Munich Car Rental

Jon, When you rent a car with Sixt, Hertz, Europcar etc. the basic rate they quote is including basic insurances but excluding VAT (19% in Germany) and the extra fees they charge if they have to rent an entire car park building like at an airport or a train station.So when you pick up your car at an airport another ~20% is added to your total. By picking up your car at a downtown location you can avoid these costs. Munich is the home town of Sixt and besides the airport they've got 13 stations across the entire city. Check their website and see if one is close to your hotel. Hertz, Europcar, Sixt and others do deliver to your hotel, that's true. However, there is a service charge attached to it. By the way with most of them you can drop off your car anywhere you want (within the same country) at no additional charge. So even if you pick up the car at a downtown location you might as well return it at an airport or train station, if that suits you better.

I agree that not renting at the airport will save you significantly. But for me, it was money well spent to avoid the hassle of navigating an unfamiliar city. Nice, orderly, city grid plans, like in many US cities, are few and far between in Europe. When we rented our car in Munich, we took the train back out to the airport and rented it there. We had zero problems navigating our way to the highway. For us, it was a small price to pay to avoid a minimum of 5 arguments about navigating within the city itself. And the airport surcharge was probably about the same cost as all the flowers I would have to buy her to make up for the arguments. :)

Rick, you've got a valid point although I don't think navigating in German cities is that difficult. One pro or picking up the car at the airpot is the amplitude of cars they have. Not only can you get a 3-series BMW (new model) but also can you chose exactly what engine you prefer, automatic or stick, even color occasionally. For Germany, Austria ALWAYS chose Diesel engine by the way. Diesel is is €0.20 cheaper per Litre ($1.40 per gallon) than regular. A 320d goes faster than legal on US freeways anway ;-) Be aware of the speed limit of 130km/h in Austria. In Germany there is no general speed limit. HOWEVER, in areas where there is one, watch your speed! Autobahn patrol is hiding in the bushes with laser speed pistols and pull you over right on the spot.

We have dropped cars in Munich on Several occasions and always dropped at the trainstation.We were then a short walk from our hotel.It worked very well both times.

Like Rick, we took the train the to airport and picked up the car. We used it to drive some of the Romantic Road, returned to Munich, and then used it for a day trip to the monastery and castles south of Munich. While in Munich we stayed at Hotel Uhland which had free parking behind the hotel.

In our last few trips to Germany we have rented autos through Gemütlichkeit - gemut.com. They deal with Auto Europe, are reliable and easily accessible, both during the trip planning in the US and in Germany if you should have to contact them for any reason. We picked the auto up right near the Hauptbahnhof, saving some money. There are mulitple locations throughout Munich to pick the auto up. Usually we don't pick up the auto until we are ready to leave the city. Then you can drop it off just about anywhere.

Hi Jon,
We just returned Sunday from Germany and rented a car after we were finished touring Munich. We rented on-line from Europecar. The rental agency was the one on Boschetsrieder Str. in Munich. You can save quite a bit by not renting at the airport or the train station. We took the S-bahn (subway) from downtown to Andernacherstr. and walked about 2 blocks to the rental car site. It's less than 1/2 mile to the highway to go south, which is just what we did! We stayed at the Hotel Monaco in Munich, which was very satisfactory, but next time, I would stay a little closer to Marienplatz.