Auto Europe vs. Kemwel: Which one?
 

I notice that Kemwel has $0 deductible on Theft and Collision and AE is $470 and $240 respectively deductible. Is there any pros and cons are the two companies? Any comments?

Basically the same company--take your best deal.

Don817 or others who have used either company, which company did you go with and did you have any problems or surprises? You have to pay in full up front with both, but they say you can cancel at any time and also get the price adjusted if it drops. They both hold an amount on your credit card (a deductible?) to cover lost keys and other things. I was told it is $450 at AutoEurope and $150 through Kremwel. The vehicle is about $200 less if I rent from Kremwel. My husband does not want to budge from Avis though.

Marianna: You may have a long wait -- Don817 has not been back to the forums since he posted this last July.

There are many threads on here about both companies. If you do a search (which finally WORKS! :) ) all of your questions will be answered.

They are long standing, sister companies and are very well thought of. Both are known for generally very good customer service

Hi everyone. I've been researching a rental from Auto Europe in Germany. I've been told I will be picking up a car at Avis. This is what the fine print from AE says: deductible on Collision Damage is 1000E!! Deductible on Theft is also 1000E! Also, "insurance does not provide coverage for damage to windows, tires, roof, underside or interior of the vehicle."
When I called them to ask about this they explained to me with great confidence that they were only following Avis' policies in Germany. Nonsense- I just phoned Avis and they say there is no deductible if you buy their CDW and no exclusions for the other stuff.
For an additional $28 I could buy some sort of insurance from AE for a "refundable deductible" but must present a police report. Who wants to hang around for days while on vacation trying to get a police report?

Has anyone had an accident in the past yr with an Auto Europe rental and what was your experience?

We had an accident about one year ago in a Europcar vehicle rented through Auto Europe.

If you know what to do, it's really nothing more than a paperwork drill. We were hit from behind and here are the steps:

1. With the other driver filled out a <i>Constat</i>. A blank copy should be in the glove box.

2. Filed it with the local police department and was issued a <i>Déclaration de Main Courante</i>, absolving us from accident responsibility

3. Made copies of all of the paperwork and submitted it with Europcar when returning the car, which was still drivable but definitely crashed.

4. Europcar charged my credit card for the damages. This is what is typically done while they follow through with the submitted paperwork.

5. I contacted VISA auto insurance division which would have ultimately covered any liability I might have incurred.

6. Contested the Euoropcar collision charges with my credit card company which removed them.

7. The matter was closed.

Auto Europe does not really get involved.

I neglected to mention on my above post that the accident occurred in France.

None the less, Auto Europe may be sympathetic but have no official interest in an accident. US residents using a Visa or Mastercard for the rental will have collision insurance automatically cover in the rental. It's a great deal easier dealing with them than an insurance rep on the other side of the Atlantic (should you include a rental with insurance coverage).

I have never had to pay AutoEurope in full up front. I have always been asked to pay 1/3 of the total upon booking and the remainder on picking up the car. This is for more than 100 rentals.

Hey cal,

>I just phoned Avis and they say there is no deductible if you buy their CDW ....<

Zero deductible is if you buy the Super-CDW.

How much per day extra?

I let my CC company handle the insurance.

((I))

Hey Mar,

>My husband does not want to budge from Avis though.<

Call Kemwel and see if they book you through Avis?

((I))

Don,

I have rented several times with both AutoEurope and Kemwel. Each of the AE rentals had some problems. When we were in a group of 4, the substitution of smaller car for the one we ordered was very uncomfortable. And, when they used Thrifty, and we found ourselves trying to coax a Daewoo across the Dolomites, Thrifty said we would have to call AE, in New York, to arrange a substitution.

OTOH, all our experiences with Kemwell have been seamless and positive. BTW, Kemwel is offering a "free" (you have to pay the shipping, $40) GPS for all rentals of greater than 5 days. It is loaded with all the maps of Western Europe and is most helpful.

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I'm now leaning toward using car rentals . com if the same low rate I saw last month is still available. The parent company is expedia. You can email them questions but apparently not speak to a live person. They claim no deductible so we'll see..
I'll post back if the fine print is different.
If anyone has used them anywhere please let me know your experience.
In the past I've had great luck in the US with car rentals via hotwire- always big companies like Avis and Hertz.

Sarastro- thanks for detailing the steps that you took- good info to have.

Ira- I really like the idea of the super CDW and not having any hassle while on vacation. But the trade off I guess is astronomical rates. It will be interesting to see if car rentals . com keeps their word. I've had good luck with hotel reservations via expedia.

