In 2019, I had no problem renting a car in Caen, Fr to drive around France, then into Switzerland and then back to Dijon, France. For such a reasonable fee, around $350 for 20 days. I learned from a RS consultant to do that and it worked like a charm! But I am headed back in Sept. with my 83yo mother and to rent in Caen and return it to Strasbourg or Mulhouse, there is a $600 difference from returning it to the same city. And that is without the rental car company knowing I plan to take it into different countries. RS group always said there was a cost prohibitive fee to return a car in another country, but it looks like that now applies to returning it to a different city within the same country? Any tips or tricks are very welcomed! We plan to take a short flight to Barcelona at the end and that's why I chose Strasbourg or Mulhouse.
Posted by
Citizen of the World
3962 posts
The consensus of contributors here is try www.AutoEurope.com or www.AutoEurope.eu for the best deals on car rentals in Europe. AutoEurope is a broker for the large car rental agencies such as Hertz, Avis, Alamo, Sixt, Dollar etc. and that means you can get an idea of pricing from multiple companies through a single website. You’ll hopefully save money as well as time looking for a rental.
The one-way dropoff charge is almost unavoidable when you drop off a car in a different country than the one where you picked it up. You should. however, be able to find a company that has either no charge or a one- way dropoff charge of less than €75. AutoEurope will include any dropoff charge, if there is one, in the total price of the rental you see on the website—so no surprises. . You do need to let any car rental company know that you intend to drive the vehicle outside of France. There could be serious repercussions if you don’t advise them in advance of your plans. Keep in mind rental cars usually have electronic equipment that tracks the whereabouts of the vehicle.
Note that under French law, you will need to get an International Drivers Permit. They are available at any American Automobile Association office for about $30.
The experience of some who have rented through AutoEurope.eu is that they found lower prices on that website after first checking rates on AutoEurope.com
Note also that rates for your trip dates can fluctuate just as the price of gasoline does. So, after I reserve a car several months in advance, I have sometimes found lower prices later and I changed the reservation. I have also found that sometimes rentals are unavailable in popular locations if you wait until a month in advance of the trip.
Finally, I found that picking up a car in Caen and dropping it off in Mulhouse for some dates during September costs twice as much as dropping it off in Strasbourg. So aim for Strasbourg in your search!
Posted by
Middletown, RI
1613 posts
I have often picked up/dropped a car in Caen, Rennes, Cherbourg, Paris and CDG from Hertz and Enterprise. I don't remember their up-charge, but it was small and nowhere close to $600. I would shop around.
Posted by
Moncton NB
1501 posts
What company? Unless its changed, Europcar never charges in-country dropoff fees. A lot of people recommend AutoEurope, but I always find it best to deal directly with the company.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
9511 posts
Curious as to whether the 600 difference is actually noted as drop off fee or is it just the difference of rental cost drop off in those other locations
We have never paid a drop off fee in France
Check with AutoEurope.com
Posted by
Sydney, Australia
363 posts
I have noticed in the past that drop-off fees are high when you have a) a different drop-off location to the pick-up and b) if the drop-off location is somewhere small. You may be able to avoid or minimise it by taking the car to a major destination like CDG airport. If returning to Strasbourg or Mulhouse I would check to see that you are returning it to the airport rather than a location in the town.
Don't know if that will help but can't hurt to look.
Lavandula
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
2034 posts
We usually return our European rental cars to a different location, but always in the same country. The one-way rental fee runs somewhere between 50 and 80 dollars. We always pick up and return our rental cars at airport locations.
Posted by
45 posts
Last year we picked up an Auto Europe rental car in one small French city and dropped off in another about 200km away. Maybe we got a temporary deal or something because the One Way Surcharge was zero. There was a Premium Station Surcharge, probably because it was picked up at a train station location although it was in the center of town, not sure about that one.