We found out about Auto Europe in 2006 and have booked car rentals through them 2x so far. Very reasonable & competitive rates and excellent service.

Posted By LT on May 16, 2008, 12:09 PM

I've used them, too, in Ireland. One thing I noticed, though: Auto Europe is not a rental car company itself. It's a booking agency (a la Orbitz). The rental-car chains themselves may attempt to tack on bogus charges.

You may get a surprise charge on your credit card directly from the rental car company, weeks after your trip. This will be a separate charge from what Auto Europe charges you. If unnecessary charges appear, call Auto Europe. It will assist you in disputing them. (Note: You have just as much of a chance of facing this same problem if you booked directly with the rental-car company, particularly if the company isn't American, I've found anecdotally. So it's not a reflection on the Auto Europe experience.)

Posted By Sean on May 16, 2008, 5:06 PM

What's even better than Auto Europe is booking through their affiliate www.gemut.com. They apparently do a lot of rentals for Auto Europe and, at least in Germany and maybe other countries, get special rates from them that are lower than Auto Europe quotes at their website or if you phone for a quote.

In any case, their prices are at least as good and you have all the Auto Europe services and guarantees. But the big reason I like them is the personal service and their knowledge of renting cars and traveling in Europe. On a Frankfurt rental they saved me about $125 when they suggested I pick up the car from an office 5 minutes from the air port, thus avoiding the 19% airport tax. I was able to return the car to the airport after the rental, no extra charge. Ask for Andy.

Posted By Guy Crouchback on May 17, 2008, 12:12 PM

BE CAUTIOUS!!! I rented a car from EuropeCar (through Auto Europe) in Australia, paid for insurance, and when I got in an accident, I was told my insurance was voided because the accident was my fault! This may be EuropeCar and not Auto Europe, but evidently in the 'fine print' of the contract, they 'loophole' themselves out of liability if the accident was the fault of THEIR insured. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF INSURANCE NOT PAYING JUST BECAUSE THEIR INSURED WAS AT FAULT!!! They refunded the cost of the insurance then slapped me with a $6,000 repair bill. So, again, BE CAUTIOUS!!!

Posted By Rick Sherwood on May 19, 2008, 12:25 PM

We had a terrible experience with Europcar/Autoeurope in France. We booked online and paid for our rental in advance. We were asked for our ID at pickup in Paris and, without thinking about it, we both gave them ID. We returned the car at the airport and asked for a receipt which they did not give us but they said there were no other charges. Two months later a charge appeared on our credit card for an additional $89. We disputed the charge with our credit card company, who after reviewing our submissions, agreed with us (they actually required reams of documentation). Then the threatening letters from Europcar began. They said that the charges were for an extra driver (laughable because although I made the reservation, I do not even drive a manual) and that we had extra time on the car (although we dropped it off 2 hours before our flight as planned). They said if we didn't pay, that we would never be able to rent a car in Europe again. After several rounds of negotiation with them, we felt forced to cave in.

Posted By SS on May 19, 2008, 12:57 PM

We have been using Auto Europe for years for rentals in Germany and Holland. The service and prices are excellent. I recently made a booking and they had a new sale. Without question, my reservation was changed and I saved an additional $110.00. I recommend Auto Europe highly.

Posted By Muffi on May 19, 2008, 1:29 PM

AutoEurope has given us superb service over the years, including bailing us out of bad situations (not our fault) right on the spot when we called their number for help. In one case, for example, the car rental company (Europcar) at the Rome airport had made a major mistake with the reservation and claimed to have no appropriate car for us. We were exhausted after flying from Seattle and had to get to Assisi for an event. One call and AutoEurope had it straightened out. I would never rent from anyone else.

Posted By Jane Ellis on May 19, 2008, 1:34 PM

I've rented from AutoEurope in Italy several times, in France and in Ireland, since 1992. Always the best prices, great service, everything as promised -- which is why I've gone back to them again and again.

Posted By Tamra Fine on May 19, 2008, 2:31 PM

We have used Auto Europe but have found a couple of others to check as well since different consolidators may be using different vendors and costs can vary. Auto Europe did not offer the best price in our last trip.

Tiger, Argus and Nova are three European consolidators who pretty predictably provide some of the most favorable quotes. We have dealt with two now and have been quite satisfied. One provided us with a contract from Hertz (I think) and the other from Budget at rates much lower than other sites.

All three of those consolidators provide quotes with the basic collision damage waiver included in the price. The upgrade coverage is still additional if you choose it but even so, that's a big bonus.

