We are leaving for Europe in two weeks, flying into Munich Airport. We will drive to Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Switzerland, then back to Munich.

Initially, we rented a car from Thrifty, then I read some awful things about the practice of Thrifty rental in Europe, you have to buy their insurance, they will not honor the insurance from credit cards. For a 3-week rental, the extra insurance will come to over 300 Euro. Also we saw a post in Trip Advisor that the pick up point is 27 miles from the airport.

We then tried Auto Europe (Avis I think), the initial quote was very good until we told them that we will be going to Prague, then the price jumped $300.

Did any one have any experience renting a car in Munich Airport? Which company? How far is the ride to pick up the car? Did the company take the AmEx, or Visa, Master card to cover auto insurance?

Thanks.

Pat

I know you're asking for recommendations for companies other than Avis but I thought I'd share our recent experience with Avis.

Not all auto rental companies will allow cars to be driven into Central (Eastern) Europe, but Avis is one that will. And not all cars are allowed to be driven into those countries. We rented through Auto Europe and the Avis desk and pickup point are right at the Munich airport. We were given a Nissan Q---? intermediate size for $1150 for 26 days. (Fords are also allowed) We did a lot of research and this was the best deal we found at the time, booking in advance for a trip in May this year. We declined CDW, relying on our Visa card to cover collision, which was ok with Avis, and there was a small amount of "hold" put on our credit card. Sorry I don't remember the amount, but it wasn't much -- maybe $300 or so. As for the gasoline, the initial contract listed an amount for a tank of gas but this was deleted when we returned the tank full. (Out full/in full - no charge for fuel). The bottom line is, if you're driving into what used to be called Eastern Europe, the rate will be higher and your choice of autos will be limited.

After searching... we finally decided to book with Dollar. There is no sur-charge driving into Czech, for a rental of 22 days with a mid-size (Ford Mondeo or similar), the total rate is 624.57Euro. Dollar requires a letter from our credit card company (Visa or MassterCard) stating that the auto insurance will cover cars rented in Germany. That was fairly easy, we received the letter from our credit card company via e-mail within 2 days.

We were told before driving into Austria and Switzland we need to stop at a gasoline station to purchase a sticker that will allow us to drive on their highways. If there is no sticker, there will be a stiff fine.

Pat

The latest fines for Austria are:
120€ if you pay instantly without having a sticker attached
420€ if you're unable to pay the on spot fine
240€ if you have a sticker and have tampered with the sticker and pay instantly
540€ if tampered and unable to pay instantly
3000€ if you run and they catch you

Take your pick.

I can't speak for Switzerland but I am very familiar with the Austrian "vignette".

We have rented cars many times in Austria and Germany but never had a "vignette" left in the rental car. It is totally the responsibility of the renter. You can buy the vignettes in any shop on the Autobahn and in many gas stations regardless of location. You will usually see a sign in the store window saying "Vignettes here" or words to that effect.It's fairly cheap and the cost is dependent on how many days you need it for. Last year, we paid around 12 E's for our week stay in the area.