Hi everyone

Can anyone recommend a reliable car rental firm in France? We'll be driving from Lyon and going into Switzerland and then ending up in Nice. We would like to book the car with just a few days notice - as we dont know how long we will stay in London yet. Has anyone else booked a car in Europe at short notice?

Cheers Cathy

Give Avis a shot. We have used them twelve times, and never had a problem. Likewise you don't pay until you pick up your car.

https://www.avis.com/car-rental/rese...GE_FLAG=pickUp

Thank you

I generally do not recommend either Avis or Hertz as they charge a one way drop off fee which other companies such as Europcar, ADA, Sixt, or Citer do not charge.

I do recommend contacting Autoeurope at www.autoeurope.com. They will always match any competitors pricing, have toll free telephone numbers from within France (should you ever have a problem), and while you will pay in advance, you may cancel your reservation for a full refund anytime before your scheduled pickup.

Autoeurope is the best IMO.

My only suggestion is that a caution against Europcar. In Nice, they charged me for a full tank of gas at less than friendly prices if we rented for over five days. I had no choice to return it full.
Also, my friend goes to France every year for four months. This year she rented from Europcar. When she returned home, they charged her about $100 or more because they said she stole the orange safety vest that was provided for the rental.
What would she want with their vest?
Anyway, when she protested, they have barred her from ever renting a car from them in France.
Hopefully she can get it resolved when she returns to France next month. She intends to visit their main office in Paris.

<b> Sher</b> - If you talk with the Europcar rep when you pickup your car, you are given several options referencing gas purchase.

One is to pay for a tank of gas and return the car with an empty tank (be careful not to mis judge the final kilometer or two). Another is to depart with a full tank and return with a full tank.

It really makes no sense to pay for a full tank in advance and then return the car with a full tank. Are you sure you fully understood the rental terms with reference to fuel usage before you departed the rental office?

In reference to the safety vest: as required equipment in any car on the road in France, it is incumbent upon the renter to confirm that the car he rents has this required equipment. Check for this just as you should check that the spare tire is indeed in the trunk. Return a car without the spare or without the safety vest and the only conclusion the rental office can make is that you are responsible for its being missing.

Sarastro. I am sorry but you are incorrect. In Nice, we had no choice. Now, this was in the Summer of 2008.
For rentals of five days or more, you are required to return the car empty and they charge you for the gas.
I had no choice.
I understand other options, but I wasn't given one. And from this Forum, I understand that other posters incountered this same problem from Europcar and only it seems in Nice.
It doesn't make sense to return the car empty. It makes no sense for three reasons.
One. I would not want to drive very far with no gasoline.
Secondly. No matter what they tell you, I have never found buying gas from the rental agency has ever been a good deal.
Third. If you leave ANY gas in the car, you have paid for it twice.
We were lucky in that we had a Smart Car and the cost of filling the tank wasn't too pricey.
As far as the vest goes, you are correct. She should have checked. But can a vest be E100? I don't think so.

If you require an automatic transmission, I would suggest renting from Hertz or Avis because they do a great deal of business with Americans who usually want automatic.

Because everyone is dramatically reducing fleet size, it seems that many fewer automatics are now available.

This past May we used AutoEurope for the first time based on recommendations. Never again. Paid six weeks ahead for automatic. Never got it. Then they hassled me for insurance like lights out when I took the car, and then when we came home we received some sort of extra charge that wasn't explained to me early on.

They were also most unfriendly (location Avignon). Prior we had used Avis (11 times) never had a problem, knew up front what the price would be (no hidden gems later), and as I said before, you only pay when you pick up the car. No show...no charge.

I know the majority of you love AutoEurope and that's fine. I just learn from experiences and this experience was one I don't care to go through again.

I agree with Barnum about Avis. I've used them many times in France, with never a problem. I had a accident in Normandy a couple of years ago
(without their insurance, only my travel insurance). I was charged $3000 on my credit card for the damages, but Avis credited me back with it before my travel policy paid. I'll always use them!