Posted By Fran on May 19, 2008, 4:21 PM

Postscript from the author.. some of you were right with your warnings about AutoEurope and perhaps I was a little hasty to laud the company. I did get billed by Europcar for an extra driver, and tax on the extra driver charge, after I returned my car and came home. The extra charges were equivalent to what I got back in the refund for returning the car early.

C'est la vie.

Posted By Justin Bergman on May 21, 2008, 2:56 PM

I've used Auto Europe on several occasions and found them to be very good. However if I'm travelling with my husband, Auto Europe make an additional charge of around £5 sterling per day for an additional driver whereas with economnycarhire a 2nd driver is free of charge.

Posted By Karen Bryan on May 22, 2008, 5:03 PM

Good news!!!I i have a chance travel to Europe, i want to try it !

Posted By micle on May 23, 2008, 8:32 AM

I've used AutoEurope many times in both Europe and the US over the past 7 years and not had any problems with them. I recently booked a car in the US (I'm an expat in the Netherlands) and had some issues with printing my confirmation. I inadvertantly by pushing the back button booked the car a second time. I contacted the e-mail help desk and got a speedy response that they would correct it and credit the extra charge back to my credit card, which they did do.

I've also found that if I book using the Dutch language site of AutoEurope that it is cheaper than using the English version of the site. My Dutch isn't great but if you can get through the screens of name & address etc in a foreign language you might be able to save a little more.

Posted By Andrea on May 29, 2008, 6:57 AM

If you book with Auto Europe you need to read the voucher they send. It itemizes all the extra charges you will be assessed in Europe. You should not be surprised by extra driver charges or road taxes. They are standard all over Europe. In addition, watch out for Tiger, Argus, Nova. They are Europe-based brokers and their price includes the CDW insurance. Sounds good but is not because there's a high deductible that will cost you big time to reduce to zero deductible. Your credit card's insurance (free and zero deductible) in that instance is no good because they require that you decline the CDW offered by the rental company. I'm sticking with gemut.com who tell me verbally and in writing about all charges to be encountered AND guarantee my rental in US dollars.

Posted By Guy Crouchback on June 2, 2008, 2:55 AM

Has anyone ever rented from Sixt in Germany? We have reserved a car with them for Christmas. We would welcome any input. Thanks!

Posted By Anne B on June 17, 2008, 11:31 AM

In reply to Anne B asking about Sixt car rental in Germany - I had nothing but the best of experience with Sixt each time I used them.
I have used also AutoEurope for many years as a travel agent for our clients and had consistently good experience through the years of service. Just like anything else-read your voucher and you will not be surprised with extra charges. Better yet, let your travel agent or AutoEurope agent explain to you what to expect.

Posted By Peter D on June 18, 2008, 2:39 PM

I travel to Europe every year. We have been using Auto Europe for the past 5 years in Spain and Italy. They have always been a pleasure to do busines with. This year we received a faulty GPS and the vendor nevertheless insisted that we pay for it regardless of the fact it didn't work.
Auto Europe went to bat for us. And after they were not successful in convincing the vendor that we shouldn't have to pay for it, Auto Europe took it upon themselve to reimburse us for the charges.
I am travelling to Europe again this year and wouldn't think of using anything but Auto Europe.

Posted By Blase Spinozzi on June 21, 2008, 5:55 PM

has anyone ever been involved in car accident in spain, if so what was the out came of this, what do you recommend i do to perpare myself and what kind of insurance should i get when renting a car?

Posted By shar r on July 31, 2008, 2:45 AM

We rented 2 cars from EuropeCar through AAA last fall. We picked them up at the Brindisi (Italy) Airport - nobody was there to go over the cars with us. When we dropped the cars off in Sorrento they charged us $300 for each car for damages. They said there were dents in the bumpers that were not there when we picked the cars up. We appealed but to no avail. I will never use them again.

Posted By Diane on August 28, 2008, 12:45 PM

I've used Auto Europe a number of times in France, Ireland and GB. Always good prices, excellent support, totally fair treatment and no surprises! They are my first phone call.

Posted By Roman on August 28, 2008, 12:46 PM

We rented from Autoeurope last month in Berlin..great service...neat diesel Audi...great price. Caution about reservations...I made two reservations and would have been charged for two if I had not checked with the Budget desk the day before pickup.

