Hello-
I'm looking at car rentals for Normandy, Provence and Tuscay area for Sept 2007. I know many people recommend Auto Europe although I had seen a few recommendations for Nova Car hire.

http://www.novacarhire.com/
http://www.auto-europe.co.uk

I got an online quote for renting for a week in Italy from each one of them. I notice Auto Europe quotes in GBP ( british pounds)?! and Novacarhire in Euros. I'm assuming because of where they are located.

The price from Auto Europe was $550-600 US for a week but Novacarhire was quoting $350 US for similar type car. (compact, 4dr- manual). That seems like a huge difference.

1. What are the pros/cons to either one of these rental companies?

2. Why the big price difference? (type of car?) the Autoeurope is for a Renault, Novacarhire for a Ford Focus

3.IS $550 US from AutoEurope a fair price?

Thanks!
Lpsmith

Are you located in the UK....Auto Europe has a website for USA www.autoeurope.com and also one for Canada www.autoeurope.ca

I have found the prices are different for Auto Europe depending on the market. They will usually match any competitor as long as the rental has the same inclusions.

This year I booked with Kemwell...which is a sister company of Auto Europe as their rate was approx 100.00 lower for the same rental. I asked Auto Europe to match it and they wouldn't...likely because Kemwell is their sister company.

I have had very good service from Auto Europe in the past. Just make sure you read all the small print and know what's included with each rental. My rental with Auto Europe last year in Italy included all except a local road tax of 30.00 euros. It was zero deductible insurance which ended up being a good thing as we did have a little incident. We were able to walk away paying only a small insurance filing fee of 25.00 euros.

550.00 USD for a week in Italy seems a little high to me. I got a lower price from Auto Europe when I called them directly. Also, they had an free upgrade promotion that came out after I booked. I was able to get them to refund the original booking and get the lower price. I paid approx 48.00CAD per day all inclusive for a compact car.

Are you certain these were for the same services, i.e., did either of those rates include any insurance coverages?

AutoEurope and its sister company Kemwel are US-based; sometimes you can actually get a better rate from kemwel for the exact same car in the exact same location.

I like Autoeurope (a lot) but it is always good to shop around IMO. For my upcoming trip to the UK I got a MUCH better rate through British Airways/Hertz that AutoEurope couldn't begin to match...I know because I checked.

Hi lp,

Always ask AE if they will meet your other quote.

They usually do. If they won't they will tell you why.

Also check www.gemut.com.

Thanks- I did realize I was on the AutoEurope UK site. DUH! Price did go down to about $450 US.

I'll keep checking!
Thanks again!

I've used both as recently as this past Nov. I was checking cars this morning for our March trip and I , too, got a much better price at Nova. $200.00 as opposed to $310.00 at Autoeurope for the same car and same insurance coverage. At Nova the insurance is always included. At Autoeurope you can choose if you want insurance.

Since there is only 1 rental company in the town where we are picking up this car, whether we chose AE or Nova , the car would be from Avis!

Eveytime we've booked with Nova , they have upgraded us without our askingg or having to pay additional.

I've used Nova and AE too. But for my next trip I'll go with Nova. For a week rental in France it will save me $20 a day plus the 29 euro airport surcharge that AE adds on. I don't know about the $15 road fee AE also adds. It appears to be the same insurance coverage.

When I've used AE to meet a lower price, they've required full payment at time of booking. Nova only asks for a deposit. If there's a real advantage to AE, I'd go with them. But it seems that they ought to be more competitive to begin with.

As fars as I know AE always requires full (and fully refundable) payment up front.

I just rented a car thru gemut.com who goes thru autoeurope. I wanted to pay the entire amount, and they would only accept 20% -- I have to pay the remainder when I pick up/turn in the car in Zurich.

We've used Nova, Autoeurope, and Gemut--whichever gave us the best deal. All were fine.

>...the 29 euro airport surcharge that AE adds on. I don't know about the $15 road fee AE also adds.<

The airport surcharge and the road fee are assessed by either the airport and/or the government, not AE.

Check with your rental agency to see if these are included.

Nova says that it includes "all relevant airport and location surcharges." Guess I'll find out.

I have usually been able to beat the prices quoted by Autoeurope by going direct. In my experience, they did not wish to match the better price and in any case just matching the price isn't an improvement on the price I've found.

I am usually able to plan far ahead and reserve accordingly. Perhaps that is an advantage.

I just put my DH in charge of this one task for our trip to Italy in June. He booked Hertz. Said it was the cheapest. Did that knucklehead mess up his one and only trip planning assignment? (I usually trust him in all things but no one has mentioned Hertz in this thread!)

rbnwdln, he may have gotten a good deal. Just tell him that your friends in fodorville suggest that he compare his price with that of autoeurope.com. Who knows, he may have gotten some sorta corporate deal.

One advantage I found with autoeurope is that I was able to pay for the car in dollars (my local currency) rather than having to pay in euros which would have necessitated a currency conversion charge.

I just rented a 14 day rental with gemut, who used autoeurope, pick up/drop off in Zurich. They charged me about 20% (a little less) up front in dollars, with the balance to be paid in the equivalency of SFr when I returned the car. They said if the rate changed in my favor, I make out. If the rate of exchange is not in my favor, they will reimburse me the difference from my original negotiated price.

When I rented last year, pick up in Munich/drop off in Zurich, I was required to pay the total amount for the rental up front.

Ok, I told the guy that my Fodorites think he should go back to the drawing board on this one. Turns out he never checked other agencies, just went by the price from auroeurope that I threw out from some quick random check! Ha! That's where he went wrong - listening to me!

I recently rent from Autoeurope they matched the
Skycars quote, and I prefer to deal with them because they are here in the States and also they have delivered.
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You might be interested in this link:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...=3&start=0