Bad AutoEurope experience.
 

Hi:

I booked a car through AutoEurope for my trip to Croatia and Slovenia. AutoEurope confirmed that the Sixt office in downtown Zagreb had confirmed the availability of the car so I paid for the rental, and showed up in Zagreb with the paid voucher.

Sixt's Zagreb office said they had no car available for me and said they had never informed AutoEurope of any availability. In fact, they said AutoEurope had never contacted them! I was thoroughly shattered since I had not planned for this scenario. But the Sixt agent was very helpful and he called a different car rental company (Uniline: http://www.uniline.hr/croatia/car_rental_croatia.php) and asked them to send a car. He also asked them to honor the rate that I paid to AutoEurope.

All in all, the Sixt agent came to my rescue, and I could complete the rest of the vacation as planned. BTW, AutoEurope did refund me the money, but I don't think I'll be using them ever again.

Thanks,
D

I'm sorry you had an unfortunate experience with Auto Europe.

I used AutoEurope for a trip in Germany and Austria. I asked them for their cheapest car, but the woman I talked to upgraded me to a compact car. Then when I picked the car up at Tegel airport, they upgraded the car another notch, giving me a Mercedes. They said it would cost me 94 extra euros because I was picking the car up in Germany and then dropping it off ln Austria. That was okay with me, but when I dropped the car off at Avis at the Vienna airport, I was told that since the car had an Austrian license plate, I wouldn't have to pay the 94 euros after all.

I certainly can't complain about AutoEurope.

dukkar: Sorry to hear about your problems. But what I don't read in your post is any mention of you contacting AutoEurope. When the problem arose, the first thing I would have done is call AutoEurope. There may have been an explanation/solution . . . .

Complaints about AutoEurope keep mounting and increasing. Not surprised. I do agree that contacting Auto Europe first is best. We did and when they were not responsive we submitted and won a Better Business Bureau case. We were refunded the fair amount but I don't think I will used them again (I was a customer for more than 20 years....for me two strikes and you are out!). Too bad.

The company when they WERE contacted REFUNDED this person's money...what more do you want? (I know accuracy is appreciated but get real...)

I hope Autoeurope is not going downhill. We have used them many times and have always been more than satisfied with the results.

janisj: I did call AutoEurope from Zagreb, and they sounded surprised too at the situation. They said they would put me on hold and try to get a car from some other vendor. I knew that would be tough since getting an Automatic transmission on a short-notice is always difficult. Plus, who's to say the same wouldn't be repeated at another vendor!

I asked AutoEurope to cancel my voucher and refund the money since Uniline had agreed to the same price, terms and conditions that I had with AutoEurope. A car in hand was worth two in the bush...

Hi duk,

Sorry to hear that things did not go well, and glad to hear that it was resolved.

Why did you not call AE immediately?

We recently had a minor accident in CH in a car rented from Europcar via AE. Called the police. Called AE. Called our insurance company.

AE determined where the nearest Europcar office was and offered to get us another car.

I cannot complain about their service.

In addition, you tell us that after you called them, AE gave you back your money.

I think that AE, Uniline and Sixt all treated you very well.

((I))

I've used them twice and everything was fine, in France. However, even though they refunded the money, I would have liked an explanation as to what exactly happened in this case. Was it really Sixt's fault and their records weren't accurate? Or was it Autoeurope's fault and they claimed a reservation that they had not in fact made and mixed up contacts or something? I think it makes a big difference as to whom you blame. Either way, AUtoeurope kind of had to refund the money if the person was refused a car at Sixt (well, I realize they wouldn't have had to, that would be really bad). Maybe they are having problems in some of these countries that are not mainstream western Europe, which is the only place I've used them. I think in this case things worked out okay, but in others, one could be really stuck without a car rental and/or paying a lot higher price on the spot.

Dukey: yes, AutoEurope did refund the money, but that's not the point is it? I paid for 'a service' so my trip would be smooth, but I was stunned when the Sixt guy said he had no entry for my car in the system. Imagine, how disastrous my trip would have been if there would have not been any other vendor with an automatic transmission or if another vendor would have decided to charge me an arm and a leg because of my helpless situation.

I was traveling with my wife and toddler, so my anxiety level was doubled! :-)

All:

You are right that it's difficult to say whether it was AE or Sixt who screwed up. This could be a one-off incident. I think I'm going to tone down my previous statement about never going with AE to "even if I get a confirmation from AE, I will still call the vendor to confirm the car".

How's that?

We just used AutoEurope for our 3 week trip to Germany and Austria and had absolutely no problems whatsoever.

You seem to have taken the Sixt representatives word that the problem was on AutoEurope's end, when in fact it sounds like it could just have easily been a Sixt problem.

I really do think that some people should not be allowed to travel. If you cannot accept that sometimes things are not going to run 100% smoothly, and to your entire satisfaction, then it's best to stay at home.

Shall I tell you about my problems travelling in the U.S.?

chartley-- I have been posting on this forum since 1993 and have read some seriously moronic posts. My hat today goes off to you; your post simply "takes the cake". ;-)

Auto Europe is a booking agent only. The problems begin in Europe with bad practices by the auto rental companies.

In October 2010 I rented with Avis in Europe through Auto Europe and had a minor accident in Austria which ruined my vacation. The repair amount was charged by Avis to my credit card. I was subsequently reimbursed in full by my credit card company per agreement by December 2010.

In February I am billed the exact same amount again by Avis and a huge dispute develops.

Right now I am wasting my life and time disputing this duplicate charge on my credit card with all concerned now since February 2011. Blogs on such complaints on bad auto rentals practices in Europe are full of such stories.

What are the European Tourist Industry Associations doing about all this? Just turning their faces as long as it brings in money? EUROPE IS EARNING A BAD NAME!

I would think twice before renting a car again in Europe, I'd rather cruise again.

Depressed in USA
Goodyk

LOL

"even if I get a confirmation from AE, I will still call the vendor to confirm the car"

We just rented a car through Kemwel and on their voucher the Europcar confirmation number was shown. It was simple to go to the Europcar website, pull up our reservation and verify the details.

I'm another fan of AE/Kemwel, and have always been well served by them when there have been glitches with rentals. It is an open question why your problem occurred, but it's good to hear that you were so nicely helped by the Sixt people in Zagreb.

Oops, I just realized I have replied to a very old post.