Rental Car for the Dordogne

I pay a flat $24.95 per rental through American Express and decline rental car coverage. Europecar or other similar agencies are good. Standard is much cheaper than automatic. Smaller is better on those tiny roads.

We check the insurance coverage on our credit cards and use the one with the best coverage. We decline all the optional coverages from the rental car company.

We agree with the previous writer that in the Dordogne, a smaller car will be better for navigating the narrow streets.

After years of happily renting from various rental car companies, just a few months ago we had a very bad experience renting from Europcar. The small car we ordered specifically for the Dordogne was replaced with a smallish SUV, covered with scratches and dents, and equipped with a faulty transmission. We were told that was the only available car. The roadside service we eventually needed was poor. The Europcar employees at the agency where we finally traded the car were rude. Then the company used the credit card to tack on hundreds of dollars in unexplained additional fees. When we wrote to Europcar the company eventually worked out a financial agreement with us. We realize this is probably not typical of this company, but personally we will not rent from them again.

I have found AutoEurope phone customer service to be very helpful. They don't upsell and take the time to explain things.

I agree that smaller is better, right up to the point where you and your luggage can no longer fit inside. Okay, maybe not that closely measured, but smaller is better on French roads and in French towns. One time we actually had to back out of a street that our car couldn't fit in. I could see the intersection I wanted to get to and kept creeping forward because I couldn't believe that the car wasn't going to make it. It finally became very, very clear that I was wrong and I had to slowly back up to where I could find another way to that intersection.

As for advice and options, we have had good luck with Gemut. https://www.gemut.com. They bill themselves as experts in German, Swiss and Austrian travel but have been very helpful to us in renting cars in France.

It sounds to me as though you have good insurance coverage without the insurance from the rental car company. We have never needed any kind of documentation (a letter, for instance) about our coverage. CDW is a money-making "extra" that the companies try to sell, but it's your right to decline without proving anything to the car rental company.

Language can be an issue here. Gemut is very clear in steps you should take to make sure that you aren't paying for insurance when you meant to decline and they have a 24/7 help line if you need it. Rick Steves' books also cover car rentals in some detail. I would recommend that you read his France book for more information.

You should get an international driver's permit. It's inexpensive and easy to get. We get ours at AAA without being members. It essentially says you are a licensed driver in your country of origin. There's plenty of coverage on that subject in these forums. You'll probably never need it but you'll sure wish you had it if you do need it.

Standard is much cheaper than automatic.

I've read that several times, but I've never been clear what "much cheaper" means. To put some value to it, I checked a rental agency (in this case Avis) and the price to rent a mid-sized car in Toulouse for 12 days. The cars I focused on were a Renault Megane manual and a Peugeot 308 automatic. Both cars have similar capacities and both have GPS.

The cost difference came to a little less than 13 euros per day. Some might argue that that's understandable as Peugeots generally are nicer cars than the more basic Renaults, but a Megane is a pretty nice car, in my opinion (and slightly longer), so I would consider them largely comparable.

Now, I'll leave it to the judgment of anyone reading this whether saving less than 13 euros per day on a rental cost of around 1,000 euros constitutes "much cheaper" or "slightly cheaper."

I think a lot of the perception in cost difference is that automatics tend to be associated with higher-end vehicles (nicer Peugeots, Volkswagens, Opels, BMWs and Mercedes) whereas manuals may be in those kinds of cars but also range down to very basic (and small) Fiats and Renaults.

I have found AutoEurope phone customer service to be very helpful. They don't upsell and take the time to explain things.

Ditto, ditto, ditto. And when I've run into a problem afterwards, Auto Europe has helped to straighten it out. Much easier to deal with an English speaking intermediary than trying to deal with a French-speaking customer service person. And while it may seem counterintuitive, renting through Auto Europe (or Kemwel) is often cheaper than renting directly through a rental company.

We've also had good experiences with Auto Europe. We generally decline extra insurance coverage because our credit card provides it (as long as we use the card to pay for the rental) -- keeping in mind that the card's coverage may be after-the-fact reimbursement and require considerable documentation. You won't need a letter from the card issuer; any legally required coverage will be built into the rental rate. You will need an International Driver's Permit, available at low cost from AAA here, which verifies the validity of your state-issued driver's license (which you should also have along). The rental company may not care about the IDP, but it will help a lot if you're stopped or in an accident.

We had a great tour of Lascaux II (that's Roman two, not eleven), didn't know about Lascaux 4. Those old Magdalenians sure were prolific, weren't they? ;-)

We used Autoeurope on our trip to the Dordogne in June. We drove down from Paris. We used Hertz and had full coverage. Very reasonable. We had a 4 door hatchback City car for the two of us. Small is good on the roads in the Dordogne.

Keep in mind the car model and type you see is rarely the one you get.
It will always say or similar ; and you are assigned from the fleet available when renting a car in the "same class"

I find if I get a couple of steps above the very entry rental you get a fairly nice car and it often has GPS installed as well. The cost difference it to me is usually worth it.
I don't mind manual so never pay extra for an automatic.

Insurance depends on how car free you wish to be, if you pay for the full insurance you literally never have to worry about reviewing the car when you get it, logging any incidents, car when returning ; etc... that freedom and no extra time will appeal to many and make it worth the extra costs

Hertz, Avis and Europcar in France should give you no issue declining all insurances and you don't need any paperwork just say NO, the thing to understand though is any of those credit card or 3rd party policies you might have require you to pay the car rental place and then get yourself reimbursed. It is on you to check for damages, get police reports should something happen, etc... ;

That is why as I mentioned sometimes depending on the cost, even though my credit card includes Primary Car Rental insurance I sometimes still pay extra for the zero deductible for that ease of walk away assurance.
AMEX's coverage may be a little better than this when used within the terms and in the countries in Europe it is valid for.

Thanks to all of you for your responses.

--Jerry