When you use AutoEurope, the actual rental company will ask if you want to pay extra for full coverage. I always decline.

I rent so often that even though I have had to pay the deductible twice (600€ for the size I rent), it comes out much cheaper for me than paying for full coverage.

We're back from our trip and I thought I would report on our experiences with Auto Europe. I decided to go with AE because I wanted a Mercedes C class car and carrentals.com listed the Mercedes C but also other cars in the same category. I figured there was a good chance that we wouldn't get the Mercedes C.

AE claims they will beat any quoted rate so I gave them car rentals. com rate which they bettered slightly. The AE reservationist also said she would put in an order for a GPS and that way we would be sure to get the Mercedes or a BMW- the only cars with built in GPS.

I had remembered our hassle with AE a few yrs back at the Venice airport (Europecar). Sure enough, the same mistake was repeated. AE emails you an official confirmation with a voucher # in the subject heading and on your invoice but this is not the number that the car rental agencies require. I had to phone AE before we left the US and was told they would send me the "OP" number.

Our friends who arrived at a different European airport (FRA)decided to stop at the Sixt desk and check on their AE rental before they continued on the next leg of their trip. All they had was the AE voucher number with Sixt claiming no record of their rental.
At their next destination they had to contend with the hassle of trying to reach AE (some of those 800 phone numbers don't work with intl cell phones) and then finding a printer for the new, correct OP number which was emailed to them.
The following wk in FRA Sixt was able to confirm the prepaid reservation when the correct papers and numbers were presented.

We were happy with our Mercedes C class from the Munich airport (Avis) but our friends ended up with a tiny Mercedes- about the size of a Smart car (I'm not sure what category they had reserved but they had been told it was going to be a Mercedes). Their car did not have much horsepower and could not accommodate any passengers in the back seat.

Here's something else that happened with our rental: We were told at Avis in Munich (by someone speaking perfect English of course) to be sure to bring the car back with a full gas tank or we would be charged "alot." No option was given like in the US- check here if you want us to fill it or check here if you will fill the car.
We gassed up (spent over $100 US) minutes before returning the car. I even made a point of having the Avis clerk sign our car rental contract with date and time of return. So it was very surprising to find a charge for gas later on our credit card.
I was told later by Avis 1-800 billing dept. that a credit card bill would not suffice- needed to present the actual receipt of gas purchase which we did not have (paid in cash). Fortunately, after a phone call to the local Avis drop off location in Germany after we got home they refunded most of the gas charge.

Next time when in Europe I will look closely at any rental contract for the section "Optional Services and Estimated Total Charges"- assuming that I will be charged if any amt at all is listed.

Because we were pleased with our car and the price was right I would use AE again. We paid exorbitant rates in Pisa, Italy using Hertz a couple yrs ago for a really crummy little Ford. Just make sure that you have both the voucher # (top left) and the OP number (top right).
I can't understand why Auto Europe doesn't send the correct and necessary numbers in the first place.
I don't have confidence in any car rental company but we did have a wonderful trip :)

Thanks for reporting back. I have had a few (minor) problems with AutoEurope rentals in the past (keep in mind that I rent with them about 25 times a year). They have never NOT solved any problem and provided me with a refund when appropriate. I have even used AutoEurope for my rentals in the United States (most recently Miami and Houston), and they handled overcharges from the American rental companies admirably. The refunds on my Visa card have always appeared promptly.

I can't work up much enthusiasm for Auto Europe based on their strange business practice of providing customers with incomplete papers and reservation numbers.

Re: the overcharge for gas- after getting nowhere with Avis billing dept, I phoned AE. They told me they would "try" to get a refund on the gas charges if I provided them with credit card proof. I didn't bother calling them back after realizing we had paid cash. Luckily, the local Avis office did the right thing and credited our acct.

Interesting. We've used Autoeurope several times over the past few years and have never had any sort of problem with them. Once when we were dropping off our car in Amsterdam, the Avis clerk messed up when she entered info into their computer, and, to make a long story short, AE cleared everything up with one phone call.

My memory of renting through AutoEurope several times is that we had to pay up front. I am very curious about the comments here that people were not told to pay up front. Could this depend on where you live?

I am wondering what other people's experiences are.

Our friends were told they needed to make a deposit in order to hold their reservation and they didn't pay the entire amt up front.

AE didn't mention this option to me so we paid the entire amt at the time of the booking.

I've rented from AutoEurope more than 100 times. Always paid a third up front, the rest upon return. Never had any problem with them dealing with issues promptly and efficiently. Maybe it makes a difference if you actually call and talk to a human, which I always do, instead of just using the website.