"just say no" - how ridiculous. and I'm with the poster re the vignette. Customer service would have been nice.

"To avoid such disappointment, I always make two reservations so I can go to the next agency if I don't like the car they have available"

I would love to hear how you operate this ridiculous scam. Hire companies ask for payment in advance or at least a substantial deposit just to stop inane behaviour like this.

Clearly there are a lot of irresponsible people renting cars, so I am not surprised that they have so many complaints.

DickieG.. many large companies do NOT ask even for a credit card. The PREPAID prices,yes, do require a credit card.

Lincasanova

are these for bookings direct with say Hertz? I have never actually done this over the huge number of rentals we have contracted. Their direct prices are usually far higher than through brokers such as AutoEurope. If it is possible to do what Dax suggests, it is hardly a surprise that their prices are higher!!!

Yes , I always booked directly with Hertz or Sixt in fact I have never done the prepaid rate. I don't think the difference is significant.

Sixt is actually my favorite agency for Berlin and Munich because they deliver the car to any hotel that I stay at. It used to be a free delivery but now they charge a small fee for delivery.
It saves time to have the agent drive the car and contract to the lobby. Sixt has had deals which requires a deposit for their special cars that they only have a limited number (Benz/BMW) but they absolutely guarantee the exact car for that deposit so no surprises. In that case I don't need a second back up reservation. I found Sixt to be not as good outside Germany, ok in Switzerland and I had a rather bad experience in Paris with Sixt for car return. In Germany I can drop/return the car with the hotel concierge (certain hotels only) and everything is always smooth.

You have just explained to me the business model operated by the brokers like AutoEurope. They make sure idiotic behaviour as described by you is discouraged and pass on the lower rates to me.

I am very particular about the cars I own at home.

I do not give a damn what I drive whilst travelling as long as it large enough to carry people/bags.

haven't found Autoeurope to have any spectacular savings for me, personally. I do always look at them, but if booking direct is the same, I end up going direct.

<i>haven't found Autoeurope to have any spectacular savings for me</i>

I think that the savings exists where the CDW can be carried by the client's credit card. Direct rentals might offer the same type of deal, but who wants to argue the possibility in a foreign language?

I've had some significant savings with Autoeurope. In addition, in at least one case, it presented a beneficial change in the terms of the rental (in allowed border crossings) that was not available on that rental company's own website. But it's always good to shop around all the same.

fwiw - I wouldn't expect a rental company to prepare me for road rules and toll collection methodologies by country, but would appreciate the ones that did. But swapping out car models that do not have the same equipment, capacities for people and luggage and aren't industry standards for the same class isn't cool. We don't reserve these things for no reason and "it's better!" depends on why you chose what you chose, but the assumption that bigger should make you happy misses a lot of possibilities. One can tell just from looking at pics of the two vehicles that there are more differences than style. Ride quality I guarantee would be different and for 2200km, that matters. As would accessibility, as your wife experienced and created a lesser experience for you both. It would as well for a number of people I know who would be troubled getting into and out of the VW, but not the BMW. They're just not necessarily interchangeable.

Dickie: << ... AutoEurope. They make sure idiotic behaviour as described by you is discouraged and pass on the lower rates to me>>.

To each his own, some people don't mind prepaying for a mystery car from a surprise company, or prepurchasing a mystery plane ticket on a surprise airline/routing/departure time as long as they get to their destination. Others place importance in their comfort, convenience and ability to choose(get) what they want. We all like to save money though in different ways/things. We should judge ourselves not others.

VW Multivan - 8 seater
Inconveniences, for example;

It forced to struggle for 30 minutes to pass through a small rock-made gate standing on the slope of an old castle hotel. There was 2.5 cm clearance on both sides with both mirrors folded.

My friend was not sure if I could get into his parking space in the basement of his apartment, of which entrance gate gave me about 1.5 cm clearance for the van's roof. The longer the vehicle's wheelbase is and the steeper the entrance slope is, the less clearance is given.

A superintendent of some parking lot tried to charge extra for being large, either front or back, sticking out 30 cm from the grid line.

The gate pole of some parking lot I hit by mirror was luckily not steel but plastic.

Large truck approaching me on narrow road always made me tense. I asked myself while slowing down "Can we pass by each other without hitting each other by mirrors?" or "Don't I slip off the shoulder of the road?"


How could Sixt justify their poor inventory control?
The agent who delivered the van to my hotel explained in English, no better than mine as second language for both, that the van was within the same category of BMW-X1 (or its equivalents). If so, Sixt,s category seems to be different from common sense.

I wish time allowed me to search for other rent-a-car company, and a big weekend of All saints' day (Nov. 1) was not just around the corner.


Vignette:

I appreciate that some readers picked up my point out of my poor English.
It is clear that complying with local rules is my responsibility and not Sixt's. The homework was not exhaustive, which picked up Suisse Vignette but not Austrian one. The carelessness spoiled by toll gates in other countries missed sign(s) on the border.
Reminding and warning is not Sixt's responsibility either but such service would be valuable to a customer like me visiting from outside of the continent, and seems to be neither costly nor detrimental to their business.

I like challengers in the market against major established global players, but if quality and service is not better, it may be sensible staying with majors for a while.

Buffs

"How could Sixt justify their poor inventory control"

I agree with your point in principle but not in practice.

It is ridiculous that large hire companiies cannot provide you with the exact car that they have offered. They must asset track their vehicles and know where they are at any one time and so should be able to offer you a BMW X1 registration number XXXXX on any given day.

However, in reality they clearly do not offer this service.

Vignette: The company should already have stickers on theirs cars for Austria and Switzerland. It's a waste of money if the rentee must buy a vignette every time. Vignettes are good for a year.

<<I like challengers in the market against major established global players, but if quality and service is not better, it may be sensible staying with majors for a while>>

Not sure that Hertz/Avis are any better than Sixt in Munich. I had picked up a car from Avis in Munich to drive to Vienna, Austria and ended up stuck in the snow because Avis did not tell me that the car was not equipped with winter tires. We had to leave the car and took the train. It was illegal to drive without winter tires in Austria but allowable in Germany to rent out cars without winter tires back then.

VW Multivan T5 2.5 TDI 130 PS
Maße und Gewichte
Leergewicht: 2.274 kg
Länge: 4.890 mm
Breite: 1.904 mm
Höhe: 1.945 mm
Radstand: 3.000 mm

LOL. If you're unable to drive this car, you shouldn't drive at all. 1.90 cm isn't exactliy what I'd call wide. This T5 is actually smaller than my car and most Benzes or BMWs on our roads. 1.90 even entitles you to drive in the left lane on the autobahn at construction sites, whish I could do that!
Nice try anyway :D

What's the English word for "Ausholen", when you want to turn right, you first steer to the left in oder to turn right. You should have learnd that in driving school...

DickieG,
They make quality cars, people talk about preciseness in Germany and I have always respected their technology. So, I automatically assumed they offer quality services in this industry.

DAX,
Your experience seems to be as bad as mine or even worse.

Thanks to all the comments here. Based on those, it looks that I was crying for the moon.

It is sad your vacation could be ruined by poor services of this industry and you pray for good luck to avoid.

Logos: swing out / a wide turn

this is still going?

"unable to drive" and "ENJOY driving" a car are two different things.

...Especially when you are paying. Seems no one else wanted that thing either, or it wouldn't have been there.