nycgirl1

Hi all. I've read conflicting posts on here and was hoping someone could help me out.

We'll be renting a car from Munich, driving to Salzburg and Fussen, and then returning the car in Heidelberg(late April trip).

What's the best way to book ahead of time, or is that even necessary? It stresses me out to think about having to find one while over there, so I'd prefer to do it in advance if possible. Does Avis have decent rates internationally? I use them almost weekly here for business travel but am not sure that's the best/only place I should be looking at...

any advice is much appreciated! Next task is to figure out if my credit card adequately covers car insurance needs...fun!

Budman

I would check with gemut.com. They have great rates for Germany. Also check with autoeurope.com for their rates.

RufusTFirefly

Go ahead and reserve a car--just pay attention to the cancellation provisions in case your plans change.

I've also used gemut.com successfully, as well as novarentacar.com and autoeurope.com. They are brokers, so your car could come Avis or Alamo or any of several other international car rental companies. All have toll free numbers in addition to their websites.

hopscotch

Definitely reserve ahead to help assure yourself that you will have a car, and the kind of car you want. Try Budget at www.budget.com in your search, although they don't have a location listed for Heidelberg.

bob_brown

I usually book but that choice is dictated by where I am and the time of year, i.e. summer in the mountains of Switzerland where there many visitors.

At a major airport, you would be able to find a car, BUT you need to have done a good investigation to know what is and what is not a good price.

I always check a minimum of 4 sites, and a 5th one if I can find it.

In the past I have found Auto Europe to be a good company because it invariably comes up with the best rates for my location. Contracts through Auto Europe are usually with major companies like Hertz and Avis.

I would try Sixt, Gmut, Europcar, and Auto Europe at a minimum. Make sure that you are comparing apples to apples and not apples to lemons because some companies include taxes and other fees in their initial quote and some do not.

Also take a look at the insurance picture. I usually take the package offered by Auto Europe because the last thing I want is a major hassle with a damaged rental car.

One thing to beware of is the charge for a second driver. Some companies will flat stick it to you on that issue. I know Avis in Austria did not tell me in advance how much the extra driver would cost me. (Perhaps I did not ask well enough.) As a result, I got a surprise when I paid up at the end.

Usually, the European dealers don't try the cheap gimmicks that US car rental clerks try. I know the last time I rented a car in Phoenix, I was told that the Hyundai Sonata I had engaged might not have sufficient power for the climb up to Flagstaff. What I needed was a Dodge Charger at $xx more per day.

What utter and total balderdash.

Late last year in Baltimore, I was warned that the only thing available in my class was a PT Cruiser. What I needed for that traffic was a sportier car. I told them thanks but no thanks. When I got to the garage to get the car, my PT Cruiser was a new Chevvy Impala.

Lies like that don't make me think highly of the company and I find the practice to be at best simply deceptive and at worst insulting and deceptive.

L84SKY

I like to use Budget when I'm dropping the car off at a different location, they don't charge a drop off fee. At least they haven't yet.

nycgirl1

thanks, all! this is very helpful. I contacted gemut.com already and they have a 3-day minimum, which I'm guessing may be the case everywhere (we were just hoping for 2 days). So we'll see! Lots of research to do. Thanks again!

Ida101

But remember to reserve a car with automatic transmission, which is not always available.

kangamom

We rented a car from the Avis in Munch in 2005. We got a good rate and if you are Avis preferred, you will avoid the long line at the train station (this is where the rental agency in Munich is located). I would recommend that you reserve in advance as I remember them telling some other people that they did not have any more cars.

clueless

We rented a car from Sixt in Germany and it broke down in Salzburg on a holiday. They had someone there with a new car (an upgrade) within 15 minutes!!!

hopscotch

As I recall Budget and Sixt are partners, or maybe the same company, in Germany. Is this still true?

ira

Hi nyc,

IIRC, the brokers (Gemut, AE, Nova...) have 3 day minimums.

If you rent directly with National, Avis, Europcar, etc you can find one or two-day rentals, but they usually cost more than a 3-day from the others.