Micheline

We also just returned from France.
We rented a car Europcar through Auto Europe. As we did the previous times we rented a car we filled the tank upon return. We were supposed to return it empty as pointed out in small print. So we paid 60 euros to fill the tank and were charged an extra 80 euros. I'm surprised that Andy at Gemut did not inform us of this new policy when we were corresponding. I'm in the process of writing him to see if there is anything he can do. We had the agent write on the contract that we returned it full. The agent told us that only Euto Europe has this policy.

travelbear

Perhaps a silly question, but will all of these hidden fees, and surcharges, why would anyone rent through EuroCar? I've rented from Hertz and Thrify in Europe, via Hotwire and the price I was quoted is what I paid. It would seem to me EuroCar is not an agency I'd want to deal with if I was going to get sucker punched once I got back home. What am I missing?

kerouac

Hertz is the company that always tries to charge me for extra gas in Paris. I avoid them as much as possible.

70% of the cars in France are diesel, by the way. 65% in Belgium.

My last 5-day rental with Europcar was in July - no problem. And I very often rent for 3 or 4 days, also with absolutely no problem. But I go through the French AutoEurope site. Perhaps some of you are going through the American site and being screwed?

petitepois

I didn't choose to rent through Europcar -- I rented through Auto Europe and that's the deal I got. Live and learn! And yes, I did use the American site -- maybe next time I'll try the French site?

FYI -- Iris -- I just looked at my bill and I see no reference of a Diesel surcharge. I rented Aug 15 - 20 of this year.

blh

Thanks for the warning. Just checked my voucher for Kemwel and sure enough, it's through Europcar. I had been told to expect the extra charges for fuel (bring car back empty), the road tax, and railway pickup surcharge. But I certainly wouldn't have expected any of the other charges. I called Kemwel to double check, wrote down all the numbers and got the guy's name. I told him what I had heard and that I didn't want any surprises! We'll see when we return - but I will certainly be watching carefully! Thanks for the heads up!

PRLCH

We had the same situation renting in Ireland in April - "please return the car empty". I tried to argue the point with the fellow at point of pick up but he was adamant - "return car empty as we WILL charge you for a tank of fuel". This was especially irritating as there was a fuel station right next to the returning depot, and I calculate we could have filled the car for much cheaper than we were charged.

Cowboy1968

Funny.. when I try to reserve thru AutoEurope's German site a 4dr compact (e.g. Peugeot 207) for 1 week at Reims (which is Europcar by googling the address), I get a quote of 212 Euro, including rail station fee, ecological fee, registration fee, and full CDW/LDW with zero deductible.
The quote states cleary that fuel is not included, and advises to return car full. There is no "5 day rule" that would force you to buy a full tank.
Weird.

iris1745

Hello; There has been a lot of confusion on this gas issue. So I went to Auto Europe's site and looked for rental coditions'. In France, for 5 days or more, it is MANDATORY to bring the car back close to 'empty'. However, in checking a rental in Italy, the car should be returned FULL. Interesting. All info on Auto Europe's web site. Also, a monthly periodical, GEMiiTLICHKEIT reports via e-mail, unfavorably, about the mandatory 5 day policy on bringing the car back empty in France. They suggest large profits for Europcar in this new policy. Iris

ms_go

<i>However, in checking a rental in Italy, the car should be returned FULL.</i>

That was my experience with a one-week Europcar (via Auto Europe) rental in Italy a few months ago--which is not to say that hasn't changed since or could change. In fact, I had a final bill with just a small charge for some airport fees/taxes. I turned the car in late and was not charged for that, either.

oliverandharry

I rented two different cars from Avis in June, one outside Bergen, Norway, and the second as a one day rental from Copenhagen. Both rentals were insanely expensive - but all costs in Scandanavia are insane - but the gas policy was the same as US, leave with a full tank, return with a full tank. At $9.65 gallon, I would NOT have taken the rental under the conditions you describe. Thanks for the tip on Europcar, I'll avoid in future.

cigalechanta

we have usesd Eurocar for almost 20 years. we left with a full tank and brought it back with a full tank and they also one year gave us a new car when we had car trouble on the Rte de Nepoleon.(it was our fault with the problem, I think)

klondike

Ditto the same bad experience this summer through Kemwell/Eurocar with the gas tank/extra fees and the service was atrocious. We were #2 in line and it took us over an hour to get the car and there was a whole line out the door of angry, shouting people as we headed out to pick up the car...never again.

