Rental Car - Will Office Stay Open Late if Train is Late
I don't have much experience renting cars in Europe or at trains stations.
My family and I will be renting a car in the Aix-en-Provence TGV station. Our train arrives at 5:20PM. The Avis desk closes at 6:00PM. Question - a) Do I even need to sweat about the train being late. b) If the train is late - will the Avis desk stay open as a matter of course. Does anyone have experience with these issues Thanks |
I wouldn't count on it, but phone Avis and ask.
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Customer service is not a strong point in Europe.
The train probably won't be late. No gurantee. The chances of the clerk staying late are close to nill. You'll have to chain the person down in advance. Is there another Avis office that stays open later. You may be more comfortable taking a taxi to that office. |
My opinion is that they would not unless notified.
And if they do, they might charge an after hours charge. Two years ago I knew my flight from Frankfurt to Klagenfurt would not arrive before the rental office closed. I was able to car them and they remained there for me but it was an extra E60 which did not matter to me at the time. I was just glad to get the car. |
It is quite unlikely but not impossible that the train will be 40 minutes late, and I certainly wouldn't count on the clerk staying around. However, if the train is running late, if you call the desk and ask nicely somewhat before it's supposed to close (if the train is running that late, you'll know you're going to be late well in advance of when the desk closes), the clerk might be convinced to stick around a few minutes.
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Thanks -
I think I am just going to switch the reservation from Avis. The other agencies at that location are open later. It was just the case that Avis had the lowest price. |
Have you tried autoeurope.com? They usually have the best rates.
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Thanks - I will try that.
People are being so helpful here - let me try a question I asked on another thread - with no response ************* I am struggling with this question - because I am not familiar with the size of all of these European car model's offered at the Aix - TGV car rental agencies. There will be 4 of us travelling - 2 adults and 2 children. I would like to keep the car as small as possible. But - the car will need to accomdate the 4 of us plus (for two brief trips between the Aix TGV station and Aix itself) 2 big suitcases. So.. can we get away with Peugeot 307 1.6 or Renault Megane. Or do we need to go with the larger Peugeot 407. Thanks |
If you rent from Avis you can routinely arrange for the pickup of the car papers and keys from the train-station master after the closure of the Avis office. However, this system is designed for scheduled arrivals post-closing of the car-rental office. Whether they will transfer the keys and papers to the station master in case of a late train, I do not know.
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You can usually set your watch by the TGV arrival times.
Don't know about train stations, but I arrived at the Marseille airport once at 1:30 a.m. due to thunderstorm problems, and all of the rental agencies were waiting for their reserved customers even though they were supposed to have closed at midnight. |
Does Avis not have another location in Aix which stays open later than the one at the RR station? Would you be able to get that same low rate at another location?
be aware that AutoEurope is a wholesaler, of sorts, and they utilize various other agencies (such as Avis) for the actual car. Pay close attention to the locations offered if you use AutoEurope; they are totally reliable. |
Hi rh,
>...the car will need to accomdate the 4 of us plus (for two brief trips between the Aix TGV station and Aix itself) 2 big suitcases.< We recently rented a Peugeot 307, Very nice car. It is a hatchback. It doesn't really have a trunk. We were able to put one large (28"), one small (22") and various small stuff in the trunk. I don't think that you will be able to get both large suitcases in the luggage area. You could put one in the back seat with the kids. AutoEurope is offering a Megane Wagon for not much more than the 307. ((I)) |
I would be inclined to choose the 407 size. Its really not that large and much more comfortable than a 307.
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How large are the two large suitcases? If they're really big - 30" very few european cars will be big enough to hold them - except for a full-sized sedan.
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I just reserved a "Citroen C4 1.4 Or Similar" with Alamo.
The two suitcases are quite large (tall). I would say they are both at least 30" tall. Ummm.. maybe I can srap one of the kids to the roof of the car. |
Put one of the cases in the kids' laps. And drive fast.
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rholt, I think the issue will be the size of your luggage. I have't rented a C4, but I did have a VW Golf and a Renault Mégane Hatch on our last two driving trips to France. Although there were only two of us, I looked at the back seats of both cars and concluded that there would be ample room for a couple of children.
Both cars held our luggage, a 26-inch and a 22-inch suitcase, plus a couple of small carry-on bags. I can't be absolutely sure, but I think it would have been a real challenge to stow two 30-inch suitcases. If the C4=Mégane=307=Golf in the eyes of the rental company, it might be difficult. I guess I'm seeing this the same way that Ira and MorganB do; consider something a bit bigger. I think Scenic, 407, Laguna, or C5 might be the size you'd need? Anselm |
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