ira

Hi all,

Just thought I would offer some info.

I checked rates at http://www.novarentacar.com/

www.autoeurope.com

http://www.gemut.com/Page.asp?ID=304

https://www.kemwel.com/bookingengine/car.cfm

as well as the agencies with which they are affiliated, Hertz, Avis, Europcar, etc.

Nova gave me the lowest price, but insisted that I take the CDW even though it is optional in France. This would leave me with a liability greater than my own deductible. Super CDW would have been somewhat higher.

Since I would rather rely on the AMEX insurance, I gave AutoEurope the option to bid. They reduced their price to 40E below the Nova rate w/o insisting on the CDW.

Both firms were using Europcar.

imwaiting

Ira: I was very interested in your comments re car rental in France. I am not famiiar with Nova, but have found that autoeurope and kemwell seem to be the closest (prices vary a bit depending on the car desired - for some autoeurope is slightly higher for others kemwell is slightly higher) The only other really competitive quote I found was from sixt. you might want to check them out They seem very cooperative -- but if you have problems you will probably have to resolve them in france rather than in usa

StuDudley

>>>They seem very cooperative -- but if you have problems you will probably have to resolve them in france rather than in usa<<

I've tried to resolve problems with agencies in France, and got nowhere. Once I learned to go through AutoEurope instead of the firm they booked with, I have had no problem at all.

Once I filled up the car with gas immediatly before returning it in the very early am in Nice before the office opened. They charged me $50 for gas. I sent them the gas receipt, my flight info, everything I could think of and their reply was "gas is expensive in France". I communicated with them again, and got Visa into the picture (my wife works for Visa). Still got nowhere. I gave up.

About 2 years ago, Avis charged me for a second driver when I got the final bill, also some additional charges I did not understand. AutoEurope credited me for the additional charges immediatly, and said to call the bank that issued my Visa to see if spouses of cardholders are covered by the CDW. I called the Bank & got a "yes". I called back AutoEurope & they immediatly credited me with the charge. I then asked them "do you still do refunds if the $/Euro ratio is not in my favor when I get the final bill in Euros. They said "Yes" & credited me again.

I noted that they really required no proof (other than my word) of the CDW for the second driver, and asked them "will Avis just take your word for it that the credits are legit". They said that more Avis cars are rented through them, than through Avis themselves - so they have a lot of clout. The AutoEurope person said that Avis rarely challenges a claim, and if they do, AutoEurope often just eats the cost themselves.

I had a similar strange charge last year on the final bill, and AutoEurope gave me a credit immediatly.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

Also, remember if you rent through a US company and pay the charges in dollars instead of Euros through a Europe company, you will save the normal 3% currency conversion fee. I now pay my entire AutoEurope charge before I depart, instead of the usualy 1/2 now in dollars, and 1/2 upon return in Euros.

Stu Dudley

JoeG

Two years ago we rented through Avis for a week in France. Everything went fine except when I received my Diner's Club Card there were approx. $200 in additional charges. Apparently when I initialed the rental agreement I was accepting the insurance rather than declining. My fault.

I recently booked a rental through Avis again for 6 days with pick-up and return at Avignon TGV station. The rate with tax for a Renault Megane came to $327 without any insurance coverage. Not bad. I wanted to make sure I understood the insurance coverage through Diner's Club and they confirmed to me that they cover the CDW including theft. I would need to have liability and personal injury coverage.
I went to the website to check on rates at AutoEurope which looked even better than the Avis rate. I wanted to make sure that I understood all the insurance ramifications so I called the AutoEurope toll free number and was somewhat surprised that I was immediately connected with a live person that answered all my questions.

Here is the rate that I got. $291 including tax,liability and personal injury coverage with a free upgrade to a Reanault Megane through Europcar. My credit card will cover the CDW and theft.

It also sounds like they really have customer service when you need it as well.

Thanks to Ira and StuDudley for the heads up. Also thanks Stu for South of France itinerary. Very helpful info.

JoeG