Car Rental- Which companies are best or worst to use?

Karen, I've rented from both Hertz and Avis several times in Europe and had no problem.

I have found Europcar to have good rates and easy to work with in Germany. But their best deals are for prepay, which you say you do not want. I don't know about other countries. I guess it depends on who is inspecting the car, but I have not had to contend with any of the intense inspections with Europcar that others complain about, usually with bottom-dwellers. I have heard good things about Sixt, but I cannot speak to that personally. Cost-wise, you might be better off returning the car in southern Germany taking the train to northern Italy and renting again when you get there. You could save by only having to pay for full CDW in Italy. while your credit card would provide coverage in Germany and Austria.

Hi - We have used Sixt several times in Europe and had a great experience each time. We have used them a few times in Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, and have an upcoming reservation for Greece. Their cars seem to be the nicest and newest of all the European rentals that we had and their $0 deductible insurance is among the best (we just don't want to deal with credit card coverage or and hassles on our trips). They are often a little more pricey but the service is well worth it. On the Amalfi Coast, we had a rental scheduled for a day but the weather didn't cooperate. Every morning for 3 days we changed the reservation and they honored the original price and even dropped the car off at our hotel. In Florence we returned the car and their printer was jammed so we couldn't get a receipt. The charge that came across was over $150 more than we expected. One call and a fax (to show our original reservation quote) fixed it and they credited us the incorrect changes without any hassle. Still waiting for a credit (or even a response) from Avis... We ended up disputing the credit card charge. We have also cancelled reservations with Sixt at the last minute with no issues.

We usually use Autoeuope.com to book our auto rentals in the EU. They are a broker, based in Maine, that handles all of the majors. To get the best price, we book here, give them our CC #, and they charge us. If we change our mind, they let us cancel, and credit our CC. When we book using our CC we get (CDW), liability, etc at no cost thru the CC company. These savings, and the great price that we get by pre-booking, make it worthwhile. If there is any type of dispute we also have the CC Co. to help us out. I really don't understand why you would want to pay more? "I prefer to not prepay, as if there are problems when you pickup the car we're stuck. " Yes, something could go wrong, and you could miss your pick-up time. We cover that variable by purchasing a cheap trip insurance policy. (check them out on Squaremouth.com) The saviings that you get by pre-booking almost pay for the trip insurance!

Karen asked about the worst companies, as well as the best. Every company will have some dissatisfied customers because, in the end, you are dealing with individuals, sometimes greedy individuals, not the company, when you pick up and return a car. Still, I try to go with the percentages. Companies like Sixt, Euopcar and Hertz seem to have the fewest complaints on TripAdvisor and Fodors, as well as Rick Steves, so I prefer to deal with them. Thrifty and Budget seem to have the most complaints on these sites, so I avoid them. Avis is somewhere in the middle, and I usually include them in comparison shopping but have never actually rented from them. If renting through AutoEurope or gemut.com, Kemwell, etc., I would still reject Thrifty and Budget, even if it costs more, and ask to go with one of the other companies. My thinking is that, I have to return the car to the rental company, not the consolidator. I don't like to play games with these companies just to get a initial lower price. But that is just me. Many people rent from these companies everyday, either directly or through a consolidator, and never have a problem.