Louie_LI

We have used Europcar frequently in the past. This year, at the end of August, we rented from them through AutoEurope for the first time. It was a six-day rental in France, booked through the French AutoEurope site.

There was no fuel purchase obligation and we returned the car with a full tank. There were no other surprise charges, either.

The English-language Europcar site says:

*Do I need to return the car with a full tank ?

&quot;Most of the time, vehicles are supplied with a full tank of fuel. Unless you purchase a full-tank option when you check-out you should return the vehicle with a full-tank. Otherwise, Europcar will charge for missing fuel at the end of the rental. Europcar rates do not include fuel.

In some locations Europcar offers three options:

1) Return the car with the same level of fuel as when picked-up. No refuelling cost applies.

2) Return the car with less fuel than when picked-up and pay a refuelling service charge - higher rate than in service stations.

3) Purchase the refuelling service -option available at certain locations- for purchasing fuel at a competitive price. There is no credit given for fuel remaining in the tank at return time. This option must be selected at the time of the rental.&quot;

iris1745

Hi; I too have read the Europcar policy. LOUIE is correct in his reading of the Europcar policy. But that is not how things worked for us. Again, we were told to bring the car back EMPTY. People we met in Brittany were also told the same thing. In addition, Auto Europe states in their policy when renting in France that it is MANDATORY to bring the car back empty if rented for more than five days. A monthly travel letter,[GEMiiTLICHKEIT] by e-mail, has reported this MANDATORY 5 days or more new policy. Keep in mind that Auto Europe said it was a new policy. I did not ask, how new. I don't doubt any comments people made on this issue. What I know is what happened to us and our friends. Let's keep this post going until the confusion is resolved. Iris

Christina

I don't know about mandatory returning of an empty tank in France, but a lot of these complaints are just typical things all or most car rental companies do, everywhere. A lot of US car companies have this gas tank charge thing, there's nothing special about that at Europcar (where you prepay a full tank and it makes no different if you return it empty or 3/4 full). A lot of US car rental companies have all kinds of fees, also, although a lot are local airport taxes, etc.

yk

Christina - I think there are some differences (between Europe and US rental car companies) based on responses here:

1) People are reporting that it is MANDATORY to return with tank empty (in France) if the rental is more than 5 days. They are NOT given any other options but to be charged for fuel at the car rental companies' (higher) fuel rate.

2) Some renters were not even told verbally about this issue (except in fine print of their rental agreement), so they're paying TWICE for the fuel because they refuel the tank before drop-off.

3) The US car rental companies always have an estimated TOTAL charges when I book. It doesn't include optional thiings such as extra insurance, but the TOTAL always include any extra fees I might incur. Whereas AutoEurope/Europcar has the airport &amp; railway station pick-up fee only listed on the voucher in the fine print. NO WHERE on the booking process it shows up as a potential extra fee until the booking is done and you get the voucher in a PDF form.

blh

Here is what the fine print says on my Kemwel voucher:

&quot;Rentals less than 5 days, client is advised to return the vehicle with a full fuel tank and to retain copies of gas receipts. Rentals 5 days and longer, client will be charged for the initial tank of fuel, vehicle should be returned as empty as possible(no refund for unused fuel.&quot;

One problem is that they can charge you whatever for the fuel. I have tried to pin Kemwell down on that and they have told me that their agreement with Europcar is for $5.50 per gal. But we all know that fuel charges are not in $$ and not in gallons. So.............

I even asked to see if we could switch to Avis or Hertz, but Europcar told me that Europcar is the only rental agency in Brive which is where we're picking the car up. I don't know if that is true or not.

iris1745

Hi blh; Go to carrentals.com and see if what Europcar told you is correct. Interesting Iris

astein12

As for returning on an empty tank... on one trip, we knew we'd pay for a full tank upon return(even if it was half full).

In exchange for a packed lunch for the plane, we let our last B&amp;B owner ciphon the tank!

astein12

Sorry... make that siphon... knew it didn't look right...