Auto Europe--Is it a Rental Carl Ripoff?

Old Jun 23rd, 2000, 04:03 AM
  #1  
Chris
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Auto Europe--Is it a Rental Carl Ripoff?

I have read some wonderful tips and experiences by the travelers in here. After reading that some were recommending Auto Europe as a place to get my rental car, I was excited about the prosepects of getting a good deal.

When I went to their website, they were listing a special on Mercedes rentals. Having never driven a Mercedes before, I figured it might be fun for a week as my wife and I traveled Germany on our 15th wedding anniversary. I knew it would be more expensive than other cars, and with the discount, I was expecting to pay about $500 for the week.

Granted, I did not know much about Mercedes rental prices until after I received other quotes, but I cannot help but think that Auto Europe was trying to rip me off.

I had sought to rent the car for seven days. I wanted to pickup the car in Bacharach, after we completed a Rhine cruise. The quote was for returning the car to the same destination.

The quote received yesterday was for a Mercedes Benz E320. Here is the amount they wanted.

Rental Rate
* Inclusive Rate:
* Rate Before Discount: USD $3846.48
* Your Rate After Discount: USD $3471.27
* This rate requires a partial pre-payment of USD $1248.73 to confirm.
* Non-Waiverable Deductible on Collision Damage Waiver: USD $1800.00.

Maybe I am naive. However, I wanted to rent the car for seven days, not make a monthly payment on the vehicle.

Did I mention that this was for limited milage of 250 kilometers (155 miles) per day?

So much for the dream of a Mercedes for a week. Live and learn I guess.

 
Old Jun 23rd, 2000, 06:22 AM
  #2  
amg
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Chris,

I would do a double check on the quote. I have rented from Auto-Europe 5 times, was given a mercedes 3 times and have never paid more then $600 a week. The highest rate was in Italy and included insurance.
 
Old Jun 23rd, 2000, 08:04 AM
  #3  
Richard
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Chris, I'd give them a call at their 800#, 223-5555 to confirm, I think they got something wrong. We've rented from them many times and they were always competitive on their quotes. Perhaps the fact of pick-up and return to Bacharach has something to with it.
 
Old Jun 23rd, 2000, 12:32 PM
  #4  
vosaki
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I certainly wouldn't give up on the MB. Richard is probably right, the high quote has something to do with where you're renting the car. I rented a E Class MB in Frankfurt last year for about USD650 per week. The quotes I received last year for C's and E's were between USD500 and USD850 from the large rental firms (these quotes were without CDW, CDW is a whole discussion in itself). It should be about the same or a little less this year given the strength of the dollar.
Unfortunately, the famed no speed limit on the autobahn's are becoming less common, but they do exist. It's quite a kick to drive 120 mph and have to move to the slow lane for a big BMW or MB. If you're going to drive the autobahn for the sheer joy of it, do it on Sunday. Other days, the autobahns tend to be clogged just like our freeways. And unfortunately, there are no Montana's in Germany, it's a small country and there are few always deserted spots.
As for price, it's a lot like here. You should shop the various rental companies, none of them are consistently cheaper than the others.
 
Old Jun 23rd, 2000, 01:22 PM
  #5  
Monica
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I rented a car through AutoEurope for our recent Germany trip. We paid about $240 for 11 days. My husband ordered a mid-size, 5 passenger car. When we got to the airport, the only choice was a station wagon, which I did not want because I didn't want my luggage out in view while we did day trips to our next hotel. We were offered to upgrade to a Mercedes E200 for an extra 26DM/$13 a day. This came out to $383. And I added myself as a second driver for about $15. I loved the car and when we came home last week I started to look for one to purchase (yes, they're expensive, and no, I won't be buying one). See if AutoEurope has any "specials" going on because that's what Tony got when he contracted with them. Maybe it was a spring special.
 
Old Jun 23rd, 2000, 01:58 PM
  #6  
Lee
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I agree with all the above. Call the 1 800 number and I'm sure you'll end up with a good deal. I just recently saw an add for Mercedes in Europe through Autoeurope, but I'm darned if I can think of where. I'm thinking of doing it myself..jsut for the sheer joy of it!!
Good luck.
 
Old Jun 23rd, 2000, 02:22 PM
  #7  
Lesli
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FYI: AutoEurope gives an additional discount of at least 5% if you link to their site via Frommer's or Karen Brown (and probably others.) This may or may not apply to higher-end rentals like the Mercedes, but it's worth checking out.
 