Posted By George Jackson on August 28, 2008, 12:53 PM

A little late getting back to the question about Sixt--I have rented from them in 1993, 2006, 2007 and am using them again this fall. I have found their rates to be very good and their personnel very friendly and generally helpful--no getting dinged for extra charges for "damage" or bogus charges for extra drivers who don't exist. I have no qualms about suggesting them.

Posted By John Voigtsberger on August 28, 2008, 2:09 PM

The upfront price was great. But when you get the charge on your credit card watch out. We rented in Italy and France and found several charges added on by the car rental company in both locations upon completion of the rentals, such as charging us for a tank of gas even though we filled it up just over the bridge in Venice before returning it. There were several charges from each location we disputed and you better be ready for a prolonged dispute. We were charged approximately an extra $400 and were able to get approx. $200 reimbursed. I think they feel most people won't notice the charges or will feel it's too much of a hassle to dispute.

Posted By Bill R. on August 28, 2008, 2:22 PM

Kemwel is another great broker to deal with. I got a fabulous Alfa Romeo GT in Venice for the price of a Ford Focus, for no additional charge (Was that a fun car to drive). They were 159.00 cheaper than Hertz and 129.00 cheaper than Avis for 10 days for the same car. I was even able to drop the car off in Rome instead of the same place I picked it up. They are also based in Maine in the United States. I used them 13 years ago and booked it through an English website.

Posted By Teresa on August 28, 2008, 2:23 PM

We picked up a new mid-size 4-door Renault from the dealership in Paris through Europe BY Car, on a rental with option to purchase. We drove it for over a month, returned it without any problems. There were no extra charges, but we took it back clean and full of gas. It was a great experience, and the car was very comfortable. We made the arrangements before we left the states, and the car was ready for us when we went to pick it up. The people at the dealership were very helpful and cordial.

Posted By Dolores Husfeld on August 28, 2008, 2:59 PM

Can anyone suggest which car rental company to use in Portugal? Picking up and returning to Lisbon airport.
Thanks,
Bob

Posted By Bob Maxwell on August 28, 2008, 3:01 PM

We will be traveling to Budapest Hungary in October. We are thinking about renting a car to tour the countryside and to Lake Balaton. Does anyone have suggestions or experince with renatal out of Budapest?

Posted By Paulette VanLandingham on August 28, 2008, 3:27 PM

Re: Portugal, we rented car in Porto in May. We did it through gemut.com/Auto Europe and the local rental company was Guerin. Don't know if they also serve Lisbon. We had no problems, the price was good, and no extra charges. We have rented in Europe through gemut.com/Auto Europe for years and have never had a problem. They get the best rate from multiple companies (we have ended up with Avis, Sixt, Europcar, or whoever). Auto Europe has a toll free number from Europe back to the US, so you can call right from the rental office if there is a problem.

Posted By Richard G. Kreitner on August 28, 2008, 5:07 PM

We have used Sixt four times, but we used Hertz last year because Sixt was unable to give us a car in Bari. All of our experiences have been good. Soon, we will be utilizing AutoEurope (because Sixt said it couldn't directly supply us with a car to drive from Italy into Slovenia and Croatia.) I hope that we won't be "dinged" for a second driver, since I cannot drive a manual transmission vehicle!

Posted By gail jacoby on August 28, 2008, 6:30 PM

We rented a car in France and filled the tank 3 blocks from the train station where we dropped the car on a Sunday when the AutoEurope office was closed. Upon our return home we received a notice saying that they had to fill the tank and were charging our credit card for $230! Given that other readers have experienced the same thing, it sounds like they do this routinely and hope people won't notice, so buyer beware!

Posted By Maggie on August 28, 2008, 6:36 PM

I have used Auto Europe for over 20 years and they have been great, I once had a false charge from Europecar for gas and Auto Europe refunded it promptly.

This year however I needed to rent a car for 3 weeks in Italy and Kemwell which is owned by Auto Europe was hundreds less and through in insurance to boot!

Still I will use Auto Europe again if the price is right! Don't confuse them with Europecar though, Europecar is just another rental company, but they aren't very nice, try to AutoEurope or Kemwell to book your car with Hertz of Avis, they are much nicer and will more likely to give you an upgrade!

Posted By Gregory Gaymont on August 28, 2008, 9:46 PM

We rented from Auto Europe in Spain a few years ago and due to some problems we and disputes with the rental provider we contacted them for help on our return. They were so totally unhelpful that I will never rent from them again and also not recommend them to anybody. It was a very unpleasant experience.

