Auto Europe: 5-Star Review
 

This fall, we rented three cars, all through Auto Europe. Do not confuse them with Auto Europa or Europcar or any other car rental company for that matter. They do not rent their own cars. They are a broker. You may believe, erroneously, that going “direct” to a rental car company is always better. Our experience is that simply is not the case.

Many European car rental companies are based in Europe. I believe that even companies with US brand names may actually be owned by European-based companies. And, if you are from the US, as we are, it means, if you have a problem, that distant relationship may make it harder to resolve any disputes.

This may sound like a commercial, but it’s simply an honest review. Our only connection is that, when we owned a Maine business some years ago, we met the founder of Auto Europe, whom we found to be a good guy. The company started in the little town of Camden, Maine, where we once lived. Today, the company is based in Portland, Maine. Our choices for this year’s rentals were a bit limited; it depends on where you are renting. For us, the choices were often Hertz and Europcar.

From Milan to Florence, Europcar had the best deal at Auto Europe. Hertz worked better in Sardinia. And, again from Nantes to Paris.

We honestly couldn’t believe how inexpensive our rental was in Sardinia. And, AutoEurope has a very reasonable insurance fee for peace of mind that you can select in advance. No dealing with that at the counter, and no surprises. In fact, in all three cases, there was zero up-selling. We received swift and efficient service at all three counters.

I share the same opinion about Rentalcars, also a broker, quite useful and helpful - they speak French, whihc is the same argument of proximity for me as Autoeurope is for you.
Having a broker who shares the same language / culture does help.

I've found Auto Europe the only way to go when I, seldom, rent a car. Even in the UK where I live the opportunity for cock ups is just too high to not use a broker.

Auto Europe was originally founded in Germany in the 50s, later it was moved from Europe and eventually based in Maine. I use them several times a year and have done so for over 10 years, along with Rentalcars, Economycar rentals and Holiday Autos. I've used them all over the world, USA/Caribbean/South Africa/Europe.

Whitehall, did you have any problems that were handled well by Autoeurope? Or was it simply pleasant & uneventful, or good prices? I’d think it would be how they handle out-of-the-ordinary situations, rather than doing the usual well that would put them in the 5 star category. Please elaborate if you would.

I've never had a during/post rental problem with an Autoeurope rental but there have been MANY reports on Fodors about their excellent support/service when something did go wrong. I've used thm maybe 75% of my overseas rentals.

Good and fair question. No problems. And, we used them successfully last year as well. Great prices, not just good. Easy to book online. I recall one question, during booking, and we called and got a quick, professional response. And, as I said, things went smoothly and quickly at the counter.

We have seen numerous other Fodorites post that they have had problems with the actual car rental company and that AutoEurope successfully resolved them, even with AutoEurope picking up a disputed tab. But we admit we don't have first hand experience with any problem solving. Part of our positive review is that we are very happy we had no issues, because we and other family members have had numerous issues with car rental companies.

The last time we rented direct with a major car rental company in Italy, we faced a huge amount of up-selling at the counter and a daily insurance charge, which was not available online, that was more than our total daily rental, including insurance, in Sardinia. We have had regular issues with car rental companies, most in the US, with a particularly bad one when we returned to our home state of Florida last fall. Maybe the fifth star is the relief afforded by so much smoothness so far away from home.

I also prefer AutoEurope, but some of my colleagues quickly discovered that the big companies will match the AutoEurope rates without argument, because that way they don't have to pay a commission to AutoEurope.

but then one has to deal with the big company when a problem arises. In this case it is the opposite of flying . . . I'd rather deal with this specific middleman instead of the operator. Flying - I want to book direct with the airline.

I was a highly satisfied customer of AutoEurope for more than 30 years. Several rentals per year and never once a problem that wasn't timely and expertly well handled. I don't need them anymore, but would recommend them to anyone without hesitation.

Kemwel is a sister company with similar service and sometimes the same agent. However, the two companies do have different contracts with providers, so that comparing is in order. One example: Autoeurope offered and one-way contract through Europcar in Norway that was up front more expensive than Kemwel's, but when all costs were added up, was cheaper than Kemwel because Kemwel's contract was only with Hertz for that pick-up and drop-off and Hertz' one-way charge was not included in the quoted price (it was mentioned as a potential charge in the fine print).

I can recall two incidents where AutoEurope basically rescued us. The easy one was a change of plans and itinerary while in France, due to the Air France strike. Called the toll free Auto Europe line, they rearranged our rentals, drop off, and a hotel, and called me back with the updates.

In Matera Italy my husband was arrested for speeding, his license taken away, and I couldn't drive the standard transmission car, AutoEurope had the car picked up at the garage where the police had taken it, and we never heard a word or had a problem with the rental.

I don't think we could have had such service from any rental company. We are long time loyal AutoEurope customers. Don't rent as often as we used to, but if we are renting, we only use AutoEurope.

