Rental cars in Provence

We always book our cars thru AutoEurope.com-a US based consolidator with excellent customer service
We always book with Full Insurance/No Deductible for peace of mind ( even though we could use AmEx)

Check their website to see what they offer

What Christine said. Do make note of hours rental companies are open. In smaller towns many are closed on Sundays and may have reduced hours on Saturdays. Also, lunchtime closures.
Autoeurope is a good place to find a car.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm a little confused about the options and don't usually rent cars abroad so maybe you can help. It looks as if renting directly from Budget is more affordable and doesn't require advanced payment. What am I missing here? Anything I should be aware of?? Any big advantages of renting with the company you mention? See below for details...

I looked on the site you suggested and see the following option for budget rental car. I selected the full insurance at your suggestion and since it requires payment now, I also selected cancellation coverage:

Due Now
Rental with Full Protection
$385.36
Cancellation Cover
$29.62
Included in Rate
One-Way Fee (estimate)
$70.61
Premium Location Surcharge (estimate)
$43.85
Tax (estimate)
$24.96
Vehicle License Fee (estimate)
$10.80
Total Rental
$414.98
Full Protection Includes:
Liability Insurance
Fire Insurance
Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) Collision Damage Waiver. Deductible: EUR 1,900.00
Theft Protection (TP) Theft Protection. Deductible: EUR 1,900.00
Refundable Deductible
Wheels, Glass, Roof and Undercarriage Damage Coverage
Windscreen, mirrors, external lights and lamps
Roadside repairs and Towing costs
Key cover & lockout

Then I looked on budget's site directly and see this (which is cheaper but the insurance may be different -- hard to tell):
Base Rate$55.46
Rental Options$66.21
Loss Damage Waiver (LDW)38.82
Windscreen Protection13.50
Theft Protection13.89
Taxes & Fees$174.11
One Way Fees70.16
Surcharge54.65
Total Tax49.30
Estimated Total: $295.79

You don’t need the cancellation coverage unless you cancel within 24 or 48 hours?
AutoEurope rentals are always cancellable and you can also rebook if you see a better rate on their site after you have booked (they have frequent sales)

It looks to me like your insurance coverage is not equal -( no CDW)
Budget will get you at the counter for additional insurance-no idea what that cost will be

We use AutoEurope for their excellent customer service
They will deal with any problems ( which we have never had)

With a Budget rental you are dealing with the local franchise-not the same as the US company

I would upgrade to No Deductible

Thanks for all of your help! I had read that an international driver's license is not necessary to rent in France, but when I opened my autoeurope email confirming my rental, it says that they are mandatory. What?! I am leaving tomorrow. Is this true? Have you rented a car recently in France and been asked for one (as someone from the US)?

Just returned from France a few days ago. Rented a car in Bordeaux (train station) and returned it to Avignon (train station). Spent 3 nights in Dordogne and 3 nights in Provence. The good news is that rentals are coming down in price from a few years ago. The bad news is prices fluctuate wildly so keep checking. Used AutoEurope and agree they are a good company. Always video the car while in the lot. This helped me out once in Italy. CDW can be a rip off so be aware and try to pay for it when making a reservation. At the desk the price often is higher. We put a lot of miles on the car and were conscious of where we parked, avoiding tight squeezes to avoid careless dents. The other good news is that we found French drivers to be careful drivers in those regions so we encountered no difficulties. Google maps and Waze are routinely used.

I understand credit cars also provide coverage but I can never figure out how good it would be if an accident occurred?

Just rented a car from AutoEurope in the Avignon TGV and they did not ask for an int’l drivers license tho hubby went to AAA and got one a day or so before we left.

I believe an IDP is required in France
It doesn’t matter if rental desk neglects to ask for it, the police will want to see it if you are stopped for any reason ( accident, traffic violation)
It’s about 20 bucks from AAA

We always carry when we travel, even if we don’t plan to rent a car- if something happens where we end up having to rent we are covered.
We both have an IDP even though my husband does the driving, again, just in case I end up having to drive
We rented last spring in France but I don’t recall if we were asked to show it at the counter( we have been asked in Italy)
I think your insurance would be invalidated if you are not properly licensed

Good to know! But I guess instead of packing, I should run over to AAA right now just in case... Thanks!!

aipsen,
Just a note...It is an International Driver's Permit, not an international driver's license. The permit (IDP) provides a translation (I don't know how) of your valid state drivers license. Your must have a current valid license from your state as well. The IDP does not substitute for the license. Carry both. Like Christine, we each have our own IDP to carry with our licenses, even though my husband does all the driving, just in case I need to drive.
I also recommend getting your full insurance coverage when you reserve your car through Autoeurope. We used to rely just on the coverage from our credit card, but have become more conservative and cautious over the (many) years.

Have a fun trip!

Just wanted to mention this…..while waiting for our train to Paris at the Avignon TGV last weekend we visited with 2 couples from Canada…..one said they had rented their car from Avis, paid extra insurance to make sure all was covered and when they turned their car in they were charged 35 euros because there was sand on the carpets of the rental car…..our guy did not even look at ours when we turned it in!

We recently rented a car at the Avignon TGV, from Europcar through AutoEurope. The full zero excess coverage was not available on their website, but was by phone. Although our credit card offers primary CDW coverage (if you forgo the rental company CDW insurance),we did not want the hassle of paying, then submitting a claim for any minor damage.

Europcar still required we sign an agreement to pay E25,000 if the car was 'totaled', but fortunately that didn't happen!!! Not sure how that would be handled by, AutoEurope.

I wanted to report back. I rented a car from auto europe for several days in Provence. Ended up getting the international driver's permit before leaving the US, but was never asked for it. While driving wasn't particularly difficult, I did not enjoy it. The car was an automatic and ultra "smart" and beeped at every tiny little thing. The controls were in french so I couldn't figure out how to turn off the constant beeping (ha). If I were to do it again, I might just skip the car. Go on a tour or two and get a cab to a place in the countryside to stay for a couple of days. That said, a car does give you a lot more freedom, but if you don't like driving abroad, it's still possible to see some things without the car.

We had a ‘smart’ car as well. I was thankful for the beeping. It kept DH from speeding, so I didn’t have to be the constant reminder (nag)😉. On the other hand, it was very confusing. The car, Google Maps, and road signs all indicate speed limits, and they did not always match, often by considerable amounts. Following road sign speed limits was a no-brainer, but when absent we had to choose the car or GoogleMaps. I suggested to be safe, just choose the lower of the two, but sometimes that seemed far too slow, and the drivers behind us obviously agreed.

The rental charge from autoeurope.com is 1200+ for two day rental of economy car in June (from Nice). If I go directly to Avis or Hertz the rate is way lower. I am not sure why there is such a huge difference. Did anyone else experience the rate difference?

The difference is likely due to how much insurance is included in quoted rates

Without knowing your dates, rates offered by each, etc no way we can accurately answer your question

$1000 for a 2 day rental seems excessive, have never paid near that much for longer rentals

The car was an automatic and ultra "smart" and beeped at every tiny little thing. The controls were in french so I couldn't figure out how to turn off the constant beeping (ha).

New EU cars beep when you exceed the speed limit, and many also emit a soft beep when the limit changes. It's very annoying in urban driving with frequent 30-50-70 speed limit changes, but it's impossible to completely toggle off...