Best Car Rental Company (France)
 

I'm looking for a reliable, reasonable car rental company in France. I'd like to book from here before I leave. Any recommendations?

Hi Cd,

Check with www.novarentacar.com and www.autoeurope.com

<<I'd like to book from here before I leave.>>

Not just to you, but to any others who don't have a lot of experience renting a car in Europe (from the US).

This is not just a "good idea". It is almost imperative to get anything close to a good deal. Can save you half. Doesn't always work that way, but the vast majority of the time.

Quite the opposite of buying train travel, in advance, from the US.

Best wishes,

Rex

DEFINITELY book before leaving. We have used AutoEurope for our rentals. They are brokers so you may get an Avis or EuropCar. It is widely said that they will meet or beat any quote you get from another company.

Thank you very much for your help! I think autoeurope looks good so far.

CdnJen, I've booked through AutoEurope half a dozen times now. When you make your booking, you can indicate you're in Canada and all the costs will be quoted in Canadian dollars.

They are an excellent firm to deal with; if there is anything you don't understand, either before you go or when you get your final statement, call them and they'll answer any questions you have.

AutoEurope is a booking agent. I believe they book with a number of firms in France, but all of my bookings through them have ended up being with EuropCar. I have not had any difficulties with that firm, either.

Anselm

If you'll be using it for more than a couple of weeks, it's hard to beat the deals offered through Renault's "lease" (really, "buy-back") program. www.renaultusa.com

Be sure to keep track of the taxes, insurance, etc. picture when comparing - huge differences in bottom lines are out there.

If you aren't going to drive very far, you can use Easycar (easycar.com). Owned by the same company as Easyjet, you can find extremely cheap prices. One problem is that you can only drive a certain distance (something like 75 kilometers, but I'm not quite sure). If you drive farther than the allowed amount, you will be charged for each additional kilometer.

You can also go with the usual American car rental companies like Hertz, Avis etc... Avis is partners with the SNCF rail company, so you can get combination Train+Car cheaper than booking both separately.

I also think Autoeurope is very good, and by the way, they will match any rate from any other company (including novarentacar, who I also hear is good.)

Whatever you do, DON'T rent from Hertz in France--we did and it was a nightmare!

Don't rent from National in France. Bad experience with overcharges.

These pieces of advice to not rent from so-and-so are a bit like the notion from Raymond ("Rain Man") about which airline is safe (answer: only Qantas).

By listening to one anecdote after another, you could figure that you should never buy ANY model of car, never rent from any company, and mever visit any country.

This year I rented from CRX, which is also a broker; National was the rental agency. I had no problems, and AutoEurope would at best match the price. The price was quoted in Euros, but you can find out what the conversion rate is to see if it is acceptable in dollars.

I am still battling with National re: overcharges from a rental from over a year ago. Charge was over three times the quoted rate. Will never ever rent from National in France again - my opinion.

Jimsinger,

your experience seems to indicate that it is safer to rent from a broker because the local rental agency then does not determine the price, nor can it manipulate it except by claiming damage. I rented from CRX and National provided the car, but National did not determine the rental price either before, or on the day of the rental or upon the return of the car.

Auto Europe was mentioned and in my opinion it's the best. Not only for cars but for air fare and they claim to meet all proven prices if that eventually gets to that.

A word of warning. Avis in France, I assume Europe too, has no connection to Avis in the U.S. They use the U.S. 800 number for reservations and the computer system, but other that that that are totally separate.
If you have a problem after you return home, over-billing, or if they claim damage to the car, or that you returned the car with less that a half tank of gas, you are on your own. Avis in the U.S. will not interceed or help. It can be a real pain.

I was warned of this by a major company that sells Rail'n Drive passes during the course of our conversation yesterday. He said that they try to help their customers, by making phone calls, but usually to no avail.

We had numerous Rail 'n Drive passes in the past and some of the above problems did arise after we returned home and found charges on our Visa. At that time we were able to settle them with Avis here. Obviously we will take our chances because it is the only way to take advantage of the price and convenience of the passes.

CdnJen, when you make your reservations, no matter which company you use, always check to see if there is a drop off charge if you are returning it to another city. Find out the exact hours that the office are open, some close early and if so, do they have a lock box where you can park and leave the keys. We've done this numerous times, but you risk having them say that there was damage or having something happen in the parking lot (that's probably not really a big problem.).

Whoever you choose, you will love driving in France, the roads are generally good and it is a great way to see the country. Enjoy your trip.

Nina