If you book through different AutoEurope sites -- in other words, not just .com but perhaps .fr, .be, .it, .sp -- etc. you will find all sorts of different rates and conditions for the very same rental. I'm not sure about every country in the EU, but in France it is illegal to have hidden charges. The total and complete rate must be published right from the start.

Tuscanlifeedit, that’s some recommendation! I rarely rent cars in Europe, or anywhere, but after those stories I won’t forget Autoeurope with an “A”.

My most recent rental was with Avis in the UK and, as Whitehall has expressed, no issue is a good issue. And while I’m at it, Enterprise has become my go-to company in the US after my car was wrecked. My insurance company provided a rental through them and it was such a good experience, still careless, I went right back to them when I needed a car again for a week. Also no incidents to report but they could not have been more gracious at every turn, something one doesn’t hear often about car rental companies, IME.

We also have booked cars with AutoEurope for years. Recently rented a car through them in Sicily and due to the need for more insurance in Italy, AutoEurope offered the best deals by far. And then EuropCar upgraded us to an Alfa Romeo! Happy customers.

Except for local taxes and road fees for which you are billed when you return the car.

"Except for local taxes and road fees for which you are billed when you return the car. "

I have never paid additional charges such as those. I think it is only U.S. companies that employ such practices. I have certainly never experienced such surcharges with U.K. companies, including autoeuroper.co.uk. It's a bit like the American practice of adding sales tax on top of the listed price. VAT in Europe is always included in the price.

The only amount added locally is for an additional driver, and that is only sometimes.

I'm another happy and loyal AutoEurope/Kemwel customer. On the two occasions we had problems with unexpected charges, they were quickly dealt with by AE. In one of those instances, in France, we simply called the 24/7 toll-free number while we were checking out and it was settled immediately while we were at the counter. Definitely much easier than dealing with Europcar in Perpignan or Avis in Carlisle after returning home.

“upgraded us to an Alfa Romeo”

God, what had you booked ....a bicycle.

We also have used AE for years, many, many times but they are now not as competitive as they have been in the past.

Their competitiveness depends on your home location, insurance demands, your destination and time of travel.

For us, when travelling out of season, booking from the UK and requiring no excess insurance deals the they serve up good deals.

Not so for North American rentals booked from the UK, Alamo Gold booked directly works for us.

For those booing from the UK, who rent frequently and who want no exposure to insurance excesses, it is become more competitive to take a seperature excess insurance policy out for around £30 and then book directly with the hire companies. You then take the option of their lowest insurance cover.

Here are the local taxes and fees from my rental last summer:

It is certainly NOT only US companies that have some extra minor fees, they do in France for sure (the only place I've rented).

I think Autoeurope is a fine company, I've used them before, but the glowing review turned out to be based on no problems having occurred. So take that for what it's worth.

In fact, the thing that I dislike about Autoeurope is they claim they will match any rate but they will NOT match discounted rates you get for special memberships. For example, I get a cheaper rate through Hertz in France just using my US AAA membership than Autoeurope will give me, considerably cheaper. And don't say all I had to do was ask AE, because I did and they said they will not match any discounted rate like that.

If you book thru AE US site for France for example, it shows that there are charges in addition to your prepaid rental which can only be paid locally, but if you book thru another site eg AE UK site, there are no additionals to be paid locally, it can all be prepaid except for things like optional extras like additional driver charges, GPS, child seat etc. Everyone books thru a different storefront (UK, US, FR etc depending on where you live) and the rules are different according to what can be prepaid and what must be paid locally depending on which site you booked on, it's not one size fits all. The extras should not be a surprise if you've read the Additional Info/Local Charges information.

One tip that I can give for one way rentals, whether through AutoEurope or directly through the actual company, is that if you rent out of a small agency, you are highly likely to be automatically upgraded. This would be a total mystery to me if I had not worked at Avis for a year in olden times. There is a system for company-owned agencies and privately-owned agencies for dealing with who owns which car. Back when I was working for Avis, the basic deal was that whoever has the car can rent it for two weeks and get the revenue, but after two weeks it has to be sent back to the owner because the revenue sharing changes and if the wrong place has the car, they end up getting nothing for the rental. So it is very important to send cars that you don't own back to the owner, or at least in the right direction. The good thing about returning to Paris is that all of the rental companies have major company-owned agencies there, so it is the perfect solution for other agencies anywhere else in France to give you whatever car they need to get rid of, the bigger the better. I always reserve the cheapest category A car, but I have been given BMWs, Mercedes, Alfas and other such cars from cities like Mulhouse, Metz, Valenciennes or other "minor" cities that need to get rid of cars that don't belong to them. It's a gamble, but hey, I am happy with driving a Fiat 500 anyway.

On some roads a smaller size is preferable.

Absolutely. That is why I only appreciate these upgrades when I am returning to Paris.