lincasanova

In Europe it is very frequent to not cover tires and windshields in their CWD. so.. if you so want that also covered you pay extra although I agree something should have been stated somewhere about possible additional charges and what they could be.

Odin

It is not just in Europe where tires and windshields are not covered in basic CDW. And yes, the Europcar website does state what the extra is to cover such things. I find the amount of $389 to cover windshield and tires a rather unbelievable amount for a weeks rental, I very much doubt it was that much at all.

mountain60

I recently rented a car from Europcar at Madrid airport, Terminal 4.

I booked a car from Europcar through the website of Holiday Autos (www.holidayautos.com) in early January of 2016. I paid $277.62 for 9 days rental for Volkswagen Polo start in late March 2016. When I picked up the car at Madrid airport, it turned out the car could not hold our 2 luggage. So I asked the agent at the rental desk at Terminal 4 if there is a larger car available. I was told there is one at Terminal 1 that will definitely hold our 2 luggage. I was also told that the cost of upgrading my currently car to the larger one will be about €10 per day. So I decided to upgrade the car. I reconfirmed with the agent that I will be charged for only the upgrade cost, meaning the difference of the cost of my current car and the larger one.

I returned the car and flew home. I received an email with the charge of €326.70 ($372.89). It turned out that I was charged for €30 per day for the upgrade. I have since filed a claim with Europcar to dispute that charge. I spent numerous amount of time writing emails and making phone calls, but Europcar refused to give me any credit. I even disputed the charge with the credit card company Chase, but that didn't help because Europcar insists on the charges and Chase was not much helpful on customer's behalf. In the end, they over charged me for $276.59.

I regret that I didn't record the conversation with the agent who offered me the upgrade and I didn't read the agreement more carefully before I signed it.

When you search for rental car, Europcar often come up as the best rate, but they will charge you in other ways. I will never rent a car from them again.

janisj

OK - you chose the wrong class car, didn't read what the new rate was, signed the agreement, and now want to dispute it. The time to complain/fix things would have been then, at the rental desk, not now.

(But my guess is you won't see any responses -- likely registered just to post this and we won't see you again.)

kerouac

I consider Europcar in France to be by far the best (and Hertz to be the worst, even though they always addressed my complaints to my satisfaction in the end, after considerable effort). However, I have no information on Europcar agencies in other countries.

AdrianneY

Please try you hardest not to rent from Europcar! They keep piling on charges after you have returned the car. Since they have your credit card details, they can do it, and you will find that you have to spend a lot of time fighting the charges. I suggest you rent a bicycle or walk. Anything is better than Europcar!

Odin

AdrianneY: It is always best to check a car for damages before you drive off. When you say the car was in good condition when you picked it up, that is too flaky, you need specifics which have to be documented on the damage report, take photos on your smartphone, do something to cover yourself. Think of it as a C.Y.A. exercise. When you don't do this, you can get charges for damage, the rental company will think you did it unless you tell them beforehand that the damage was already there.

annhig

We rented a car through Europcar in Bordeaux and were very pleased both at collection [when the agent went out of her way to be helpful] and return when we had no problems at all.

the fact is that ALL car hire agencies have problems at one time or another; you can do your best to avoid them by renting the right sort of car, checking it over when you pick it up, etc., but in the end, it may just be a matter of [bad] luck.