Traveler2

Many people on this forum have recommended AutoEurope because of the positive experiences and no surprises after their rental. Does Gemut.com have the same reliability and positive experiences (no surprises)?
Thank you

Budman

Yes, I used them on my last trip to Germany/Switzerland. They go thru autoeurope and were a little bit cheaper, and we got an Avis car.

As with Autoeurope, read the fine print on what is included/not included, i.e. road tax and that sort of thing.

Lovejoy

Gemut uses AutoEurope for their auto rental bookings.Not sure if they use them exclusively though.

RufusTFirefly

We've used Gemut/Autoeurope and Novarentacar ( www.novarentacar.com ) several times. All are reliable in our experience. We just use the one that gives us the best deal.

ira

Ditto rufus

Traveler2

Thank you all for your help. budman: You said to read the fine print. In dealing with Gemut it has pretty much all been through email and it has contained only basics, so I have no idea what it includes. He is hard to reach/talk with by phone, which makes me nervous as I wonder what will happen if there are any problems, what help will I get???

This forum highly recommends AutoEurope, but the couple of people I have talked with there, have given me quotes all over the place and the one that gave me a quote that was just a little more than Gemut; When she emailed me the voucher/quote it was only the 1st part/country of the rental. (I decided to rent in 2 different countries to eliminate big drop off charge) She also did not have the drop off in the same location as per her quote. I have tried 3 days to talk with her and left several messages and still nothing.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

ira

Hi T2,

AFAIK, the Gemut office in the US is a one-person shop. There are more staff in Europe.

You might want to google "Gemut Review" to see if there have been problems. I haven't come across any in the travel forums I follow.

Re Autoeurope, call them and ask to speak to another agent.

They should also give you a better quote than Gemut if you ask for it.

Budman

When I rented thru Gemut, I got an autoeurope voucher. There's a section at the bottom of the contract that states things that are not covered with the rental, such as road tax, vignettes (toll stickers), gas, etc. As I recall when I rented thru gemut, I got the voucher, read it over, asked a couple of questions, then made payment. Here's an example of what's not included with Autoeurope, and I'm sure the same applies with gemut:

RENTAL DOES NOT INCLUDE

* Rental excludes Collision Damage Waiver Rental excludes Theft Protection. Auto Europe strongly advises you to contact your credit card for coverage.
* Insurance coverage for personal injuries to driver or damages to vehicle. Optional coverage may be offered locally for an additional fee.
* Gasoline or Diesel. Client is advised to return the vehicle with a full fuel tank and to retain copies of gas receipts.
* A Road Fee of approx. $2.50 USD/ day paid locally. Winterization fee Dec 1st - Mar 31st, approx. $7 USD/ day paid locally.
* Local toll, highway fees or travel stickers which may be required by local authorities

TuckH

>>Has anyone used Gemut.com for car rental?<<

Yes, I have - several times now and with 'positive experiences'.

Each time I shopped for the best price I could find, brought that quote to Andy (or his Dad Bob) and Gemut met or even beat it. They deal in volume with AutoEurope and thereby they're able to be very competitive...

tomboy

We likewise had a positive experience. Cheaper rate than others, including Autoeurope (even tho the ultimate rental was THRU Autoeurope). We also wanted to go to Hungary and Poland, which (on the day we inquired) Autoeurope didn't allow, but thru Gemut, Autoeurope did allow. Both Sr. and Jr. were helpful. The only negative was that, when I asked an admittedly naive question, Bob Senior gave me a snarky-attitude response. I figured it was his problem, not mine; (not as if I'VE never done the same---heh,heh)

Traveler2

Thank you everyone!
Ira, I did do a google search for reviews for Gemut but it really did not come up with anything.

Budman, I appreciate your addressing "reading the fine print"as it had me a little concerned; Although I cannot ever remember paying a road fee with our car rentals; Unless it is the sticker that Austria requires?? I am renting the car in Italy does this apply there? Also the winterization fee for late March? Thank you for your help.

Zeus

I highly recommend Gemut.com. I've used them almost everytime I've been to Europe in the past 5 years. What I especially like is asking Andy for advice. He'll tell you to shop other companies then show him their e-mail or confirmation. Then he'll beat their price. He also does his best to make sure you get that diesel or GPS you requested and even helped me get an upgrade when things got a bit confused.

But having said all that, on my upcoming trip to Amsterdam, I am using NOVA because of my need for a big van and their unbelievable pricing. (I had to put down an immediate deposit so I couldn't go back to Andy to see if he could beat it)

Budman

In Italy, this is what autoeurope shows as an add-on when you either pick up or drop off the vehicle:

* Road tax of approximately $2.85 per day, with a maximum charge of 10 days. * Local toll, highway fees or travel stickers which may be required by local authorities.

Traveler2

Thanks Zeus and budman.
Do they still have the tolls on the autostrada? Is this something they started doing in the past 2 yrs? (Collecting a road tax)

Budman

In Austria and Switzerland, the highways are toll roads and require a vignette. You can purchase one in Austria for shorter periods of time, such as 10 days/month. In Switzerland you will have to buy one for the entire year.

Both France and Italy have actual Toll roads. I don't believe there are any toll roads in Belgium, Holland, Germany, Lux.

Traveler2

Budman, Your help is greatly appreciated!
Thank you

Budman

I just booked my May 2007 rental with Andy Bester. His e-mail states:

"We guarantee the lowest rates. If you find a better deal, call us and we will beat it (upon confirmation).

"For more information, or to book, call us at 1-800-521-6722x.1, or reply via email."

I called him, got his voice mail, and he got back to me within the next 2 hours to answer some of my questions. He's in Oregon.

domgino

In Germany GEMUT is the best. You will not find a car cheaper It was like half
the price of Avis direct . I got the.car from Avis and a BMW to boot. 8 days for under $350 total w gps winter tires and airport fees. CALL Andy

TexasAggie

Interesting that this thread was resurrected from so many years ago this morning!
But anyway, to add my 2-cents, we also used Andy Bestor with Gemut and had a good experience. We ended up with a car through EuropeCar. They, EuropeCar, booked some erroneous charges on the back end but we were able to get them removed after jumping through a few hoops.

DeborahAnn

Thanks for the update. I didn't notice the old post date until TexasAggie mentioned it. I was searching for info on Gemut as we just got a quote from them that was slightly cheaper than our usual company, Autoeurope. Glad to hear it's still a company that is recommended. Deborah