Car rental for 5 guys

Hi Susan and Monte,

While I have not rented in Germany, I have rented throughout Europe with Auto Europe and have been very happy. They work with a number of well known rental agencies and provide a good selection of vehicles, including vans. One thing in terms of a van, I rented one several years ago for 6 in Italy, a 7-passenger, make sure you pack light. There was plenty of room for people, but if each of us had anything more than one 21’ suitcase, we wouldn’t have fit everything.

A couple of things about Auto Europe. Over the years I had to make last minute changes to dates, had an accident, parking tickets, and had delays in returning a vehicle and it time the service was great. They were especially helpful in handling the accident in France. Everyone was was safe, just some damage to the van. I had insurance and everything was handled quickly.

The other thing you should check is to see if you need an International Drivers Permit (IDP). I did a quit check on the internet and looks like you will need one for each driver. You can get them at AAA.

Sandy

Another vote for Auto Europe - they're great.
Along with IDP's for everyone driving, you'll need to purchase a Vignette at the border upon entering Austria ... actually before crossing the border from one of the service stations along the road as you approach. Forgetting to do so can result in a sizeable fine for the unwary.
An alternative to driving from Munich would be to take the train to a destination within Austria and just collect your car there for the time you'll be in the country. Don't know if there would be an appreciable cost savings to be had, but at least it would reduce your time behind the wheel by a few hours.

I don't know about which companies to avoid, but I can say you will want to rent and return the car in the same country to save money.

And I can confirm that yes, you do all (all who might drive, who will be named on the rental agreement) need both your home DL and an IDP.

We always rent from Avis and have never had an issue. Watch your speed in town and between towns as speed cameras are all over. As someone already mentioned, you need an IDP and a vignette for driving in Austria. We got our vignette right at the border. Depending on where you pick up the car in Germany, it may have one. It is required to drive on Austria’s interstates.

Thank you for your help! I have rented from Auto Europe before and they tried to bill me for an half empty tank! Fortunately, i had a receipt for filling it up about an half mile away! I got them to reverse the charge but it left a bad taste in my month so to speak!

Again, thanks for your help

Auto Europe is a third party broker, not a rental agency itself. Its an American company for which the advantage is that you are paying any upfront costs and fees in USD. Your car would actually come from one of their several European partners. Possibly it was the actual provider that wanted to charge you for the fuel.

I always rent from Sixt when in Germany with no hassles. One piece of advice I would give is don't rent from the airport and main train station as there is usually a surcharge for renting a car there from almost every rental company, also these locations won't be convenient to getting to Austria. Here is the location I always used (and they have vans available):
https://www.sixt.com/car-rental/germany/munich/munich-haidhausen/#/

It's pretty easy to head out of town on the A8 towards Austria from this location.

DJ

So far Auto Europe has been good for us.

Are you returning to Munich, or flying out of Vienna? Are you going to do the bike trip you told me about? You definitely don’t want to return the car in another country. As far as multiple drivers, they will charge an additional amount for each person that’s not the one renting the vehicle. It can really add up. I rented a 7 passenger minivan when I went to Germany last October. As someone else mentioned, with 5 of you there won’t be a ton of room for luggage. Probably one carryon sized suitcase each. You may be able to find a larger van. I always use Auto Europe and have been happy with them.

and be aware when you take the autobahn (the most direct route from Salzburg to Vienna), it actually crosses through Germany.

That's the autobahn from Salzburg to Innsbruck. The autobahn to Vienna is entirely inside Austria.

When we lived in Germany and had six passengers for a trip to then Yugoslavia (this was in 1990), I rented a minibus and we had space for everyone including luggage.

The only time I rented in Europe I followed RS advice to rent through a U.S. company to make it easy for you to file a complaint in case there is a problem. I rented through National which turned out to be Europcar in Europe.

Just to add... Many vans are too tall to fit into some park houses.

Hi Susan and Monte 😊 i’ve used Auto Europe 20+ times and recommend them, however, i learned a very valuable lesson last Sept... we rented a car last minute (long story) directly from Hertz in France. I bought their 0 deductible insurance directly from Hertz and it turns out it was the best thing i could have done. We were hit by a French driver and the car was totaled. Because we had bought Hertz’s insurance, we paid nothing (of course), they sent a taxi to pick us up at the crash site and took us back to our hotel in St Rémy (they didnt have a replacement for us right away). Later that night they sent another taxi to pick us up and take us back to the Hertz agency (Avignon TGV station) to get an upgraded (by them) replacement car. The crash and the rest was a big hassle but Hertz made it as easy as it could be.
Fast forward a week later, we decided to rent a car again, just for the day, in a town right outside Paris. I did it online with AutoEurope and bought their 0 deductible insurance through them. When we got to the rental place they informed me that because our ins was through AutoEurope if we had any kind of accident we’d have to pay the agency $2500 out of pocket and would be reimbursed by AutoEurope at a later date. I was not happy. At all.
My lesson was: rent through AutoEurope but pay for insurance with the company you rent from when you pick up the car, do not buy it through AutoEurope.

Have fun Monte, sounds like a great trip!!

But, Susan, what about your trip? Were you injured?

Thanks everyone for your advice! This is going to be an epic trip!!

Hmmm, the combination of Monte, Bavaria, Beer, several friends, a van, taking place around Octoberfest time in Munich, somehow I feel this could be a very... eventful time.

Nothing but good things to say about Auto Europe. Recently cancelled a booking, refunded within a few days, no quibbles. Top notch.
Auto rentals with any company have increased significantly lately.

If they are planning a lot of short days of travel rather than a few long ones, they should look closely at their itinerary to see if it could be done by public transportation.

For the Bavarian portion, a Bayern-Ticket for five people is €53 per day (€10,60/person/day) and gives unlimited travel that day on regional trains and buses (www.rvo-bus.de) in Bavaria, including to Salzburg or Kufstein, Austria. For all of Austria, an Einfach-Raus-Ticket, for €47 per day (€9,40/person/day) gives unlimited travel that day on regional trains in Austria. In addition to trains in Austria, Post buses go many places.

Travel with these regional passes could cost no more than fuel for a car on days they travel and definitely less than the daily cost of car rental on days they don't travel.

I've traveled extensively in Bavaria using mostly Bayern-Tickets (sometimes just single trip tickets for shorter day); trains and buses have always gone to everywhere I wanted to go, and 80% of my travel has been to towns of less than 20K population.

You can go between Salzburg and Hallstatt using rail and just the Einfach-Raus-Ticket, or like I did, using Post buses through the Salzkemmergut.

Monte, are you still planning to do the bike ride along the Danube? If so, how does a car fit into that?