Renting a car for France help.Where to start?
 

Hi

We are flying to France on the 17th of Septembre and leaving on the 26th of that month.
Where do we start to rent a car?
I am an interline Fedex employee if that helps. I don't travel often.
We would like a Sedan that can hold 5 people.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Patrick

Hi Patrick
What city are you flying into? You'll find all the major car rental companies in the major French airports. You might want to book and pay for your car before you leave the US, to avoid upcharges upon arrival. I've used Europebycar.com and found them very realiable--they use that system. You arrive in France with a voucher, go to the desk and they hand over your car. Et voila! Julie from ProvencePost.com

France is a biiiig place. Where are you going - do you know what area(s) you are visiting?

Autoeurope is a broker that often (but not always) has the best rates.

Try Nova sign up for their email specials they have dozens of locations throughout France and many in Paris

http://www.novacarhire.com/

And of course I will mention www.autoeurope.com .

Go through one of the European versions of the site to get a better rate. There is no rule against it.

If you are going to the Nice area to rent the car, try to avoid Europcar.
They make you return the car empty and charge you for a full tank of gas no matter how much gas is left in the tank. And their per liter gas rates are much higher than at nearby stations.
Unless they have changed the policy. But I would inquire.

Hi V,

www.kemwel.com
www.autoeurope.com
www.novacarhire.com
www.gemut.com

I've always had good experiences with Avis - go to Avis.com. When I went to Normandy 2 years ago, I had a little accident (scraped the side of the car pretty badly, (no one else involved). I think the damage amounted to around $1,500, and I had not taken their insurance. After a couple of weeks of sending claims to my "travel" insurance policy, Avis suddenly credited my credit card back with the $1,500, without being paid by the ins. company. I will always use them!

Actually, Avis credited me with $2,700, not $1,500. They were so nice to work with.

I too will recommend Avis. Used them at least ten times, and never had a problem. They also have offices at many railway stations in France, and you don't pay for the auto until you pick it up. If you don't pick it up for some reason you won't be charged because they do not ask for CC information when booking.

Right, Barnumm, the Avis locations are great. You can return the cars anytime at the rail stations, at hours when the offices are closed.
Also, their website is easy to use and reserve the car without a credit card.

For Avis locations in France go to http://www.avis.com/car-rental/location/search.ac

Always been very happy with gemut.com. They always match any price I find.

Hi

Thanks for all the answers. We are flying into Nice and will stay in the area of Frejus/Saint-Raphael.

Thanks again for all the great posts.

Patrick

We are big fans of AutoEurope. Have used them several times without fault in France and Italy. I especially love that their rates include all insurance which is very comforting while driving in those tiny little French village lanes.

We recently rented from sixt.com, a major European agency, and were very pleased with our rate and the firm's service.

Julie---thanks for the Provence Post site. I signed up.