Auto Europe problems

Robert - when we arrived in Zurich this past March with our AutoEurope voucher the Europecar guy said that the voucher did not include a $200 fee (forget what the fee was actually for). At first he wanted us to pay it up front but after a short discussion decided to let it go to corporate. We arrived home and did get another bill from Europecar that we forwarded to AutoEurope. They, apparantly, took care of it. So, trying to say that we too have had the "extra charges" discrepancy but were happy with AutoEurope's handling of the situation.

What were the extra charges?

Auto Europe was recommended through ETBD office. I called them and arranged for a 8 day rental in England. I got a voucher from Auto Europe for one fee before we left.

When I returned it, Hertz ignored that and charged me a exorbitant fee, double what Auto Europe said. Trying to work through the problem calling numerous times with Auto Europe has been frustrating. I get a different person every time I call them about the issue.

Also, if you even get in a accident, your fault or not, get witnesses if possible or a written confession from the person who hit you. This also has been very frustrating to work through. I purchased extra rental car insurance from American Express. That seems to be a good idea.

Finally, after 3 months things seem to be working out. Hopefully by December.

Beware of the FUEL SERVICE option if you ever rent a car overseas. The fine print says you will get NO credit for fuel in the car. They will charge you for a full tank of gas regardless of how much you have when you return the car.

Buyer Beware of charges when you rent a car. You almost have to have a attorney review the paperwork before signing.

I am glad I reserved with my credit card. You get many free coverages when you do that.

I had a great experience with Auto Europe. We actually got the car through Europecar. Looking at the internet and emailing Europecar directly there appeared to be a problem with our pick-up location (this was before we left). I called Auto Europe and got a very helpful rep who not only checked it out for me but called me back within 10 minutes. As a matter of fact both the rep and her supervisor called me at the same time.

In the end the rental went off without a hitch and we had a great time.

This was for a car in England this summer.

Cary, thanks for your post. I was getting nervous about dealing with Autoeurope.

Robert, I wish you luck. Any advice or tips before we rent a car through Autoeurope?

Eli,

I would say check and double check your information, including Mapquesting (or similar) the locations for directions from a train station or hotel. I was mapquesting directions to the pick-up location in Manchester and according to Europecar, the location didn't exist! But it did - and AutoEurope knew that even though Europecar didn't (which is a little disconcerting on the part of Europecar, but not AE).

Secondly, deal with customer service on this side of the Atlantic...they were the ones who were so helpful. That is why you want to know all you can about your location before you leave...because once you are there you'll have to call "internationally" to get the American customer service (though I imagine it would be worth it if it became necessary).

In any event, I will definitely use them again - MUCH cheaper than going directly with one of the big companies.

Eli, in 2005 I used my Capital One World MasterCard to rent cars through Auto Europe for both Ireland and France. In Ireland the car was provided by Budget and in France it was provided by Europcar (note the spelling). No problems.

Tim, did you buy the extra super CDW?

Just found this site, and wouldn't mind your feedback. I don't know how to imbed a link here, sorry.

http://www.gemut.com/european-auto-rental/europe-car-rental-news-deals-and-advice/europe-08-the-year-of-the-rental-car.html

Eli,

I don't think you'd have problems with any normal CC (unless you run into the chip problem). We didn't ever have that issue while in England this summer, but we didn't use it for anything other than hotels and the car.

As for insurance, we opted to not get any extra stuff. We just made sure we had an emergency fund that could cover the deductible. However, we were only traveling in GB, and we decided the risk was worth it. In my opinion, after reading the section in ETBD and reading around the internet, the idea of dealing with a foreign insurance company seemed to be a bigger hassle (if a wreck happened) than paying the deductible and moving on. We were blessed and didn't need it.

I guess it comes down to how much of a risk taker you are.

