Car rental in France
 

Hi fellow fodorites,

I've been reading the various postings about car rentals in France. I think the last time I rented a car was through Europcar.

Apparently AutoEurope and Kemwell are one and the same company.

Does it matter which company to use? I haven't looked through the web sites - are their policies the same?

Three of us will be renting a car for Provence for 9 days (pick up/drop off at the Avignon TGV station) in mid May.

Are there any other companies I should consider?

Thanks!!

Monica ((F))

Monica,

Kemwell (which has a website identical to AutoEurope except for the logo; it never occurred to me they were the same company, Duh!) is a wholesaler of car rentals, much like an airline consolidator.

I have good luck with them in the past, and have picked up cars identical to the those of the direct renters at Avis and EuropeCar as substantially lower prices.

But, I have become dependent upon GPS in Europe and Kemwell is offering them "free" if you commit by 31 March to renting a car in France for 5 days or more. We are picking up a car at CDG in about 6 weeks, and Kemwell is sending us a Garmin Nuvi for the round trip cost of shipping of $40.

If you rent from Avis or Hertz in Avignon, you can have a GPS in your car, but I suspect the cost will be greater than $40.

When we arrived at the Avignon TGV station in 2006, there were no signs directing us to car rentals. If that is the same when you get there in May, remember that all the car rental stations are on the west side of the station.

Auto Europe and Kemwel are sister companies and often offer different rates depending on the country, type of car and dates. Both have offices, corporate headquarters, in Maine, but I believe Kemwel is an Australian based company.

Both Auto Europe and Kemwel are brokers, so they will often meet or beat any major car rentals agencies price (AVIS, Hertz, National, etc.), depending of the situation. We’ve used both for years and have never had a problem.

You can use a EU based company, but you will have to pay the CDW.

For some reason, I have had lower quotes from Kemwel than Autoeurope. But last year we used Economy Rentals in Turkey and were happy with the service. Their rates were lower than either Kemwel or Autoreurope.

ttps://www.economycarrentals.com/

This is just my opinion. If you decide to use Auto Europe/Kemwel for your booking in France and they want to place you with Europcar, I would not.
Lately, posted here, there have been several complaints about the service that Europcar is giving especially in France regarding fuel options.
This is not a slam against Auto Europe or Kemwel, it just is a suggestion that they place you with some other car provider.

We used always to use autoeurope and thus europcar. But given recent posts we decided to try sixt.com, one of the largest European agencies, last December and were very happy with our decision. No hassles about returning the gas tank empty or any other stuff, and the price was very good.

For some reason Sixt doesn't get a lot of mention...no idea why, when it's well known in France and Germany.

Underhill. Economy placed us with Sixt in Portugal and we were very happy with the company.

The reason we did not rent directly from Sixt is that the price through Economy was better and it included full insurance coverage. Maybe since Economy is a consolidator, Sixt gives them a special deal or something.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I'll check out the various companies.

I like the idea of having a GPS. In fact, I was wondering if I could bring my husband's portable GPS...if I can download the road maps for Provence.

Monica ((F))

Sixt may be one of the largest rental car companies in Europe, but they do not have offices throughout Spain and as such, limit where you can pick-up and drop-off.

Most of their offices at located in or near the major airports. There are only three locations in Madrid, Terminals 1 & 4 and the Madrid Airport Hilton.

Hi M,

>Apparently AutoEurope and Kemwell are one and the same company.<

They aren't.

Kemwell is "associated" with AE. So is www.gemut.com.

Also check www.novacarhire.com. If they are cheaper, Kemwell will beat the rate.

((I))

I am in NYC. I use an agency called EuropeByCar.com. They are brokers that somehow in my experience, are able to obtain for you the lowest rates I have seen. In France, they go thru Citer, the European affiliate of Enterprise rent a car. In 2006, I rented a car at the TGV station in Avignon: a Citroen C3 Diesel, with A/C, a manual shift and unlimited mileage for about $250 USD/week.

Also..within France, there are no dropoff charges...pick up car and return car (as I did, in Dijon)..for the same price

Thanks for the additional options!

Monica ((F))

>>>>
I like the idea of having a GPS. In fact, I was wondering if I could bring my husband's portable GPS...if I can download the road maps for Provence.
<<<<

Yes! Simply go to the website
of the GPS maker and you'll find European maps to download.

Great, thanks!!

Monica ((F))

I have another question. Two of us will be driving - the third won't as we would have to pay a supplement because of her age. Is it best to book a car with their insurance? I don't see how, if I book the car using my credit, my insurance company would cover the second driver.

Jeff, yes, I remember where the location of the rental agencies are at the TGV station. I remember when I drove out and wanted to head towards St. Remy I missed the turn and had to circle around the train station.

Monica ((F))

Hi Monica. We used our Garmin GPS in Portugal and I used it in France and we thought it was wonderful.

Mine came preloaded with European maps because that is the model I bought as I knew I would use it in Europe.

One suggestion would be to check prices. Depending on how much it costs to download the maps, it might be just as inexpensive to purchase a new unit. I know that last May, the one we bought was about $400. Now is is a little over $200, I believe. New maps will cost me about $100.