Hubby and I are traveling to France in September for the 8th time, and for some reason are having a heck of a time renting a car. Never had problems before. So dear Fodorites, have any of you ever rented from Alamo, Sixt, or Auto Europe? They are the only ones with p/u in Strasbourg and d/o in Dijon, and , most importantly, the only ones with Automatics. I've already check with Avis and Hertz (no automatics), and Europe by Car (7 day minimum). Any suggestions and comments are most appreciated. Thanks

I've been using AutoEurope for years and years - love that company!

Ditto. What kinds of problems are you having?

You could try Europecar directly.

Hello, try novarentacar.com They have p/u at Strasbourg and d/o in Dijon. They broker for many but usually best rate is with europecar. I tried them against europecar direct and they were cheaper by 100 euros on my last booking.

Sixt is the largest German rental car company, their equivalent of Avis or Hertz, and is supposed to have very good service. Auto Europe is not actually a rental car company but more like a discount agency, they simply book you through special arrangements with the big international rental car companies, for example we used them and got National rental car I believe. Both have good and easy to use web sites for reservations to compare. Enjoy your trip!

www.holidayautos.co.uk will also allow a pick up in Strasbourg airport and drop off in Dijon - but the price for an Economy car for a week rises from £128 to £218 just to rent an automatic. Is it the same for the other companies?

<<Is it the same for the other companies?>>

Probably. Europeans in general don't drive automatics, so there are many fewer of them and the rental companies often have to expend time and money moving them from one location to another.

I just went to www.europebycar.com today and found some great rates, though they have yet to confirm a price. I haven't used it, but I read about it in a respected travel book. They seemed to have many different pick up locations, plus a telephone number in the states to call which is always helpful.

Thanks for your input. Europe by car has a 7 day minimum. We are looking for 5 days.

I have been renting from Auto Europe for years...always automatics. I have a rental car reserved at the present time for pickup in Avignon and drop off in Nice in October....If you are asking about the company for a reference, you have mine and othrs.......

Europecar is one of the primary suppliers for AutoEurope rentals. This year we had already booked with Eurocar again when I found a better price on AutoEurope. We'll be picking the car up from Europe car!

Well, phooey--both of those should have been Europecar.

Try also www.its-cars-hotels.com

Similar to autoeurope.com though I don't know about that wonderful and reassuring 24 hour phone service that autoeurope provides.

Best wishes,

Rex

We've had success with Nova Rentacar over the years--it's a broker like autoeurope.

www.novarentacar.com

I've used Autoeurope also in France with great success.

FYI I think the name of the company they often use (which was, in fact, where I got my car) is Europcar (not Europecar). They have a web site if you want to check them directly, but they were not cheaper for me www.europcar.com

In June we rented through Hertz. P/up at CDG and d/o downtown Tours. No drop off fee. We booked standard but were given automatic.

I have had best prices and with automatics via Auto Europe. Europcar never seems to have automatics. I checked them for my current reservations and they had no automatics. I also take the cell phone from Auto Europe. Always had great service from them over many years.

Your best chance, usually, of getting a car with automatic transmission is at an airport. They seem to be in short supply elsewhere.

Thanks all! I got a great rate from Auto Europe. Interestingly, they have me booked with Europcar. When I check the Europcar web site they had no automatics available, except for the high end cars, and were very expensive.

I told you about my reservation with Auto Europe for October and an automatic..it is also with Europcar..but Europcar's site does not have them!! No way to figure it out. That is the way it has always been..Auto Europe has what you want....If the price goes down after you have made your arrangements, they will issue you a refund...probably only if you call them...they have already done that for me once on the Oct. reservation..now they have gone down again..I will wait a bit as it may go down even more!!

Have a good trip...............