We had some issues with Auto Europe through National Car rental. We had opted to use our visa card for collision damage waiver. When we arrived they told us we had to put a 1000 pound deposit because our card was not gold or platinum. We did not have the money available on that particular card and it had to be put on that card so we ended up having to pay out of pocket for their insurance. They were not very nice about it and I had asked a few times if I could use their phone with a calling card to call my credit card company, but they refused. The closest public phone was a bit of a walk back into the london terminal and we were on a time schedule so decided to just pay the money versus missing stonehendge as that was where we were headed. It was not a good experience for us and I was very upset when we left. But the car got us to Stonehenge and the rest of our trip so that was good. I personally will never use Auto Europe or National again, but I'm sure others have not had a problem.

Amber,

Your issue was with National...not AutoEurope. I don't remember if I got to choose to use EuropCar when we went through Auto Europe or not, but I think it'd be worth it for you to explore Auto Europe again but just make sure you aren't with National. From what I could see using the American companies (National, Hertz, etc.) are bigger, have more red-tape, are less responsive, and more expensive.

I disagree with your statement. We arranged the car through Auto Europe. They in turn sent us to Hertz.
We had a problem with billing with Hertz. Hertz was useless in fixing the billing problem. I relayed the problem to Auto Europe believing they would fix the problem. To make a long story short, they were not much help.
American Express, whom I charged the rental, has been very helpful. I submitted a questionable charge for the bill when it showed up on my statement. Thanks gosh for Am Ex. I also purchased extra rental insurance from them covering personal injury.

I never thought a 8 day rental would be this big a headache.

Again, though, your original problem is with Hertz...another big American company. It seems to me that the issues generally start with them. I see your point with AE not taking care of the problem. I had the opposite experience when dealing with them. It is probably luck of the draw. In any event, dealing with Europcar was great, so you might consider finding a way to go with them next time, even if it isn't through AE.

Yes, I all started with Hertz.
Trying to rectify the problem through Auto Europe has been painful. Every time I called their customer service, I got a different person,some more helpful than others. It's very impersonal!
Am Ex has been great. They have credited my account for excessive hertz charges and even refunded the money was charged for the minor accident in England.

Yes, I all started with Hertz.
Trying to rectify the problem through Auto Europe has been painful. Every time I called their customer service, I got a different person,some more helpful than others. It's very impersonal!
Am Ex has been great. They have credited my account for excessive hertz charges and even refunded the money was charged for the minor accident in England.

You do not need international drivers licence to drive in Italy or in France. I just called autoeurope who confirmed it to me. I visit Europe once a year and have always been satisfied with autoeurope's service. They have great guys on the phone and will help you with the car rental companies if something goes wrong,

Sophie: It is MANDATORY to have an Int'l Drivers' Permit in Italy. It is the law. If AutoEurope told you otherwise they have badly misinformed you.

Just a note that this post is 2 1/2 years old, and I'm not sure why Sophie revived it - and then gave errant information, to boot.

This is too weird, does she work for Auto Europe and where in the world did she get her wrong information? Look at original date of post. Am I missing something?

Was just on the "Italy" site and again Sophie has posted wrong information and is pushing Autoeurope. She said no need for international drivers license which is WRONG. Just makes me more suspicious.

Since the original post is so old, I just deleted my response from earlier today. As I said in that post, this is like an alternate universe. Edit: If people have something new to say on this topic, why not start a fresh thread. This is so old as to be irrelevant. Also, other than the strange manner in which Sophie revived this post, her rave for AutoEurope is no different than what I receive from several old-time posters every time I question the value of such third parties in auto rentals.

We had a problem with Auto Europe many years ago (trying to charge us for things not identified upfront). Since that time we have gone directly to Hertz (though I see others have had problems with them). Hertz has always worked very well for us. Once in Wales when my husband accidentally backed into a fence and did some damage to the car, we thought they would charge us a huge amount, but it was minimal, and they took care of it fast. I haven't reserved with Hertz yet but will soon for our August trip.

Since living here in England, I have found a company that has saved me a lot of money on car rentals all over Europe - www.carhire3000.com. They are a broker that contracts with local companies, so you may end up with Avis, Budget, etc through them.
I have probably used them 10 times with (knock wood) no problems. I have booked with both my UK and my US credit cards. Just wanted to offer an alternative to Auto Europe, for those who want it.