long story but we are renting a car in Paris via National Rental due to crazy low company rate/free days I can get and do not want to use other car rental options. i assume National in France is not like USA where you can choose car and we will be getting a car assigned to us. my son is pretty tall and will be in backseat for trip and we are bit concerned about rear head room, how much flexibility would we expect from rental agent to switch cars with us if assigned is super short in rear... we picked a Ford Focus Compact Manual class car
Posted by
Chicago
8090 posts
We have never gotten a car like we ordered -- and the last couple of times got really junky Korean cars when the web sites showed a reasonable array of French and other European cars. I would just book as best you can and hope for the best and try to convince them to change cars if it is an issue. Flexibility in such matters is not a French national characteristic.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
824 posts
I have also never received the car I have reserved although (with a different company) they did have a reserve this exact car option for more specialty cars. This time a reserved a Fiat 500 - the perfect car for hilltown exploration and my wife has one so I'm used to driving one even if it's a little small for me.
When I got there they were excited to tell me they were upgrading me to Mercedes E class and seemed stunned when I said "No" because it is a horrible car for hilltown driving and parking a criminal cruised tourist lots. So the 'compromise' was a Citroen full blown 4 door SUV in some non-color that was awful to look at, park and drive. Awesome.
Good luck and in my experience you usually get "upgraded" in size not downgraded. You can always ask/haggle/negotiate before you take the keys, but in smaller places they only have what they have.
=Tod
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
It's perfectly acceptable to look at the car they offer then go back to the counter and ask for another if the car doesn't accommodate your needs. Think of it like a hotel room. If there is something wrong with the room, you go back to the front desk, tell them the problem and ask for another. The only difference is the rental car agent always has other cars to offer - without having to rent a different class of vehicle.
Posted by
Pleasant Hill, CA, USA
473 posts
Last summer at CDG we rented from Hertz and the gentleman at the counter gave us a choice of vehicles. We ended up with a brand new Skoda. It was a compact and was perfect for two. I never set in the back seat to check leg room. We were happy travelers.
Posted by
Cleveland
162 posts
We had a choice of vehicles when we rented in Nimes last month with Sixt.
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
Given that you're renting in Paris, you'll likely have a better chance of getting the rental agency to make a change than if you were renting in a small city.
Posted by
Folsom, California
540 posts
so, not wanting to hijack this thread, but I am curious: when looking at car rental options in France, most of the mini/compact cars are hatchbacks. We try not to rent hatchbacks as they don't really hide your luggage, etc, when you are parked. (We may have to keep luggage in car one day while we are sightseeing.)
Have you found that you can get a car that has a normal trunk, or were most cars hatchbacks?