We were in France in March 2019 and I wanted to make sure to share my rental experience with you all. I read many pieces of advice from this forum before traveling, and I want to make sure I pass along advice. Prior to traveling, I read negative things about Sixt but was swayed by the low price, which was a mistake.
We rented a car from Sixt in Caen. The car was located in a lot a few blocks from the office. The employee didn't go with us to find the car, just sent us on a hunt to locate it. After locating the car, I took pictures of it to document any damage.
When we returned the vehicle, the employee spent 15 minutes going over the car with a fine tooth comb. She pointed out two scrapes on two hubcaps. I pulled open my pictures from my phone and showed her that the damage was present at the time of rental. She then said - you are right - it's noted in the vehicle information but just wasn't on the diagram. She told her co-worker that the damages were there previously. I asked for a receipt stating that the damages were on the vehicle prior to us getting the vehicle, and THREE employees said we didn’t need one - and I was stupid and trusted them. I should have insisted on it, but we had a train to catch.
Upon return to the US, I had an email stating that the damages were being charged to us (over $500). I purchased the additional coverage through Expedia, but this is now a matter of principle. I emailed them the information with the images to which they replied that the images were time stamped 6:21PM (after we got the vehicle). Keep in mind that my computer has all of the items in Eastern Standard Time, not France time. They also stated that we should have gone to the employee to point out the damage - I have a feeling if we had done that, they would have said that we scraped the hubcaps before getting the employee.
So a huge lesson learned - do NOT rent from Sixt unless you purchase additional coverage and take pictures with the employee present. They are very dishonest.