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Avis vs Consolidator

Will be renting a car in France for a week in May. I have found a rate in USD through Avis that is quite lower that going through a consolidator (europcar). My question, since I have a reservation (in USD) and do not have to pay until I pick-up the car,do I run the risk of having to pay in Euro's once I get to the rental counter in France? I have read that this could be an issue. Thanks for your input!

Posted by
8700 posts

I can't answer your question about paying in euros vs. dollars. However, for the record, Europcar is a rental company, not a consolidator. AutoEurope, on the other hand, is a consolidator. For example, when I booked cars with AutoEurope, my car in Ireland was provided by Budget and my car in France was provided by Europcar. Did you check prices with AutoEurope?

Posted by
17 posts

I checked autoeurope as well, the Avis rate with the AWD # is still about $75 cheaper.... Just afraid that there might be some last minute problem that may bump up the rate.

Posted by
157 posts

I did the very same thing a few months ago - the Avis rate was as good as the consolidator, but the Avis rental location was exactly where I wanted it, so a double dose of good!

The reservation was in USD, but of course they will charge your credit card in euro when you are there. They would have no way of charging USD at the counter. But your rate is based on the reservation rate at the time (value of USD against the euro), Of course there could be a currency valuation change between your time of booking and the actual time of rental, but I would not assume it to be huge (unless you are renting a year in advance!).

Posted by
1167 posts

Take a look at www.gemut.com. They are a company based in the US that has very good rates with the major rental companies that are guaranteed in $US.

Posted by
552 posts

I filled in a quote request to Gemut for Croatia this fall...

No return correspondence whatsoever :-(