Car Rental, Kemwel -vs- Auto Europe
 

Has anyone dealt with these two car rental companies in Europe? Any trouble with either one?
Thanks,
Denise

I've used AutoEurope with no complaints out of the Frankfurt Airport. Good rates, nice cars, good inclusive package. If I remember right, AutoEurope is kind of a brokerage and the reservations are actually through local rental agencies at the airport such as Avis and Alamo.

Kemwel is a rental car company that actually leases/rents you the car. AutoEurope is (as already mentioned) a broker for other rental car companies, one of which might even be Kemwel. As for Kemwel, it's one of the top rental car companies in Europe, and I have not had a problem with their cars. However, I have also been able to rent cars from U.S. companies in advance at rates as good as Kemwel's or better. Both companies are reliable and reputable. Good luck.

Denise,

Wayne's post is incorrect - BOTH Auto Europe and Kemwel are brokers - which means they don't have their own car fleet.

Haven't used either company, but both seem to get good press here - Auto Europe is mentioned most often.

Hope this helps,
Andre

Those are basically the same company, anyway. They have the same owner, same address (Portland, ME) and same president.

Have used AutoEurope for years and am very happy with them....
Book early for lowest rates....
they also offer a free cell phone when you rent their cars ( you just pay for calls).....

We have used both companies and have no complaints with either.

That's interesting, Christina - just did a little detective work and found out that both AutoEurope and Kemwel are actually owned by MyTravel PLC, a large UK-based travel company which has been doing pretty badly recently - their new auditors (Deloitte, I think - they had used Andersen before) found some accounting irregularities, leading to the resignation of their CEO...

There were rumors of a cash crunch a few months ago, but this seems to have been resolved (for now at least) through additional bank financing.

Not suggesting that these companies are about to go bust, just a heads up.

Andre

That's interesting, Andre, I would have thought they were US-owned, not British. I seem to recall one bought the other sometime within the past few years, and they used to be separate companies. What is odd is that Kemwel's address is listed as being in Portland ME, where Autoeurope has been for many years, which is why I thought they were US companies. The President of both is named Khalidi or something like that.

I sure hope they don't go out of business, as I have had great experience with Autoeurope.

We rented through Kemwell for a trip in Spain last September. The rates were fine and we had few problems picking the car up at a railroad station in central Madrid and dropping it off at a station in downtown Barcelona. The only sour experience we had was on handing over the car. We had had a tire blowout during the trip, changed the tire ourselves, and reported this to the company upon turning in the car. We could have kept quiet since the guy who checked in the car didn't even look at the spare. But how could we do such a thing to the next driver?! The girl at the desk was most unhelpful even though I dealt with her in fluent Spanish. They ended up charging us $90(US) for a new tire. We complained to VISA which insured us and months later, got a full refund for the tire. It was a hassle!