Renting cars in Europe
 

I just read an interesting article from Gemut.com, the savvy European car rental company. Here are their top ten money-saving tips for European car rentals. Avoid airport pckups. Avoid Sunday rentals, Avoid small towns. Avoid small companies. Avoid Full-size and larger cars. Stick with one driver. Think twice about International one-way rentals. Request a diesel. Don't have the car delivered to your hotel. For the best rates it's probably Germany. They also make a good point on using your credit card (check before you go) to cover the CDW insurance. Be sure to decline the rental companys insurance or it might void the credit card insurance.

those are kind of obvious "tips", but magazines are full of puff pieces like that. Anybody renting a car anywhere ought to know these things. Really, do you need to read an aticle by some "savvy" company to be told that smaller cars are cheaper, etc.

They are a good viable option in DE and CH but not in Italy.
Do not decline the CDW in Italy.

Very good advice, AisleSeat. Despite what some may think, not everybody knows about all of those tips, especially about not picking up at an airport.

We always fly into Frankfurt and take a taxi (under 15 Euro) to Kelsterbach and typically save $100 or more on a 2-3 week rental. Then we return the car at Frankfurt Airport.

Gemut and/or AutoEurope usually have very good car rental deals. We secured a 2 week September rental thru AutoEurope of a compact Ford Focus Station Wagon (or similar) with pickup in Kelsterbach for $486.

I saved money dropping off my rental car at the airport last month rather than in town so nothing is absolute. You need to ask questions and compare rates when renting cars.

these tips range from obvious to downright wrong/misleading.

many/most firms in europe allow 2 drivers at no additional cost. i can't remember ever paying for another driver. and even if it did cost more, it might make sense to switch off for safety reasons as driving in a foreign country requires more concentration.

most people hire a car where they need it - travelling around to other car hire locations in an attempt to save money is likely a bad idea. and often the airport is the cheapest as it is usually the big hub of operations with the most competition. true that local firms without an airport location can sometimes operate cheaper (oh but we are supposed to avoid small firms too, aren't we) as airports charge high rents. but their airport dropoffs will generally be charged since they need to send someone there.

request a diesel? this is very dependent on the country. often it costs much more to hire one especially for the smallest car segment. and in some countries diesel is more expensive and you probably won't get payback on fuel savings in a small diesel car.

While not the same in every country or city, we have ALWAYS saved money by picking up our car at AVIS in Kelsterbach due to the high TAXES charged for airport pickup.

If you are flying into an airport that has a location (such as the Kelsterbach example) nearby that is CONVENIENT for pickup, then you usually can save money as long as you don't have special requirements which may not be available at a smaller location.

It always pays to check different rental car companies and get quotes for both airport pickup and an off airport locations.

Airport charges can be avoided if renting from an office in a large city. But small cities or large towns (not the car rental agency) in France now tend to charge for RR station pickup (about 35€) the same as for airport pickup and there are no in-town alternatives available--Brive-la-Gaillarde is an example.

On airport pickup fees Gemut says, "you will likely pay a tax of 14 to 18%. Notable exceptions are France, Spain, Ireland, the UK and Holland where the airport and rail station charges are $35 to $80."

Bobthenavigator, You are right about CDW in Italy. Italy, Israel and possibly Ireland you are requird to purchase the rental car company CDW.

<i>Italy, Israel and possibly Ireland you are requird to purchase the rental car company CDW.</i>

Our Sicilian rental agreement from Economy Rentals (a broker) had everything covered with no deductible. The rental agency simply held a deposit on the credit car, but that is true in France too. I do not believe that I had to pay for the CDW from the rental agency, or if I did, it was included in Economy Rentals' pricing.

It's always a good idea to check out the additional driver before hand because some companies will charge extra. Avis, I think does. Hertz doesn't if your both AAA members.