Old Jun 23rd, 2000, 05:58 PM
  #8  
Diane
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I rented a car from Auto Europe this spring. We were going to rent the Mercedes on special, but decided not to go for the extra money. I called them on their 800 number and was quoted somewhere between $500 and $600 for the week for the Mercedes. Somewhere along the line you were either misquoted or you misinterpreted the quote. Call them direct.
 
Old Jun 23rd, 2000, 09:09 PM
  #9  
Carl
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Just my opinion, but I think if you pay much more than $600/wk for an 300E-series MB you'll be disappointed. They're not all that 'exciting' compared to an S-class, BMW 540 or 7-series, Audi S or A8 or Porsche. MB lovers may take offense, but the C and lower E-series are relatively staid. I'd pay more for the other cars above (as an owner of 2 of them, I'm not just speculating).
 
Old Jun 23rd, 2000, 10:35 PM
  #10  
chris
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Thank you all for your comments. I will figure something out with one of the car firms. At the moment, I do not have a whole lot of confidence in Auto Europe.

Diane, I am not sure how I could have misunderstood the quote. I wanted to pick of a car in town after I completed a Rhine cruise, just west of Frankfurt. I went to Auto Europe's website, clicked on the Mercedes special offer link, placed in my city and my dates. Later, their reps sent me a personalized quote.

I have pasted it below so maybe someone can tell me how I am misreading this. When I sent them back a response that their quote looked funny, and no thank you, " I never heard back from them again.

Here is the text of their quote.

Thank you for choosing Auto Europe.

*****************
Rate Quote For: Christopher Williams Record Locator: 0000000

Rental Location:
* Pickup At: Bacharach Date: 08/19/2000 Time: 09:00
* Return At: Bacharach Date: 08/26/2000 Time: 09:00
* Rental Length: 7 Days

Rental Vehicle:
* Mercedes Benz E320
* 5 Passenger, 4-Door Car
* Automatic Transmission
* 18 Cu. Ft. Luggage Space
* Air Conditioning

*****************
Rental Rate
* Inclusive Rate:
* Rate Before Discount: USD $3846.48
* Your Rate After Discount: USD $3471.27
* This rate requires a partial pre-payment of USD $1248.73 to confirm.
* Non-Waiverable Deductible on Collision Damage Waiver: USD $1800.00

*****************

This vehicle is not allowed to travel to Eastern Europe.
25% discount if booked & paid for by 7/4/00.

Rate Includes / Excludes Included
------------------------ --------
* 3rd Party Liability & Fire Yes
* Unlimited Mileage No
* Value Added Tax of 7.5% Yes
* Airport Surcharge of 12.00%
of total cost of rental No
* Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) Yes
* Theft Protection Yes
* Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) No
* 250 kilometers per day. Yes
* Delivery & collection fees. Yes

*****************

 
Old Jun 24th, 2000, 02:38 AM
  #11  
vosaki
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If you're serious about renting an MB, call some rental companies. If other quotes are high, find out why. They'll give you alternatives that are more reasonable. Use a little initiative.
 
Old Jun 24th, 2000, 04:53 AM
  #12  
chris
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vosaki,

I have already contacted other agencies days ago, and I am following up with same. There is nothing wrong with my initiative and your comment was inappropriate.
 
Old Jun 24th, 2000, 05:22 AM
  #13  
Monica
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Chris, when I first started looking at AutoEurope, I noticed the high prices on the web page. When Tony called, he got a much better priced. Give them a call and also contact other agencies to compare prices.
 
Old Jun 24th, 2000, 08:01 AM
  #14  
bo_jack
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Since this seems like an easily clarified issue, I went to the AutoEurope web site and requested the same car for the same dates.

E-mail reply was: "Unfortunately we do not have a location in Bacharach. Please let us know if you have alternative city to pick the car up in."

Having experienced the difficulty of using the AutoEurope web site first hand, I would speculate that there is no certainty at all as to what they understood your request to be.

However, their posted price for a 1 week rental of an E320 is $1289.00 ("inclusive") -- so, obviously, that is not how they understood Chris's request.

Personally, I am not a fan of AutoEurope, having used them only once at a time and in a location where Hertz prices were especially high.
 

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