I am getting conflicting information as to whether a GPS unit rented from Avis will work outside of its home territory (Germany). My GPS (Magellan) is not able to handle European maps. I do not want to buy a GPS for a 10 day trip since I already have one that works well at home. Avis customer service says it does but they didn't sound to sure. We will be in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and maybe France. Thanks for any input you may have.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
The most common situation is that the GPS has an all-Europe map rather than one country only. But unfortunately, probably no one here knows for sure, because we have the same limited info you have: we don't know exactly which GPS unit you would be given, someone here could have rented from Avis in those countries but been provided with a different model.
Posted by
Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada
629 posts
When I asked Avis about a GPS for our rental car in Spain the extra cost would have been $18E per day. That adds up to quite a bit of money so we took our Garmin with a Europe 2010 card purchased on Craigs list for $50. Their GPS should work fine everywhere in Europe but is it worth the extra cost per day? Our GPS is now ready for our trip next year to Great Britain.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
If you rent through Sixt, a majority of the cars in their fleet have a GPS built into the car, and the presence or lack of a GPS has no bearing on the price of the rental. I have not found a built-in GPS that did not cover all of Western Europe.
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
Some cars have built-in GPS that doesn't cover all countries. Day charges for GPS are high. I second to the suggestion of buying, in US, an used Tom-Tom or Garmin, buy a map card for Europe and you will save decent money.
Posted by
OP
DTW
343 posts
Thank you all for your replies. Since I already own a GPS and have no need for another, I will rent from Avis and take my chances. Avis is quoting a daily rate of about $4US. I have not been able to find a GPS cheap enough that would entice me to buy. Thanks again.