Car rental company recommendations

We booked a car with Athens Car Rental for our trip this September. Came highly recommended by lots of others. Very courteous, have a 60 euro deposit in place.

I got concerned when some posts (FB? I forget where) made it sound like over 70 or 75 would be a problem.. hubby is 77 and I’m 65, no issues.

Also some sites say you need an International Driving permit from AAA. But Athens Car Rental does not require that, just your US driver license.

The requirement for the International Driving Permit used to be standard. It is no longer required for most nationalities.

We will look into Athens Car Rentals, thank you. My husband has a valid International Drivers License so he can bring it along just in case. Has anyone had experience with Discover Cars? My husband will be 70.

We have rented from Athens Cars several time. Never had a problem.

Do not chase the cheapest rate.... listen to the members responding. When three recommend Athens Car Rental ( including me) that should be the only company you are looking at.

Good advice, thank you!

I thought I would jump in here simply because I am from Nanaimo too! What are the chances?... Anyway, my friend and I arrive Athens at the end of August and are in the throes of looking for a rental car for a 5 day tour around Peloponnese.. Feel like I need a law degree to get through all the fine print... the part the rental companies refer to when responding to a negative review, as in "if you had read our terms and conditions you wouldn't be having this problem. It was clearly stated"
ummm not exactly clear. This has been the most difficult part of planning our trip...

By the way ... I was all set to book with Athens Car Rental until I got into the fine print... minimum 800 euro credit card hold, not the 60 euro I was expecting per previous poster in this thread. So it's back to the drawing board ... or perhaps a long evening going through the pages of terms and conditions with a fine tooth comb.

Hello rosemosby74. Over the years we have met several people from Nanaimo who wanted to visit Greece.
While the 800 Euro hold is a bit of a shock, when you think about it the rental company is simply protecting itself from a client who does not show up. They are holding a vehicle for a renter that they cannot rent to anyone else.

Buying insurance from the rental company is not mandatory as many people have their own policies. In the event of damage to the car that 800 euros gives certainty to the rental agency that they are protected until a foreign insurance company pays for the damage.
On our last rental with Athens Car Rental we had our own insurance so the 800 hold was applied. The moment we returned the car undamaged the hold was released.

You need to be aware as you look for a rental agency is there are a lot of bad actors out there who gouge and are dishonest. There are lots of stories of people reporting being hit with excess charges for minor issues.

The reason ACR has such a good reputation is because they have a long history of being honest, reliable and can be trusted.

On our last rental with ACR the did a walk around the car so we and they have noted the minor scratches and dings before we took possession of the vehicle. My wife videoed the walk around. Next day i found a ding that I did not see on the walk around but the video clearly showed it was already there. Be sure to video the vehicle before you take possession.

I went ahead and booked with Athens Car Rental in September after the recommendations of people who have used them. I feel confident that I made a good decision. Thank you for all your responses. I will definitely take a video of the car before we go. I am looking forward to visiting Greece for a second time!

Hi,

We just rented a car from Escape Car rentals. It was a good experience. They met us at the Port after our cruise and then at the airport to drop off. We went over to Nafplio and it was nice. Very easy and simple.

Jeff Schultz