Need to rent a car in Avignon to drive to Dordogne valley, drop in Bordeaux after 6 days.

I'm not sure what you mean by "very expensive," but there are several rental agencies you could check -- Hertz, Avis, National, Enterprise, and Sixt off the top of my head and I'm sure there are others.

My experience, limited as it may be, is that rental companies tend to be pretty similar in price. Perhaps it is that your expectations about cost are poorly aligned with actual market rates? You may want to spend a little more time on the Internet to check several firms and see what seems to be the prevailing rate for what you're asking.

I usually start my search at www.autoeurope.com. They have some rates that you might not find on the agencies' direct web sites. Last October, the Ford Fiesta that I rented from Hertz in France (through AutoEurope) had GPS built in, without my requesting it.

Thanks for your input.,Matt I'm sure you are correct that it's just the prevailing rate. A few years ago we rented a car in Amsterdam to tour Normandy area for a week and rates were much lower but now the USD isn't as strong against the Euro. Also we are dropping off in another city. Anyway I will do some more research.
Laura, thank you for suggesting AutoEurope. I haven't tried that source yet.

I have used Kemwel, located in Portland, Maine, for years, and have always gotten good rates. Auto Europe has now merged with Kemwel. I used them recently for car rental in France in July, and in Croatia for September, and I think their rates are decent. I have never had problems with Kemwel/Auto Europe. They are a broker, so your actual car rental agency could be Hertz, Europcar, etc.

We always book with AutoEurope. Did you request a manual or automatic transmission?
Automatic is much more expensive.

I want to thank everyone for your helpful input. Thank you Suki & kmkwoo, I am now researching renting with AutoEurope. They have options that are much more reasonable than Hertz (which is one of their options). We hadn't looked at automatic with Hertz but do see it is an expensive option offered at AutoEurope. There are not as many cars to chose from when it is selected. We will be using AutoEurope to rent our car. Does anyone have any input on car insurance?

For car insurance, you have four options:
- Most expensive, least hassle: buy full coverage from the renter ("zero excess")
- Buy full coverage from the broker (Auto-europe offers a "super cover"), a bit cheaper, but never had to file a claim with it so I don't know if it's easy / hassle-free.
- Stick with the basic CDW coverage included in the rental which has a typical 900-1,500 euro excess, and rely on third-party car rental insurance (there are several providers out there): worth buying if you rent several cars a year, and claim processing is apparently less of hassle than with the last option:
- Stick with basic CDW and rely on your credit card insurance for coverage of the excess

If you can find a good deal on option 1, it's the best option, otherwise I typically stick with option 4.

Warning: some renters do NOT include the basic CDW in their base fares. Sixt is notorious for this. It is risky, because even if you can process the claim later, you are liable for the entire cost of the car in such a case.

Thanks very much for the car insurance information,

We always use AutoEurpe for our European rentals and have always been very pleased with their rates and service.
We rented in France for 2 weeks last Sept- EuropCar thru AutoEurope picked up at Orly, dropped 2 weeks later in Arles- our cost was less than $300. For an automatic compact and the car was a decent size- my husband is 6'3 and he had no complaints.
Our Amex covers our insurance so check with your credit card companies or follow Balso's advice above.
If you are not used to driving a manual then get the automatic. "Relearning" a stick is not what you want to be doing in France.
We bring our own Garmin Navi that has never let us down- but you can rent a GPS with your car. I'd do that rather than rely on wifi, google maps on your phone or whatever. Get a good paper map as well.
Do read up on driving in France and familiarize yourself with road signs etc. Have lots of coins available for the tolls- credit cards didn't always work.

I don't know where you live but you'd be hard pressed to find a car rental rate that low for even 1 week in the US!

We loved the Dordogne area-stayed in Sarlat--enjoy!

Thanks so much for your information, Christine. Wow, you got a great deal. Was the compact car trunk big enough to put your suitcases?

Yes- it was actually more like a station wagon with a cover that pulled across our luggage.
Plenty of room. Can't remember make/model but just be aware that the make/models shown and offered will not necessarily be what you actually get- just as it is in US when you rent a car. You'll get a car in that "class".

ETA: Exactly how many suitcases are you talking about? We had 2- 24 inch bags (along with our midsize backpacks)- all fit in trunk. Anything bigger or more bags total would not have all fit in trunk.

Also- we booked that car well in advance- probably 4-5 months out. Since you only have 9 days til your trip you are probably going to pay more.

If you have not already researched how to see some of the caves you should get on that as well. We visited Lascaux2- did the English tour it was amazing.
"LascauxII- Detailed Tour" on this page- tickets are limited!
https://reserver.lascaux.fr/en/todo?filter=d%3D20190705

Christine, thanks so much for all this information. i really appreciate the link to order cave tickets - was able to order English tour tickets for the days we will be in the area.

Hey meg
make sure about getting your IDP (international driving permit) for each driver. AAA/CAA has them same day, $25 and 2 passport photos. some car rentals may ask if you have one, but definitely if stopped by local police. enjoy your trip
aloha

I've recently traveled around the Dordogne and the Lot by bus and the occasional train. My cellular data coverage dropped very frequently, so if you want an electronic navigational aid rather than relying on paper maps, you should expect some difficulties if you use something like Google Maps. I assume dedicated GPS devices would work fine, but I've never used one.

Glad to hear you were able to book a tour

Another tip for car rental
Take photos of the car, front, back, both sides before you leave the lot...just in case
We always do that and luckily have never had to use