Europcar rental

I rented Europcar last summer in France (pick-up in Brive, drop-off in Avignon). I have nothing but good reviews for them. When I picked up my car they upgraded me to a new Audi at no extra cost. The clerk was very helpful in reseting the GPS to speak to me in English. I would rent from them again without hesitation.

I've rented extensively in France for 30 years, and most of the rentals were with Europcar. I was very pleased with them in most respects ... until the last couple of rentals. I wouldn't write them off, but I now make sure to always rent through Auto Europe, because they've been helpful when I've had issues with Europcar.

I've used Europcar at least once (Spain 2012) and didn't have any issues. I'm not brand loyal. I look at all the options, then book the one that works best.

It's possible that the only time someone writes a review is when they have a bad experience. I'm not sure I've written too many reviews for car rentals.

I'd say look at all the reviews and see if it's a theme that might cause a problem for you. If I were to write a bad review, I imagine it would be being billed for repairs when I didn't damage the car. I always take pictures of the car from multiple angles when I pick it up and again from multiple angles when I drop it off to prevent this from happening. I can see people being upset about being forwarded a traffic/parking ticket also but that's really not the car company's fault (other than maybe their administrative charge for sending you the ticket).

In the past five years I've rented cars in Europe 13 times, in nine different countries. Ten of those rentals were from Eurorcar, including a couple booked through AutoEurope. I have had no negative experiences in any of the rentals. Some places have been friendlier or more helpful than others, but all have provided at least good service. I will rent from Europcar again this year.

I have only one experience with Europcar and it was 20 years ago so not relevant. I have seen a few complaints here but nothing serious. I was unfamiliar with consumeraffairs.com so went to the website to take a look. It seems the website exists to take complaints, so that is what you will find there.

I checked Hertz and Avis---both fared as poorly as Europcar, with all three getting one measly star out of five. That contrasts strongly with my own experience of Hertz, which we have always relied upon for good service---including two rentals in Italy.

So then I looked at two local (Seattle) companies that are well-regarded here and known for good customer service. Again, lots of complaints, and one measly star for Nordstrom. REI fares slightly better---almost up to two stars.

Bottom line is, I would not pay much attention to those ratings, which are so far off from my own personal experience, and that of others whom I know.

I always rent from Europcar and never from Hertz and Avis. Europcar has excellent customer service and prices. I use AutoEurope and Kemwell to check prices against Europcar's own website. This past rental, I rented directly from Europcar. Their quote covered extra charges for pick-up at the airport and fuel taxes. With any rental, make sure you go over the car when you pick it up noting all and any dings, scratches, etc. Take pictures, if necessary.

Thanks for all the input. I called Autoeurope and they were super friendly and helpful and they are fixing us up with a rental car through Europcar. I feel more comfortable in the event there are any issues that they will help us resolve them.

I'd say look at all the reviews and see if it's a theme that might cause a problem for you.

I've found that to be a very good approach for travel in general. For example, several years ago I was looking for a hotel in Annecy, and saw that one which attracted me (due to location and price), had mediocre reviews. So I read the reviews, and many of them faulted the hotel for not having hair dryers in the rooms. Since I didn't care about that, as well as some other negatives, I went ahead and booked it for 3 nights. It was a very enjoyable stay.

I would say that Europcar has started some pushier policies in the past year, but they are no worse than what we have in the States. Comparing notes, Robert and I found we had the same clerk in Bordeaux last spring who was hardselling upgrades, insurance, and more. At first I assumed this was only one clerk, but in fact, another clerk in Toulouse a few weeks later gave me the same hardsell.

I also had an extra charge that AutoEurope removed: the Bordeaux clerk insisted I had a drop off fee. Knowing in advance that AutoEurope would deal with it, I wasn't going to go into full battle with this idiot.

So note that although my husband and I have preferred Europcar and always rented through AutoEurope for nearly twenty years, we have seen a change in the two instances we rented from Europcar this year. The practice is no worse than what we encounter here in the States, but they used to be much more laid back and less aggressive. And if you find an error, AutoEurope will handle it for you.