Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Autoeurope or Sixt??

Hi everyone. I am debating on renting a car with either Sixt or Autoeurope. I know that autoeurope is a broker and Sixt is an actual car rental company so that is one major difference. However, the price with Autoeurope is $252 inclusive of the VAT tax but it does not include the road fee and Railroad station surcharge or about $60 combined (when converted from euros). Thus, the total with Autoeurope is probably going to be around $312 total.





Sixt is offering a Pay Now option of $308 but if cancelled there is a cancellation fee. The Pay Later option is $329 and has no restrictions. The car is being picked up in Bordeaux and dropped off in Nice.





Can anyone offer any advice between the two rental companies/brokers?? Which one tends to have better service and does anyone have any preference.




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%26lt;%26lt;I know that autoeurope is a broker and Sixt is an actual car rental company so that is one major difference.%26gt;%26gt;







You%26#39;re right, that is a huge difference. I have actually booked Sixt rentals through Autoeurope. But ultimately, as most all of the cars themselves are generally equivalent within each class, what is important is the price you pay.





One strategy is to find the best deal you can and then CALL Autoeurope on their toll free line and ask them if they can meat or beat it. You are wise to consider the road tax and pickup surcharges, some forget about these costs when comparing prices.





Here is a list of most of the larger rental companies operating in France (except Sixt):





http://www.ada.fr/



http://www.avis.com/



http://www.citer.com/



http://www.citycars.fr/



https://www.economycarrentals.com/



http://www.europcar.com/



http://www.hertz.com/



http://www.ttcar.com/fr/




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I have never used Sixt but as an actual car rental company, I am sure their service is fine.





I have used Autoeurope in Italy and UK and both times worked out fine. I just showed the rental company my voucher and things went smoothly.





Be sure to understand whether insurance is included. In your case, I%26#39;d go with Autoeurope since the Sixt rate is non-cancellable but it only saves you $4.




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I%26#39;ve been using AutoEurope for over a decade. They%26#39;re easy to deal with, always competitive, and should an issue arise, they%26#39;ll take care of it with a smile on their face.





I can%26#39;t recommend them highly enough.




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I have rented from Sixt(a German based company) in Germany and the Netherlands. They have great service at the counters and head office(prompt response).




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I%26#39;d agree with Sammy... for a difference of 4 dollars go with the increased flexibility of AE.





That said, I was playing around with dates and airfares on Expedia this morning and adding a car rental via Expedia through Hertz was substantially less then AE, HotWire or Sixt from Paris in July...




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%26lt;%26lt;I was playing around with dates and airfares on Expedia this morning and adding a car rental via Expedia through Hertz was substantially less then AE,%26gt;%26gt;





I am sure you were careful in your analysis but it might be important to note that when making comparisons insurance coverage, train station/airport surcharges, road taxes, automatic transmission charges, and one way fees (with Hertz and Avis) should all be taken into account. Sometimes lower quotes do not include these fees which may be collected locally by the rental company.




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Thank you everyone for your advice and comments. I really appreciate the feedback and it seems like Autoeurope has very positive reviews with a lot of people and they have always been very helpful and prompt with their communication with me. In addition, I can always get a full refund if anything should happen up until the day of the rental. I think AE is who I will be going with.





I am really looking forward to renting a car in southern France and driving around. When I lived there for 2 years I only took trains and buses so it will be nice to have the freedom to go wherever I want and explore. Thanks again! CHEERS




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