Posted By Kari H Allen on August 29, 2008, 10:33 PM

We have rented a car in Munich from Auto Europe in October and I am concerned that since we will be picking up the car the day after Oktoberfest, I just hope they will have the car we reserved (automatic, big enough for 4 adults plus luggage) and not tell us they gave "our" car to someone else since this is the busiest time of the year for Munich. Any advice?

Posted By c rieland on August 30, 2008, 3:23 PM

I've rented thru AutoEurope twice and been disappointed both times. I'm really wondering where all these stories about high-quality customer service come from.

First experience in Greece;the local retailer specifically stated on pickup that we would get a refund if we choose to return early. Positively surprised we took them up on it and guess what; no refund. On contact and inquiry both the retailer and AutoEurope were extremely unhelpful; AutoEurope specifically did not want to hear about it. Not their problem if the customer is sucker enough to believe verbal promises from the actual rental agency. (Gotta admit, technically they were quite right. But no trace of any sort of customer support there.)

Second experience in Germany; reserved and paid thru AutoEurope and picked car up with voucher at EuropCar. Returned car as planned, but hey presto; next month there was an additional charge for couple of days rental straight from Europcar on my VISA.

Both AutoEurope and EuropCar were unwilling to take any responsibility of clearing the mixup; "It's not our problem; You gotta call the other guy."

After a month of trying to set things straight with very un-cooperative German switchboard-ladies of both respective companies, and written complaints, I switched strategies and had my lawyer draft an official reclaim statement, stating that double billing is very questionable business practice and quite probably also constitutes a Fraud under European legislation. The VISA charge was reimbursed without any communication from Either AutoEurope or EuropCar.

So, "very smooth customer service...". Hah.

Posted By JariR on September 19, 2008, 5:33 AM

We rented a car from Europcar through autoeurope and I am still trying to get the post-rental additional charges off my credit card.

I live in North America and recently canceled a rental with Enterprise rent a car. Why? Because Europcar and Enterprise are now affiliated.

If you have a choice, avoid Europcar and Enterprise at all costs.

Posted By POD renter on September 25, 2008, 5:07 PM

Do NOT RENT FROM Sixt

We rented a car from Sixt in Austria for a week. It was returned undamaged. Once we had left the country and returned to North America Sixt "claimed" there was a scratch costing some 1400+ euros to repair.

Upon return, SIXT did not bother to inspect the vehicle. This is the ONLY appropriate time to do such an inspection and it should be (but clearly isn't) their sole responsibility.

Instead, they made a fraudulent and outrageous claim, one that could not be refuted since we were long gone, and one that if the scratch is real, could and did happen AFTER we had left the vehicle in their care.

Do not rent from Sixt.

Posted By Allan Bowman on November 18, 2008, 1:50 PM

I rented a car last year through AutoEurope who set me up with a car from Eurocar. When we got to Rome it turned out that the car I had requested was too small, so they put us into a PT Crusier. The car was dirty hadn't been checked out, but we were desperate so we took it. That night, we had a flat tire. I had to pay the entire cost of the tire isn't covered under their policies. Always be sure the car has been checked out, cleaned, and check the tires to be sure they are in good condition, lots of tread, no nails, ...

Posted By Andy BH on February 9, 2009, 4:48 PM

I have rented with Auto Europe for years and have had nothing but fantastic experiences. Remember that any and all "hidden fees" are explained beforehand on the voucher Auto Europe sends you when you confirm a reservation with pre-payment. Read the fine print. It is your responsibility to read the Terms and Conditions on the voucher. Sure, occasionally a rental agency will try to stick you with an unfair or erroneous charge. In that case, however, you can always call Auto Europe toll free either immediately from the agency counter or after the rental is over and Auto Europe will solve the problem. Auto Europe's HQ is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; it never closes and people are always there to help.

Posted By Neil on February 21, 2009, 1:19 AM

I rented through autoeurope for an upcoming monthlong trip, pickup in Barcelona. The price quoted for an Avis rental was so much cheaper than with Avis directly (over a thousand dollars cheaper) that I'm suspicious. All the paperwork checks out. Am I unnecessarily paranoid?

Posted By James on March 2, 2009, 10:40 PM

With Auto Europe you pay in advance, whereas many of the companies don't charge you until you arrive at the airport.

I recently used this company for car hire in the Algarve, Portugal
and paid on arrival at Faro Airport.

Posted By Matt Jenkins on March 7, 2009, 4:40 PM