Barnum,

You may have had a problem but you did not have a problem with AutoEurope! They are a broker and did not rent you the car. They did not hassle you or treat you rudely in Avignon as they were not there!

They are based in Maine.

The problems you encountered were with the rental company. Who were they? Europcar perhaps?

If you communicate the problems you had to AutoEurope they may be able to help. I had a problem with the Europcar desk in Nice last summer and a phone call to AutoEurope in Maine had the problem resolved in less than 5 minutes.

Rob

If enough people complain to Auto Europe about the treatment they get from Europcar, maybe Auto Europe will stop booking cars with them.

Since they place the customer with Europcar, they must accept some of the responsibility for poor customer service.

Continuing to book with Europcar does not give the consumer the message that they are not concerned when Europcar does not give good customer service.
The only recourse we have as consumers is to send a message to Auto Europe that we refuse to book through them since they continue to use Europcar.

We almost always use Hertz - since we're members and get a lot of special benefits - and have found they always have the car we want and rates are little different than we're quoted elsewhere. And they seem to have office everywhere. Also - they won;t charge a drop-off if it's within the same country - as you're contemplating - or at least didn't the last time we rented. Naturally check the rates/ situations before you get to wherever.

<i>Sarastro. I am sorry but you are incorrect. In Nice, we had no choice. Now, this was in the Summer of 2008.</i>

I rented a car from Europcar in the summer of 2008, in fact I rented a car from Europcar 3 weeks ago. No where in my post do I suggest you purchase gas in advance and return the car empty. I was offered this "deal" and flatly refused it.

None the less, if you do indeed pay for a full tank of gas you are not required to return the car with a full tank. Europcar's bait to entice you into this is to offer to sell you the fuel at below market rates. In truth the rates at which they sell you a tank of gas are competitive but definitely not any better than discount rates offered by Carrefour, Auchan, or any other discount source. This offer and all pertinent details (including the fact that it is optional) are clearly explained in the contract.

I am very suspicious that anyone who pays in advance for a tank of gas and then states that they had no choice but to return it full has not actually read or understood the terms of the contract under which they have obligated themselves.

Somehow I either was misunderstood or stated something incorrectly.
I said that I had no choice to return the car with a full tank.
I recieved the car with a full tank of gas. I had to return it empty and was charged for the full tank of gas that I used or actually I was charged for a full tank of gas and left them whatever was remaining in the tank.
Maybe you were luckier than I in that they refused to rent me the car under any other circumstances.
The price they charged at the time was higher than the surrounding stations. I didn't feel it was very competitive.
Whatever gas remaining in the tank was a gift to them as I was very reluctant to return it completely empty.
You were lucky as it has happened to others.
I always pick up a car with a full tank and return it with a full tank.
Now. The policy may have changed. I hope it did. As you said you refused.
This is nice to know if I am ever in a position to have to rent from Europcar.

Give National/citer a wide berth.

You will find any number of anecdotes here suggesting that people had no problem renting with them.

Fine and good - but those aren't the experiences that matter. The ones you should pay attention to are those describing one cheap trick after another that National/citer pulls to extract your money from your pocket.

My view of National/citer is: <B>It doesn't matter how many times you tell the truth. Tell just <U>one</u> lie, and you're a liar.</b>

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ale-of-woe.cfm

For the record when I had the hassle with Europcar I asked them to call AutoEurope for me. When I explainedto them the fact that I did not get the automatic I had paid for, and that I was being hassled about insurance, they said there was nothing they could do, and would credit my account with the difference between auto/manual. Then they said "bye bye"....no apology whatsoever. Once again, you're experience may have been different, and if so fine. I will never use them again.

Le me add one more thing. I had already reserved a car in Avignon from Avis, but cancelled it when I heard such raves about AutoEurope, especially when someone on this board told me they never had a problem getting automatics when requested.
The upfront quoted fee from Avis was considerably lower than what I wound up paying AutoEurope in the end.

Interesting article in today's newspaper. Sounds like others are being hassled by Europcar.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...1.4bfaa53.html