Rental car in France...Us company or European? What would be safer?
 

I don't want to seem paranoid, but we're leaving for Paris in a few weeks. We are going to the Loire Valley, and need a rental car. Should we stay away from Avis, etc. so we can "fit in" if there's trouble? I just might not want to attract a lot of unnecessary attention. Any ideas?

They all use the same cars. I got a great deal from Avis, 2600 FF for 8 days EVERYTHING included , even pick up and drop off at differnt locations, better than I got anywhere else, even autoeurope. And that was for a large car, automatic transmission. Just do a search from US co. then reserve and get confirmation number then try autoeurope, they usually match any price but could not do better than what I had already booked.

Do you think that renting from a company like Avis, Hertz, or Budget is going to be obvious? Cars are cars, just rent one with a trunk instead of a hatchback so you don't bring attention to your belongings. And when you park the car, make sure that you don't leave anything on the seats. You might also check out Auto Europe's website, or call the toll-free number. Auto-Europe is based out of Portland, ME. <BR> <BR>

Is it true that the rental cars license plates end with "51". Someone posted that before, just wanted to verify this. Thanks.

Barb, <BR>That may be true, but others beside Americans rent cars, too. <BR> <BR>Just go with the best deal you can get

Wow I must be getting to paranoid. I forgot about other people renting cars too ! Will we ever thing normally again? <BR>Hopefully I won't pack those white keds!!!

I have rented from Avis four times and had four hassle free experiences. <BR>Easy to find, easy to return, no grumbling over a nick or a ding on the car that was no fault of ours. <BR> <BR>I rented from Sixt once and I will never do it again. We had a hell of a time finding the return place in Munich; it was obscure and dark. When we finally found it, the entrance was blocked by a car transfer vehicle whose driver had unloaded all of the cars at the return gate, thus blocking it. The people who worked for Sixt would not bother to come up and move the cars out of the way. Finally the driver of the truck moved two cars so we could return the rental vehicle to the garage. Nightmarish experience, with us wandering around in the bowels of a deep parking garage trying to find our way out of an unmarked building that was dark in the corridors. Talk abour scary!! <BR>Picking up the car was equally poor. <BR>We had to find our way into a spooky building and go wandering around parked cars in a dimly lit garage hunting for our vehicle. Sixt might have had better rates, but no way in the world can a $5.00 better rate compensate me for the fuss and bother, even fear, I experienced trying to find the car and bring it back. <BR>I will stick with Avis. <BR>

I've heard of Sixt. Similar horror story posted here before. I'll just stick to Avis thank ou. I did learn from other fodorites that you should pay in advance in the US. I am calling now for rates. Thanks again!!!

I had excellent results--price, efficiency, discount, etc.,-- with Europe By Car based in NYC. <BR>&lt;www.europebycar.com&gt; Diane

Barb, <BR> <BR>Because of legislation passed last year, all rental cars no longer have 51 at the end of the license number. (they were all registered in the '51' département because of the cheaper rate). You will find a lot of rental cars have an "F" sticker on the back - if it bothers you, just peel it off ! <BR> <BR>Don't leave anything on the seats or anything exposed in the car. Drive with your doors locked in larger cities... nothing to do with terrorism, but against petty theft. <BR> <BR>PB

We went on the TGV,Bullet train that we've never been on,taking about 2 hours from Paris to get to Loire Valley and purchased a bus tour to about 5 of the chauteaus in the area, and took a taxi to get to our hotel. We were glad we did it this way when we found out during the trip that all the directions were posted in French that we didn't know a word of, glad we didn't circle the whole of France looking for the city.

We rented a car through auto europe this past summer for five weeks. I arranged the rental from the US and picked the car up in Paris. We purchased CDW insurance, believing that it would cover damage to the car. We did damage the car to the tune of about $1000. We were charged a $495 deductable charge upon our return. It has been our understanding that with CDW insurance you could return the car in a heap without charge. So I would be clear on what the CDW insurance is covering when renting through auto-europe. Without that additional charge we did get a very good daily rate.

I rented from Autoeurope which arranged a rental through Europcar -- as far as I have noticed, all rental car companies in Europe use similar brands in their fleets. My contract from Autoeurope very clearly stated the terms of the CDW (including deductibles) right on the front page, they aren't hidden at all. I disagree that Europcar is sneaky about this as the last post seems to imply.

The terms, including the amounts of deductible for damage and theft are right on the voucher. Ask your travel agent for an explanation if you're not sure.

Forget Insurance. Just make sure you can turn on the radio. Someone preprogrammed our Mercedez radio and we couldnt turn it on. Even back at the Autoeurope dealership no one could turn it on

I don't understand the post about the "F" stuck to the car. Officially, if you cross into another country, you're supposed to have a sticker identifying the country the car is registered in. So "F" stands for "France". It doesn't have anything to do whether or not it's a rental car, simply that you can cross the border without being stoppped (if they're picky).

We also just had a wonderful experience renting a car from Europe by Car. We had a mid-size car with AC for $202.00 total for a week with a different pick up and drop off. The car was provided by National/Citier and the people couldn't have been more accomodating when due to the recent circumstances we were delayed in Paris and needed to extend our rental. I would definitely use them again.

We rented from Hertz-USA, and had extra charges on my AmX from Hertz France. The agent here is taking care of removing all the errors made by the European agents who did not give us the proper discounts. A pre-paid voucher is the way to go. Plus, any problems with billing you can handle here - in English.

I know someone has said it, but the F has nothing to do with rental vehicles. Where did someone come up with that? The country initials are on cars all over Europe. If you can't figure this out you shouldn't be driving. <BR> <BR>For longer-term rentals, try Renault. They have a purchase/repurchase plan which is very attractive, with brand new cars, and lots of variety. Without going into all the details, you can avoid considerable taxes, but you do have to arrange it from your own country. Check with a travel agent - if they are worth their salt, they should know about, or can at least find out. <BR>Or Renault Eurodrive on the net may help.