Using Auto Europe
 

Since 1998 I have used Auto Europe as my rental agent. This year was no exception. On the occasions when I was overcharged, AE has always been successful in negotiating a refund for me.

I have had similar incidents in the US with Hertz and Avis and I did not do so well in obtaining a refund.

So given the results to date, I will continue to use AE. There may be better options, but I have not yet found them.

I agree, Bob.
I have rented cars at least 20 times with AE and they have come to my rescue after the fact 5 times to resolve problems to my satisfaction. Their customer service is the best.

I agree tooo! Always have had great experiences with them !!!

More than 100 rentals, and I have zero complaints.

I am part of the choir, Bob!

Another enthusiastic endorsement for Auto Europe. We do on average 4-5 European rentals with them each year and have not one complaint.

Yes, AutoEurope has also obtained refunds for me.

I will also mention that one of my colleagues has been using Auto Escape, which I'm sure is also a good company, but she is using AutoEurope next time, because their price quote was lower.

All of our AutoEurope rentals have been booked through gemut.com and, fortunatley, we've have no issues thus far. But I have always felt better knowing that if I did have any problems, there was somebody to call to help sort things out.

AutoEurope were great when we had a little incident that resulted in a lost hubcap. No bother, no charge!

Hi,
Has anyone used Auto Europe for their long term leases? Are there any other long-term leasing agencies or should I stick with Auto Europe?

Also, just curious...say we get in an accident and the car is totaled...I know ...worse case scenario..but are we responsible for purchasing the car now or does the insurance that comes with it cover us for that kind of loss?

Thank you all for your continued help as we plan our trip,
Michele

I sometimes get lower rates from Kemwel, the sister company, and from others if the car is returned to the original location. Since I have a pre-paid contract in my hand, I have never been over-charged.

Yes, look at Kemwel for the buy back program.

I made a reservation this October through AutoEurope and then through Kemel for the exact same car, etc. Kemel was about 15% less. I called both 800 numbers and they are the same place. The gentleman told me that AutoEurope is really for travel agents and the reason their rate is higher is for commission. Kemel is supposed to be for people booking without a travel agent. If what he is saying is true then it makes sense to book through Kemel.

Thank you for your replies. I will research the Kemwel site tomorrow. I will be leasing at the end of our stay in Paris and returning before our time in Rome...if that makes a difference.
Thank you again,
Michele

Hi...me again!
I just checked the Kemwel site and it's about $75 cheaper than the Auto Europe site, even though the form you fill out on both sites is identical except for the coloring. It is the same place!!!

Thanks for the info...that's one more dinner out we can have. Yippeee!!!
Thank you,
Michele

We used AutoEurope five times and for the last two summers have used Kemwel...either way we have been totally satisfied.

I would like to know though--how much time before your trip do you usually make car arrangements?

That's very interesting info. We have booked through AutoEurope most times we have traveled (Spain, Ireland, France) but I've never checked out Kemwel. Booked directly through Avis one time to get a cute little Peugeot 207 convertible in Spain that wasn't available through AE and also in Spain have used Nova, which had a better deal (despite the whole No Va irony.)

Hi again...
Wren,
I tried to enter our dates for our trip, August 22 - October 28, 2009 but the Auto Europe site would not let me enter anything past February or March 2009. The phone representative at Auto Europe told me I could make the reservations now on the phone when I called them to inquire.

I like to try and book everything as far in advance as possible. I just made my flight reservations, 331 days out from our departure so we could use award miles, so now I am contacting my first choice apartments and hotels to book. But that is just me...we've been planning this trip for five years and now it is within reach.

Molloy95...That is what we want to rent is the Peugeot 207 convertible! How did you like it. Did you do any climbing with it? One of the main reasons we want to lease it, besides being a cute convertible, is that it appears to have a decent trunk on it. When it is in convertible 'mode' are you still able to utilize most of the trunk or does the top take up a bit of the trunk room?

I looked up the specs online at the Peugeot site but still couldn't quite tell. Please let me know your thoughts.

Thank you,
Michele

Another fan here.

I have called Auto Europe with a lower quote from another agency and they have always matched it.

Hi Michele D!

Oh we loved our little car. But it is very little. We don't travel "heavy" -- I'm trying to remember exactly what our luggage was. I'd say a wheel duffel (the same one I just mentioned the wheel falling off of on the "what should you bring" thread) and maybe a carry on size? It was just the two of us but we did have to put our luggage in the back seat (or at least part of it) when the top was down. So, no, not much trunk space with the top down. But we loooooved the fun of driving it on the winding coastal roads of Spain north of Barcelona. We still laugh about me saying I felt like a Bond Girl :-).

I know my husband had fun driving it. And, you know, we weren't moving from place to place that much so we didn't have the roof down with luggage to lug that often. When we did we just put the roof up and moved the luggage back to the trunk and locked it all up whenever we had to stop anywhere.

We still have a laugh about that trip and say we're going to get a little 207 someday. Of course, I want a Mini as my next car -- The 207 definitely had more power than that, but not a great deal bigger, not sure how you would fare on climbing, but we were on some winding, inclined roads.

I think there's a 307 convertible too which would give you more room. Hope that helps -- probably not too much, but I guess if I still have fond memories of the car five years later and can't remember what we rented on our last trip that says a little something :-).