Hi,

what is the best website to rent a car in France? I am from Australia and will travel there at the beginning of April from Biarritz to Bordeaux. I have used the Australian website such as autoeurope.com.au but today I just found out the price for the same number of days and car ridiculously doubled with Hertz and I have confirmed this through phone with them. I am dropping off in different location within France and I know Hertz does not charge one way fee. Now I may have to cop the one way fee with Europcar.

Any other companies that dont charge one-way fee?

Your reply is much appreciated.
Regards,
Fly3r

How many days? Look at Renault's leasing plan - http://www.renaulteurodrive.com.au/c...nt_france.aspx - or Peugeot's similar scheme - http://www.autoeurope.com/long-term-car-rental/

Have you tried renting the car using the France website at AutoEurope?

It is not true that Hertz does not charge drop-off fees. You'd have to ask each individual company about the fee depending on the cities involved.

I have never found better prices than on AutoEurope...in more than 200 rentals through them. ANd they'll match or beat any quote you get from anyone else.

Last time I had a great deal that didn't involve drop-off charge, they charged me 750 $ at drop off point...

They had 'forgotten' it in the quote/contract they had sent me.

Avis and Hertz always charge one way fees for pickup and drop off within France. Europcar, Sixt, Citer rarely if ever do.

This is not a specific French question:

Be very careful with one way fees. Sometimes, you get a confirmation / contract with a certain amount and it looks as if everything is included, but then, after returning the car, they charge the one way fee.

To avoid this unpleasant surprise, it must be explicitly mentioned in the confirmation that the rate includes the fee for the one way rental.

Often, the consolidators are not perfectly clear about the one way fees. Better double check and call a human agent.

<i><font color=#555555>"I have never found better prices than on AutoEurope"</font></i>

I have found plenty of so-called "sale" prices elsewhere in my research. Much like air fares, every pricing detail depends on WHEN you look and WHERE you look. Prices change and fluctuate constantly. However, because AutoEurope has done a price match each and every time for me, I remain loyal to AE. Their customer service cannot be beat, IMO. I should also add that, when price matching, AE has also required a confirmation number from the lower priced vehicle to prove the lower price you found. That does not mean you need to "pre-pay" with another company first, but you do need some proof or example of the lower price being offered. I don't believe they'll simply take your word for it.

I booked last year with Enterprise at Toulouse Airport after going on Autoeurope site. Best price, best service, very quick turnaround at pick up and drop off, and no scrutiny for non-existent body damage.

Be aware that not all Branded hire companies are the companies themselves, they can be franchises. There are some terrible franchise businesses on the market. I'd use Auto Europe because they stand between you and the idiot franchises.

Here just a few experiences with one way fees from different countries:

- Last year, I booked with Enterprise one way from Kalamata to Athens. No indication of a one way fee on the confirmation / voucher. However, at the rental station they charged € 450.

- For this year, I looked on the Hertz website for a rental from Casablanca to Marrakech. One way fee: €750. On the Europcar website, they say "one way fee applies" without specifying the amount.

- Then I used AutoEurope. They offered Hertz, Europcar and an unnamed local company. The local company has a rate that is 20% below the rates of Hertz and Europcar, the one way rate is just €86 and a second driver is 65% lower than the Europcar fee. Well, the local company might be risky, but I made the contract with AutoEurope according to the law in my home country.

We're looking at the Renault / Citroen / Peugeut car lease back scheme. Also Australian and renting the car for around 30 days. Worth considering if you are going for the right length of time.

Cheers

I've used Autoeurope and Kemwell and booking directly wiht a car company did not give me a better price, as I always check. Plus, I like having a contact in the US (where I live).

But if Hertz itself quoted you half the rate, why don't you book with them, then? Or if Autoeurope quoted you half the rate vs. Hertz, I'm not clear which it was. But Autoeurope quotes you the rate considering where you want to drop it off, so I don't understand the problem.

I've always gotten Europcar when using Autoeurope and have never once been charged a one way drop off fee within France. But I"m never going that far away (say Marseille to Avignon or something) to drop off, maybe that's why. Biarritz to Bordeaux isn't that far apart, however.

I don't really understand the problem as when I checked both Europcar and Autoeurope, neither charged a one-way drop off fee for Biarritz to Bordeaux. Goth quote the exact same rate whether returning same place or Bordeaux. But Hertz does clearly state on their website rates that there is an extra fee (not included in the quote) to return to a different location. It doesn't say that if you select Hertz on Autoeurope, but I'd call them to make sure.

Just checked today with AutoEurope and it shows a separate one way fee payable at dropoff. Europcar didn't address it, and its' rate was cheaper than AutoEurope's rate, before the one way fee was added.

What you might consider doing is calling Autoeurope and ask about their rate. I have never found Europcar to be cheaper than Autoeurope but be sure you are making an apples to apples comparison.

I have rarely seen a Europcar rate that included unlimited miles which is something that all Autoeurope quotes have.