I am trying to book a car for 3-4 days in the Algarve region early September. Many people recommend using Autoeurope to book (they use more reputable cars, I believe) . One poster said he checks both the US and eu sites. They carry some ofd the same cars like Europcar, Avis and Hertz. However, the european site is often half the cost. The US folks at Autoeurope says they will "provide better customer service" and are open 24/7 rather than 12 hrs/ day. Has anyone here compared these two options? If I compare the same types of car companies (like those above) , should I be OK using the autoerope.eu site? Any things to be concerned about?
Posted by
Boston, MA
1829 posts
Some say the insurances are different.
Cannot say if you might have issues as an American using the EU site ; and I really don't know why the sometimes cost difference.
I noticed the same thing for a Portugal rental with the EU site being a good amount lower than the .com site.
Oddly, the EU site is not always cheaper for France, Italy, etc... places where I have used AutoEurope .com for
Auto Europe did not seem to have competitive rates in Portugal in general ; while they do elsewhere so a little puzzling overall and I ended up using someone else.
To your point of More Reputable Cars: auto Europe is merely a booking agent ; the car you get is from the company you choose on their website. If you stick with Avis, Hertz, Europcar you will get a nice car if you book through Auto Europe or elsewhere.
In most cases (Portugal maybe an exception) AutoEurope provides competitive rental rates, the lowest cost insurances found anywhere and great customer service. Those are the reasons to use them not for a better car.
I had a recent positive experience in Portugal with an Avis Car (I used Priceline in this case)
Posted by
winston salem, nc, usa
1078 posts
*Rather than a consolidator, go to expedia.co.uk and you can pick from the a list of the franchises at the airport or train station you are going to. I use them consistantly when traveling and do the reservations from the U.S. Be sure to pick the $ or € because the default is the UK Pound and the rate will look pretty cheap in that currency!
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Just to clarify, people don't recommend Auto Europe because they have "more reputable cars." They are a consolidator, working with various rental companies. If Auto Europe gets you a car through Hertz, it's the same car that you would get from Hertz directly.
The reason people use consolidators is to get a better rate, and sometimes better service (they will intervene if you have problems). If you are interested in using a consolidator, also look at Kemwel and Gemut. Sometimes, one of them can have a much better deal than the others.