Auto europe question
 

When you book a car through autoeurope do you know which company you are renting from before final booking? Also does Autoeurope have their own desks at airports? TIA

I was told what rental company it would be when I made my booking. There is no Autoeurope desk. You go to the desk of whatever company you are using.

I don't seem to recall any worse rate from booking with them using their toll-free telephone reservationists. In fact, I recall often being told, I can offer you an additional 5% discount (or something like that), if you will book &quot;with me&quot; today (suggests that they work on commissions, not surprisingly). I'm sure they will answer any questions you have, company cancellation or no-show penalties (there used to be none, but those days might be changed a little bit), location of the rental desks, etc.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>

If you call, as opposed to booking online, they will tell you. I just booked through them yesterday and they told me I'd actually be renting through Europcar, which is great with me as I've used them before and found them to be exceptionally efficient and courteous.<BR><BR>If you call, you may also be able to negotiate a better discount. I was eligible for a 10 percent discount because I bought my plane tickets through DestinationEurope, but told them I was aware of a 15 percent discount and free upgrade offer (through Smarter Living), so they granted me the higher discount. I don't think I'm going to take advantage of the upgrade offer, however, because I don't especially want a bigger car. The hair-raising experience of driving through the narrow streets of Beaune and then some of the medieval towns in Provence in an SUV--with visions of dents, scrapes, and credit card charges flashing before my eyes--has convinced me that smaller is better.<BR><BR>

It also pays to check other companies. They will usually beat a lower price from a competitor.

Actually one time we were entitled to an upgrade, but we said when we got there we didn't want the larger car. Instead they gave us the same size car we were supposed to have, but one with air-conditioning as the upgrade.

I don't remember even being able to book online with Autoeurope -- I remember filling out all the info and then they sent me an official quote by email which did include the rental company's name as well as contract information. I was then able to respond by mail or phone as to whether I wanted to accept that offer.

Rented with AutoEurope last October. Went to the AutoEurope desk at CDG and then went to the EuropCar lot at CDG to pick up the car. All reservations were done on the internet.