Hi,
Trying to arrange a trip to Tour in a couple of days; have figured out the train route via TGV, but autoeurope is listing only cars with manual transmissions for rental. Any suggestions for finding car with automatic transmission to rent?
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It may be that, as Tours is not all that large, the rental depots there do not stock automatics. They are regarded as a luxury in Europe. You could try
www.europcar.fr
www.avis.fr
www.hertz.fr
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Tours TGV (St Pierre des Corps)- Hertz: Ford Focus Automatic or similar
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I see automatic listed on Autoeurope. The car models include Volkswagen Golf and Mercedes A180.
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As you will be arriving by TGV, pick up your car at the TGV station at St Pierre des Corps, which is on the outskirts of Tours. It will be easier and you will have more choice of cars than at the Tours Centre Station.
It is true that automatics are not so common in France, but I just looked on the Europcar website, and they do have some for St Pierre des Corps (Volkswagen Golf, and Volkswagen Passat)
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The problem occurs that an automatic may be listed - but the getout clause %26quot;or similar%26quot; means that when you arrive they probably will not have an automatic for you. You will have no comeback on this - a manual car is %26quot;similar%26quot; to the automatic version of the same model.
This is more likely if you book through a consolidator than directly with the company involved - but even booking directly with hertz or avis or any of the other companies doesn%26#39;t guarantee you will get what you asked for.
My experience is that of the last dozen or so times I have rented a car, I have only once had the car I booked. Most of the time I was %26quot;upgraded%26quot; for free - annoying when you%26#39;re trying to keep fuel costs down.
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tried booking the focus on-line, but hertz would not allow it... am calling today... still not sure if there will be an automatic there... will post later.
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Automobiles with automatic transmissions are indeed difficult to find in France, particularly outside of Paris, Lyon, or Marseille. I believe the primary reason is one of higher fuel consumption in a location where fuel is maybe 3 times more expensive than it is in the US.
A second consideration is that with few available, reserving several weeks to months in advance increases the likelihood of availability. I noticed Europcar has automatics available later in the month.
Would this be a good time to learn how to drive a manual gear box?
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