car rental

I'm following. I really hope you receive some informative responses. I plan to visit the Perigord and would like to rent a car in Bordeaux, also.

I suggest using AutoEurope for your reservation. I've rented a car in Bordeaux a couple of times. AutoEurope will present you with a number of options. All the companies are basically the same.

Tbh, all the big brand names are good. Hertz, Europcar, Avis, Sixt, Enterprise: no real bad apples between them. Sixt has the best cars, but the highest insurance deductibles.

Check operating hours of your pick-up location carefully. I recall several earlier posts mentioning that French rental agencies often close for lunch, in addition to having limited weekend hours.

I think if you specify a noon pickup, your list of options may shrink drastically from what you'll see if you pick up at 10 AM or 2:30 PM. (I have no idea what the lunch-closing period usually is.)

We useGemut https://gemut.com, an American company that books through AutoEurope. Tell them what you want, when and where and they quote you a price. I'm not sure how this works, but their price has not been higher than AutoEurope when I've checked. In addition, Gemut offers 24-7 English language assistance if anything goes wrong (it never has for us in 5 trips), along with a lot of tips and advice.

Autoeurope is also an American company, and also a broker just like Gemut and Kemwel. They're interchangeable. I never bother checking the last two, but perhaps it is worth it.
Always a good experience booking through Autoeurope, and often a little bit cheaper.

At least one poster here has mentioned their rates can vary, so it seems it's worthwhile to check all three companies.

I just booked from Bordeaux airport for April. I ended up with better price for Alamo through Autoeurope. I even tried looking for the same offers as I was seeing on Aitoeurope at the company websites, but my best deal was still Autoeurope.

I agree it is worthwhile comparing rentals agencies as prices can vary (a lot). We often rent a car at https://fandango.nl/en/. They offer fully insured rental cars and we love the fact that they arrange everything locally upfront. Having that said, all international car rental agencies offer cars in France, Bordeaux, so best to compare a few (at various dates!).

Do take in mind that the local car rental agency may not accept all type of credit cards. Best to check and avoid struggles when picking-up the rental car.

Enjoy Bordeaux!

Thanks so much to all for your suggestions!

marv,
We always find our car rentals through Auto Europe.com, a well-run and reliable consolidator. Last year we picked up our car at the train station (where several companies had offices) and dropped it off there. (We came and left by train). Our son did likewise at the Bordeaux airport. Because the train station and airport are large and busy ones, the rental offices were open longer than in smaller towns. Last year we used Enterprise and Hertz for rentals in Bordeaux and Marseille. Check out Auto Europe.com and compare prices, etc., and open hours.