Thought I'd try posting this a little differently. Does anyone have any experience with picking up a car at the "downtown" location of Europcar in Rouen? Balso had suggested that I might be better off picking up at the train station in order to get the car I want. So if anyone has any experience with this in Rouen I would greatly appreciate hearing about it.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8319 posts
Is there another brand of rental car you can choose from? I've read Europcar's terms and conditions and they're pretty harsh.
Train station and airport pickups often come with additional tariffs/taxes.
I try to stick with Hertz or go thru AutoEurope.com.
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
2545 posts
I would stick with the location that handles more tourists: the train station. Since you’ve indicated you do not speak French, your odds for having an employee who speaks English are greater at the train station location. If there is any issue with the rental (the car you reserved is not available, etc), you’ll be able to communicate easier about an acceptable replacement.
Posted by
Paris
7301 posts
Is there another brand of rental car you can choose from? I've read Europcar's terms and conditions and they're pretty harsh.
What is harsh about them? To me they're the same as Hertz or Avis, with a similar reputation.
Auto Europe is always worth checking out: price is usually the same or slightly lower, and you get extra support if you run into problems.
Posted by
Darmouth, MA, USA
377 posts
Also, we rented from Eurocar. We had a problem of our own silliness, the carpet was preventing the clutch from engaging and we kept stalling out. We called them at 5:00 PM and we had help with in the hour in Honfluer. Though the mechanic did not speak a word of English, together we figured the problem out!
This may not be helpful but we took a train from Paris and rented a car at the Mantes La Jolie train station. It was very simple. Drove to Giverny and then on to Rouen
Posted by
OP
Berkeley, California, US
655 posts
Thanks everyone. I did go through auto Europe and I agree, their prices are the best. I also once had a problem with a dent in a rental car and my credit card servicer insisted on a police report which, of course did not exist. Auto Europe help me out a great deal with this and I was reimbursed for the charge.
David, I had the option of of renting from Hertz but they were $309 more for the same pickup location (train station). I rented from Hertz once before and many times from Europcar and so far my experience has been similar.
Travel4fun, thanks for the advice. I was coming to much the same conclusion myself.
And Balso, thanks once again for your input. Taking your advice, I did decide to change my reservation to the train station pickup rather than the "downtown" location. It will probably save me $30 worth of hassle.
Ellen, thanks for mentioning the clutch/carpet relationship! I've had several problems with rental cars that turned out to be things like not knowing how the electronic key worked or that the trunk did not appear to lock. Turns out one had to be a few yards away from the car for it to lock. Who knew? My favorite was a rental in the US where we could not find how to open the gas cap! No one at the gas station could figure it out either. Of course the manual was missing. We finally had to return the car closer to empty than full. Now I check everything I can think of before leaving the parking lot! And, much like you we are taking a train from CDG to Rouen where we will pick up the car.
Posted by
Paris
10198 posts
It will probably save me $30 worth of hassle.
Undoubtedly. Balso took the time to give you excellent advice.