fact has helped me 3 times to resolve problems with the local vendors.

We always use AutoEurope. We reserved a car in February for a trip in the fall....they just agreed to drop the price for the 15 day rental from $791 to $678 when we called them after seeing a lower price on their website.
We have never had a problem with them.

Ditto StCirq & Bob. I've had more problems than Bob has had with local vendors - and AE/Kemwell has always resolved things in my favor.

I rented a car directly from Budget once - and when they erroneously charged me for gas when I returned the car with a full tank, the only reply that I got from the French Budget office (you deal with the local office if you rent through a non-broker) was that "gas is expensive in France".

I have 2 rentals with Kemwell this year - 4 weeks in Provence starting this Saturday, & and 2 weeks with a pick up in Prague & drop off in Budapest in Sept. I've probably rented 50 cars from AE/Kemwell.

Stu Dudley

I agree with the above.

Thank you

We are renting from Kemwel this year because it had a better selection of cars in Nice than Europcar (which is the usual Autoeurope choice). Last time we used Sixt, and that was a good experience.

It might not be clear on this thread but AutoEurope is not a particular car rental agency but more like an arranger. Your actual car rental will be at an internationally recognized brand name like National or Budget or whatever. So the counter location will not be any less convenient just because you use AutoEurope rather than going directly to the brand name.

But, even those international brands have varying levels of customer service. That is why I have found it helpful to have AutoEurope available to make things right if necessary.

Four a four day rental in Greece (minivan) Economy Car Rental's price is so much lower than everyone else's that I wonder what the hect is going on? I can understand a few bucks but we are talking 50% less. Makes me nervous.

Cold- I hear you on too good a deal. Kemwel is quoting a 15 day, no insurance excess, in and out of Milan rental that is way less than others and I feel like there is a "catch" I am not catching!

HappyCheesehead - you go first and let me know how it goes. :)

Four day minivan rental - AutoEurope $1050, Expedia $950, Economy Car Rental $470. Comparable vans and insurance coverage (though I have looked at so many I am starting to get confused).

I am finding local Athens car rental shops are around $500. Maybe a local is the way to go. Maybe we should take the bus.

HappyCheesehead, are you sure that the Kemwel quote is 15 euros per day in Milan? If so, for what dates.... I'd like to go then, too!

Oops, sorry, HappyCheesehead... totally misread your post regarding 15.... it's 15 days, not 15 euros per day!!!!!

I have rented from AutoEurope twice and Hertz once (I don't get to Europe nearly often enough!) and I was very pleased with them both. Recently I found enough discounts for Hertz that AutoEurope could not match the price and when I chose the Green Collection I was able to choose my exact car, not a car type. (Before you all argue with me about that detail :-), if you rent at a location that offers the Green cars-Munich does-you choose the exact car. From the Hertz site, "Green Collection vehicles are make and model reservable.") I reserved a Ford Fiesta diesel and that is what was waiting for me. But unless you can come close in price or you want a specific make and model I am not recommending a change.

Hope you have a great trip.

I would have loved it if it were true joannyc!!! The rates are still pretty reasonable for an inclusive, no insurance excess, rental. The compact we are renting is $730 for the 15 days. If I had the guts to go with a 2 door economy it would have only been $487 inclusive, no insurance excess either. crazy cheap!

I always go through AutoEurope and have always gotten the best deal with them.
Now, I will take into account what AZKathy said about the green car. Thanks AZ, it's worth checking into to.

More often than not, Auto Europe and the like will beat the prices major rental agencies offer. What I don't like about the deal is that it introduces a third party into the equation. You end up signing a rental agreement at the agency assigned by Auto Europe (Avis, Hertz, EuropeCar) that hopefully doesn't conflict with the rental deal you signed up for with Auto Europe. For that reason, if the price is close, I would rather deal directly with a rental agency. But the price has rarely been close...

The only thing I have EVER done at the actual rental counter when I have rented through AE/Kemwel was to purchase the additional insurance which reduced the deductible to zero. I have never had any "conflicts" between what I have ALREADY PRE-PAID through AE/Kemwel and what the agency documentation indicated.

I LIKE Hertz, a lot BUT what I don't like about them is their dynamic currency conversion which in some locations (Heathrow comes to mind) they have BUILT INTO the basic contract paperwork..when I almost inadvertently discovered this the last time I rented at LHR we had a really "spirited conversation" which, as usual, included the words "we can't do that" (i.e., not do the DCC). Since I decided, for once, that all that lovely Cotswold scenery could actually wait for another few minutes and demanded (yes, VERY loudly) that a manager come forward it was truly amazing how suddenly accommodating the folks became.

And now that some of them are hurting, money-wise from tourism being down..who knows?

Again, I appreciate everyone's thoughts and helpful comments.

Our conundrum has always been - between the "basic" coverage vs. the "inclusive" coverage, the price is wide and yet the "inclusive" doesn't include all that much. The only thing it seems to cover that the basic doesn't, is collision damage which we get with our credit card anyway.

Any reason to get the inclusive? (Both basic and inclusive DON'T cover the additional fee for pick up at airport, the road fees, etc.)