France car rental

The Auto Europe site lists service in Chartres. IMO, you can't go wrong with AE.

I'm just about ready to rent from Auto Europe. It sounds like there are going to be extra charges when I pick it up. Are there fees tacked on when I get there? Also, it says a GPS is just a request. Did you get insurance, use a GPS, and have a deisel car?
Thanks for the help. Virginia

Virginia - Another reason to rent through Autoeurope is that they have a 24/7 toll-free number in Maine that can answer your question about any additional fees at pickup. They make an effort to ensure that you fully understand the terms of your rental. I'd go to them for your remaining questions.

Fabulous! Thank you soooo much! Virginia

Virginia,

Some people feel more secure buying full insurance coverage. Since my credit card provides coverage, I chose AutoEurope's basic rate and declined CDW coverage. My car was a small Mercedes hatchback with a diesel engine and a six-speed manual transmission. Very nimble, good power, and great fuel economy.

Virginia: You asked about GPS. People reporting in here over the last couple of years, those who have actually used a GPS in Europe, have reported by about 98 to 2 that they would, in the future, use a GPS for driving in Europe--the reviews have generally been very enthusiastic, once they've tried it. There are people here who have not yet tried using a GPS in Europe, and you may see some lukewarm comments from them (oh, just use regular maps, etc). Out of more than a hundred reviews, we've only had I think 2 travelers who used a GPS in Europe and then said it wasn't worth the trouble or expense. What you saw on the website is correct: contrasted to renting in the US, where if you check the online box that says "GPS", you're very likely to get one-- a significant number of travelers have reported that, in Europe, they didn't always get a GPS even after they had checked the box. This causes some travelers to buy the GPS here, one that has both N. American and Europe maps preloaded.

I would counter, though, if there's any place in Europe where you don't need a GPS, it would be the Loire. Two roads run paralell to the river, one on the north, and the other on the south bank. Nearly every chateaux sits just off one of these two roads, and there's signs everywhere to direct you. So, all you really need to know is which side of the river and which direction to drive, then just follow the signs.

So, I'm one of the few who doesn't go out of my way to rent a car with a GPS. I've even found that for some weird reason, there's areas of eastern France and western Switzerland where the GPS makes too many errors to be useful.

I agree with all those who recommend using a GPS in Europe. I would buy one here and get accustomed to using it before going to Europe.

I will not go back to Europe without one. I use mine so often that I would insist on one in a foreign country.

If adding the European maps program for a US GPS costs only $100 I would say it is truly worth it.

Thanks everyone! We are going to get a GPS because we will also be traveling through the Dordogne and staying at B&Bs all along the way that often off the beaten path. We have already decided that three weeks isn't enough time to see everything we want so don't want to waste time backtracking and getting lost. Virginia