Hi,
We are renting a car through Auto Europe (Europcar). We have the car for 1 week while we explore Provence (mainly Luberon and a visit to Nimes and Pont du Gard). Is it likely that a GPS will come with the rental car or will we need to rent one? I don't see any rates listed on Europcar to rent and I know from past experience in the U.S. that GPS rental can be expensive. Is it really necessary to have one?
Thanks for your feedback.
Ryan
Personally I'd recommend it. We were all set to go without GPS on our Auto Europe (Europcar) rental, but when we showed up at Avignon TGV they were out of the VW Golf that we signed up for. We had to settle for a BMW 3 Series for the same price...it was great and had GPS built in. Glad it did, once we got the hang of it we relied on it and relaxed. Next time I will bring a GPS that I'm familiar with.
I was glad I brought mine from home with the maps I needed loaded on it.
1- Using your own is cheaper than renting one from the rental agency
2- If you use your own, you know how to use it
3- Getting an on-board model to speak English, may be a fun hunt through menus to find it.
I would expect an on-board GPS is likely in only upscale cars, and getting a free upgrade like Dave is not a "plan"
We've never used a GPS in all of our trips to France. A couple of our rental cars came with them, but I'm not particularly adept at using them. On our recent trip I did bring some downloaded maps on my phone, but mostly just used them before a journey to pick out a good route. I can see where a GPS would come in handy, especially if you're used to using them. Also, the Europcar agent might very well try to sell you GPS at the counter. Last year I had a very insistent Europcar agent in Bordeaux who acted shocked when I told her I didn't want a GPS. Of course, she acted shocked at every other upsell item that I turned down.
I'm using my smart phone with the Co-Pilot app (Western Europe maps cost $30). You can also use Google maps for free but Co-Pilot is much better. It gives the speed limit and warnings when you are going too fast as well as upcoming speed trap warnings.
It can navigate without any data and I'd suggest turning your data off except when you are searching for an address or attraction.
I wouldn't count on lucking into a GPS. If you need one, reserve it and expect to pay quite a bit.
Another is bringing a GPS from home, but you will need to make sure it's made to navigate outside the US and has reasonably current versions of European maps.
