radiofanatic

My husband and I are thinking of doing one of those fly/drive tours from Go Today. We're concerned, however, because neither of us can drive a stick shift. Can one get a rental that is automatic in Europe, especially through Go Today? We're looking at the England or France one. Thanks!

bbib

I don't know about 'Go Today' but you can hire an automatic in UK from some rental companies - Thrifty being one of them.

m_kingdom2

You will find them more costly as they are usually only on larger cars purchased by smaller hire companies.

amwosu

I don't drive stick either and I rented an automatic car through europecar which checks for the best price from the various rental agencies. It was a good bit more expensive than stick but what ya gonna do? I think it was around $600 for the week in early July.

amwosu

I should have added that was renting in Paris. The bigger cities will have automatics for sure.

Marilyn

Depending on how you feel about driving in other countries, and how much travel you expect to do in your lives, you might want to consider learning how to drive a stick. I'll bet it's cheaper than the extra cost for renting an automatic. (It's also a very handy skill to have.)

cigalechanta

You can rent a small automatic in France but it is more expensive.
We did one year but J. prefers the shift because he feels it gives him more control on the winding roads.
Diesel(gazole) is less expensive than Gasoline(essence)

Christina

I rented an automatic through Autoeurope in Provence and it wasn't that much more expensive than a stick shift at all. It was from Europcar. It didn't cost anything like some of the above quotes, and it even had AC (it was summer so I really wanted that). It wasn't that large, either, it was an Alfa Romeo and only about the size of a Honda Civic (maybe a bit bigger). It cost around 45 euro a day, but that included complete insurance, the car itself was cheaper than that. I think it was about 10 euro more a day than a manual, as I compared prices. I rented it in Marseille.

I don't know what Go-Today is going to give you, however, they'd have to tell you that.

nytraveler

We always rent an automatic and have never had trouble getting one. They are more expensive - and sometimes have a higher drop off charge. But I prefer not to drive in a foreign country with a car I don;t know (and handles very differently from mine) and have to deal with a shift too (also very different from mine - when I bother to use it).

Agree that driving a standard is a good skill to have - but - not really necessary.

sandi

We also rented thru Autoeurope for 2-wk trip in Provence. The car was small, but sufficient room in covered hatchback for 2 26" duffles and carryon bags, with a/c (though didn't need in Oct). We paid just about $600 including insurance. The only additional charge was for 2nd driver, airport tax and we took out personal liability (neither of us own a car so weren't covered otherwise). These last fees were about $40 total. And considering the distances we covered (1,000) miles we only refilled the complete tank twice. So if you don't mind paying a bit more to be comfortable driving in unfamiliar surroundings, do so.

Traveler863

I agree, learn how to drive a stick, its a skill everyone should have. They are not only less expensive to rent but are better for hills, twists, foul weather, get better gas mileage and not to mention more fun to drive. The only time they are a disadvantage is sitting in stop and go traffic. Another consideration is if when you arrive to pick up your car they are out of automatics, then you're in a pickle.

Patrick

Where does one find a stick shift in the US to learn on, unless you happen to know someone with one who will let you borrow it? The only time I tried to learn, one grind of the gears on the borrowed Porsche and that was the end of the lesson. I once tried to find a rental agency that would rent a stick shift and they basically laughed at me.

Surfergirl

Patrick, when you come back to L.A., I'll teach you on one of mine. I have two! It's like riding a bike, or learning how to soft pedal the brake -- the art of learning "smooth"!

Traveler863

You have a good point but its very sad it is so diffult to find someone with a stick in the US. I've known people who can't drive one and go out and buy one, they learn real fast. If you need some lessons call me, I have 2 with stick...but one grind of a gear on my BMW and you're done!

sandi

Prior our trip to Provence (as above mentioned) I thought to take lessons to learn to drive standard. Had no problem finding a few places who could handle this with either half-day session or two half-day sessions - depending on whether "I got it" or not! Price was about $50-$60 per half-day, certainly reasonable, considering savings in renting a standard over an automatic vehicle. I decided not to do this when my travel partner mentioned that although she learned to drive on standard and had a few years earlier rented standard for trip to the countryside in England - not a pleasant experience. She said never again - besides driving on wrong side of the road, too many twists and turns, she knew she would have felt better with a small automatic knowing she would have better control. So in the end we went automatic.

You're the only one who can make the decision as to which vehicle you will be more comfortable driving, regardless the cost.

letour

Last summer I found that it was definitely cheaper to rent a stick shift at Hertz. The other advantage to the stick with that company was that Hertz placed no restrictions on where I might drop the car off, so long as it was stick shift.I guess because they have so few automatics, I would have had to have returned an automatic back to the same Hertz office where I'd initiated the rental.

Chatters

For an upcoming trip to Spain, the quote I received from AutoEurope for an automatic was more than double the quote for a Manual/stick shift. That was not the case for an automatic in Paris last November. In this case, I am picking up the car in Seville, and therein may the difference. It appears cities with a higher rental turnover can offer better prices for an automatic alternative. Go-Today has a 1-800 number; worth a call.

travelbunny

those prices quoted by posters for automaticsd are very expensive. A medium sized shift for a week was 340 canadian dollars which works out to less than 45 euros per day..I learned to drive on a shift...(I am not that ancient..but my father insisted on it..something about control on the snowy roads of New England where i grew up)..came in good stead in my youth of vw beetles and the ability to be the dd post parties (I even managed to drive a ferrari for an a rather drunk friend..and he must have been very drunk to let me behind the wheel.)

Christina

I got quotes on an automatic vs. standard in Spain, and the automatic wasn't double the standard -- again, it was only a bit more, maybe 10 euro a day. Autoeurope isn't really the best place to get a rental in Spain, in my experience (although they were for me in France). I got very good quotes from some other rental companies for renting an automatic in Seville -- I think kasbah.com was one of them.

jsmith

Hertz thru BA has a Ford Focus manual for $180 and the auto for $240 for Nov 1 pickup and return on Nov 7 at Heathrow. That's $60 extra for 6 days.

Couldn't get a reading for Paris. Frankly didn't want to bother after one quick try.

Go to the car rental sites and try some dates.