Using Europcar
 

We're from the USA. For those of you have used Europcar in Europe, have you ever had any problems? Like resolving problems when you get home? Would you use them again? If not, what company would you recommend? Thanks for your assistance. (This will be our 12th trip to Europe, so, no, we're not "newbies".)

You do understand that Europcar is a brokerage, the same as Auto Europe, don't you?

We've never had a problem with Europcar, but by regulations, they must charge the CDW. You may want to check with Auto Europe to see what they have to offer.

I am not sure that Europcar has to charge the CDW in every country but I may be wrong.

But they are located all over the place and they rent their own cars so I'm not sure I would call them a "brokerage."

Anyway, I've ended up with them several times in Continental Europe (using Autoeurope) and have never had any problems whatsoever.

I always tell people this, however: BEFORE YOU DRIVE OFF THE LOT make certain you know how to put it into REVERSE. I know it sounds ridiculous but with some manuals getting into that gear isn't as simple as it might seem.

>You do understand that Europcar is a brokerage

Please don´t put wrong information on the forum. Contrary to Auto Europe (which si a broker), Europcar is actually a rental company.

I would book through AutoEurope (and still probably get a Europcar vehicle), because AutoEurope is excellent at ironing out problems if they occur.

Europcar was owned by Volkswagen Group (VAG) until 2006, when it was sold to a French investment company Eurazeo. Last year Europcar bought European operations of National Car Rental anad Alamo (Vanguard EMEA). Europcar operates a fleet of over 200,000 cars at 2825 locations in 143 countries (from Wikipedia).
I have used Europcar several times in the last couple of years in Spain and have had no troubles. The conditions of rental cars weren't always top-notch (e.g. a missing cosmetic part) but the staff weren't fussy over inspecting cars on return and was never charged extra at that time or later.
Yes, I'd use them again.

agree with the others, europcar IS a car hire firm, not a brokerage.

the only problem that i've ever had is that i was charged a drop-off fee for not returning the car to the same location from which it was hired. but i had returned the car to the same place. it was in italy and i was fearing big problems getting the extra charge reversed. they did reverse the charge rather easily and quickly, however, i was left with about a £20 loss with the credit card conversion fee and perhaps some differences in the currency rate between charge and reversal.

Car rental vehicle conditions vary according to country, in some ares of Spain or Greece they might have more wear and tear since alot of holidaymakers rent vehicles, whereas in Copenhagen the car is more likely to be almost brand new since rentals might be more likely to be business travellers. This is true of all car rental firms in Europe.

Asking if Europcar is OK to use is like asking if Hertz is OK to use. The big three here are Hertz, Avis and Europcar. In Germany Sixt is really big, in France Europcar is very popular. Car rental companies always recommend you take out CDW unless you have alternative cover e.g. there is sufficient coverage provided by the credit card company or in some cases, corporate rates include CDW. There might be different types of CDW, some with a deductible and others without (superCDW).

Companies like Autoeurope/Holidayautos are wholesalers.

Our previous dealings with Europcar had been positive. However, I'm currently trying to resolve a bogus charge of 39.95 Euros they put on our Mastercard AFTER we returned the car.

We rented the car from 5/21-24 at Avignon TGV station. We told them we'd have to return it before their office opened at 8 a.m., as our train departed at 8:05 a.m. They said just drop the keys in the lockbox. They also assured us we'd already paid in full; all we had to do was return the car unscathed and with a full tank of gas, which we did. We dropped the keys into the lockbox at around 7:40 a.m. on May 24.

Today I've received a notice from Europcar that an additional 39.95 Euros has been charged to our card, and it indicates we dropped off the car at 8:04 a.m., or nine minutes after the time we originally promised it (7:55 a.m.).

In the course of searching for a phone number to call, I came across this similar account by a guy who claims Europcar ripped him off:
http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/europcar.html

I've contact Europcar via their website. We'll see what happens.

Two years ago I got a late fuel charge from Europcar. I sent an email, pointing out that the car was not full when we picked it up and the charge was immediately reversed.

I rented through Kemwel and prepaid.

Well Europcar in Florence tells me there will be a 17 Euro road tax.

Anyone deal with this before?

Don't know about Florence, but we had to pay a road tax in Switzerland.

I booked through Kemwel and got Europcar with no problem. We were upgraded to a great Mercedes, and its emblem was ripped off in Spoleto. I was expecting having to dispute a charge for it, but didn't.

Yes, I did get a road tax, but was expecting it: it's in the fine print of the Kemwel contract, and they mentioned it when I picked up the car.

I've used Europcar in France and Australia (the brand is a misnomer there) and had no problems. But Auto Europe is THE way to go to get the best price -- they sent us to Europcar in France.

I got a little nick on the right side mirror housing.

Was trying to fit through a narrow street with buildings right along the wall and the car coming from the opposite direction was hogging the street.

Heard it scrape and was expecting the worst but you can barely see it.

Will have to see what they say.

Autoeurope were more expensive for France than booking direct with Avis for the dates/pickup location we wanted.

I've rented from Europcar thru Nova car Hire and had no problems. In fact I returned the car one day early and the credit showed up almost immeadiately on my CC statement. We've also always been upgraded to either a BMW or a Mercedes.

those of you who got upgraded with kemwel, did you ask? did you pay for the upgrade?

just curious. we're renting from them next month...

thanks.

I always refuse an upgrade.

Don't want an expensive car and more important, want a compact car with a tight turning radius and better mileage too.

dina4, no, we didn't ask for an upgrade, and we were pleased with it: not a big car, but a nice ride, and it was diesel. We rented in Rome, at Termini, and they actually had to bring the car over from the location near Villa Borghese - we had maybe a 15 minute wait for it. So it was just a matter of availability.