rental cars

What's a great rate to you? How much are you paying for how many days? Are unlimited KMs free? Insurance? How many countries? What size car? Automatic or manual transmission? Pick-up and drop-off both in the same country?

Thanks for the reply--560.00 usd--17 days, unlimited miles and includes cdw with a 800 euro deductible--economy car--corsa or equiv,

That's $33/day, a good rate, but not great. I just got a quote from Gemut for a VW Golf around Munich for $35/day. Of course, although I asked Gemut for insurance, they wouldn't quote it, only said to use my credit card insurance.

My route is fairly short, just over 100 km per day. When I compared the cost of fuel, tolls, and road tax to the cost of bus and train tickets it was slightly more for the car, just for fuel and tolls. So I figure I'm saving at least $35 a day by using public transportation.

durb,

Could you indicate which areas "throughout Europe" you'll be travelling during your 17-day trip?

If you want to do some comparison shopping, go to www.autoeurope.com If you want to do some bargain shopping, call AutoEurope directly and tell them what Dollar is willing to give you. They might be able to beat it. Rental car sales are down because of the economy. Generally, the CDW insurance and dropping the car off in a different country than you rented it in drives up the cost. I don't want you to be surprised when renting the car. If you can, request a diesel car. They get a lot better gas mileage and the gas is cheaper. Have fun on your trip.

Has anyone heard of any trouble with crime/thieves or robbers/kidnappers while sleeping in your car?

You're going to want something to cover that 800 euro deductible. With the exchange rate now, that'll be around $1200, plus whatever fees your credit card charges for foreign transactions.