Auto Europe's cell phone offer.
 

Does anyone have experience with Auto Europe's offer of a cell phone in conjunction with their car rentals?

In the past, the per minutes rates have been extremely high so it wasn't really much of a deal. That may have changed. Check the cost with them.

Bill

Yes. When I rented from Auto Europe for a trip to France last May, they offered me a mobile phone for "free" - I paid $35 for round-trip shippping.

Did not end up making or receiving any calls whatsoever (so there were no additional charges.) But since I was driving alone, it gave me extra peace of mind to know I could call for help if I needed it.

I received the phone about 3 days before my departure date, and shipeed it back the day after I returned nearly 3 weeks later.

Lesli,
I too want it just for peace of mind and don't intend to make any calls except in an emergency. The thing that bothers me about the rental is their "Terms and Conditions". It states that if you lose the phone or have it stolen [which can happen] the cost is $500. Yes, I do mean $500. Bit scary isn't it.?

That figure is ridiculous (it was the same for me), and anything can happen. But it probably won't. :)

I have since signed a 1-year contract for domestic service with T-Mobile and received a free phone which will work in Europe. But last year I had an AT&T phone which was useless over there, and the AutoEurope deal seemed the best solution for my needs.

I took this offer in March on a trip to Spain and France; I needed the phone primarily to call my office, and my experience with European pay phones is very mixed. It is true that per minute rates are quite high, but I made only a few calls and had no problem controlling costs. You might see if insurance is available if the replacement cost is scary; since I always carry a phone on my belt, I didn't worry about it.

To Lesli:
I am taking your suggestion re the contract with T Mobile to heart as my current contract with AT&T is running out. I looked on the web so I could contact them but it is soooo confusing with numerous companies touting the best deals with T Mobile. Do you know how I can cotact them direct by phone?

Pipsil - I don't know where you live, but in my city, the best free phones are being given away by shops that specialize solely in mobile phones, but are authorized dealers for multiple carriers. (T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Cingular, et al.)

I shopped around by looking at the newspaper ads, especially those in our weekly entertainment paper, which has lots of ads from smaller businesses. (You could also check your yellow pages.)

The one I found in my neighborhood caters to our local Asian (and mobile-savvy) population. For T-Mobile, they offered me a choice of Nokia, Samsung, or Sony Ericson camera phones (each of which retails for $200-300), for about $85 including activation, less a $50 rebate by mail. So essentially free.

http://www.t-mobile.com/ Has a link at the bottom of the page "Contact Us"
which provides a phone number 1-800-T-MOBILE, but I don't think they'll be able to tell you much different than what the website itself does.

Happy hunting!

For what it's worth, I just checked T-Mobile's website, and the phones I was offered are priced at $75-250 *after rebate* there. So I got a very good deal, and I'm sure you can too if you hunt a bit!

Here is a link to a series of very good, very detailed articles re international mobile phones:
http://www.thetravelinsider.info/2002/0308.htm

Along the left side of the page, there are links to further articles re unlocking your GSM phone, reviews of specific phones and phone services, etc. This is the most comprehensive, specific information of this nature I've ever found from a single source, and you may find it helpful.

Thanks Lesli, this is really helpful.
Alice