My wife and I are going to be in Normandy in early April, and we thought it might be nice to rent a car for a couple of days to check out the local villages, and see the countryside and the many tourist attractions in that area. I checked the Auto-Europe web site for a rental in Caen, and the smallest, cheapest car they offer is $183 per day! And that doesn't include the road tax and who knows what else! If my prior experience in traveling in France is any guide, I'm figuring about $225 a day for one of those little things that the clowns ride around in at the circus. I'm not that concerned about the size of the car..... it's the price that has me going around in circles. Am I missing something here? Did I mistake the daily rate for the weekly rate? Anybody here have any suggestions for a less expensive rental?
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Kayak.com and carrentals.com are showing about $150 for three days for their least expensive car.
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
Look for Autoeurope to put rental rates on sale after the beginning of the year. Also, if you reserve with them and you later find a lower rate, they'll match it.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2716 posts
I paid about $600 or $650 for a full week for a small, but not tiny, car with automatic transmission at Hertz. I picked it up at Chartres and returned it at Marne la Valle. Automatic is about double the price of manual transmission, but if you can't drive a stick, you don't have much choice.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
about $800 for 3 WEEKS in France.
Oddly, it was a Chevy...
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Jim,
With Auto Europe you'll find that a two-day rate is about the same as a one-day rate. And a three-day rate isn't much more. I entered some arbitrary dates in April and got these quotes for an economy car for two days with pick up and return in Caen: a basic rate of $153 and an inclusive rate of $183.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19099 posts
That seems a little high, but for two days in an out-of-the-way location, maybe not. I once tried to rent a car for one day in a major town in Germany. They wanted over $100. The rule in car rental is that it's cheaper by the day the more days you rent it.
Posted by
Orlando, Florida
676 posts
Try Europcar.com. I just plugged in 3-7 April, pick up and return at Caen airport at 1000, the mini is $336.07. DIdn't read all the fine print to find out extra charges tho.
Posted by
winston salem, nc, usa
1078 posts
go to expedia.co.uk and you will find EUROPEAN not US rates that include all charges.