Rental Care Pickup in Paris Suburbs

Posted by Sterling16 on 04/04/17 07:18 PM

Next month my wife and I plan to rent a car somewhere outside Paris (away from traffic in the center of the city) on our way to Giverny, Rouen and Normandy. Where would be a good place to find a car rental close to a Metro or RER station in the Paris suburbs? Regarding a later drop off, it looks like the closest spot after staying in Mont Saint Michel is Rennes, about an hour away by car. Any other ideas on a drop off rental location after Mont Saint Michel?

Also we are both 75. Is there an age restriction for renting a car in France?

Posted by adodd

04/04/17 09:25 PM

169 posts

Sterling: Be aware that some rental car companies charge a very stiff penalty for returning the car at a location other than where you picked it up. I think Sixt does not have this penalty, but you should be sure to check.

I assume that you will be going to Giverny first. You might check and see if there is a rental car location at either Mantes or Evreux, which are not too far from Giverny. Peter

Posted by Robert

Portland, Maine

04/04/17 09:34 PM

2916 posts

There might be issue with your age. On the AutoEurope web site it states that there might be an additional charge if the renter is 70 or older.

Posted by Bets

L'Occitanie, France

04/04/17 09:51 PM

10183 posts

When you rent through the consolidator Auto Europe, autoeurope.com, the fee for dropping at another place is waived.
You could see about picking up at La Defense or an agency in the 8th beyond the Arc de Triomphe or Porte Maillot. It's quick out of town from these places.

Rennes is a good choice for car return. The train will whisk you back to the Montparnasse train station very quickly.

Posted by JHK

Florida (previously California)

04/04/17 09:53 PM

3689 posts

Generally in France, there is no one-way rental free except with Avis and sometimes Hertz but that could be changing. I always suggest La Defense as a pick up spot for the rental from Paris for trips heading west. As far as I know, Rennes is the easiest and closest place to drop off a car if you are heading back to Paris from Le Mont St Michel. As to the driving age restrictions, there is no general age restriction in France so you have to look location by location and company by company to see if there are restrictions. I suggest that you reserve your car through Auto Europe and the representative will let you know if there are any age restrictions applicable to you or any additional fees.
Edit: Oops, posting the same time as Bets.

Posted by Nicole P

Truro, NS, Canada

04/04/17 10:41 PM

3940 posts

We rented with Europcar and picked up at the Ave Foch location. It was an easy walk from the metro by the arc de triomphe. More important, we didn't have to circle that crazy roundabout...it was pretty much a straight shot to the ring road. They had good hours as well (we needed somewhere to pick up on a Sun morning, and that was one of the few spots open).

We rented via AutoEurope, dropped it in Ouistreham, and I don't recall having to pay any extra. If you drop it (or pick it up, for that matter) from a major train station or airport, you most likely will be charged an extra fee. And when we dropped it, there are a few daily fees that were added on at the end - we've rented twice, and it was something like a few euro per day.