Comments on: Lousy domestic US car rental rates? Check the European providers

By: Downgraded: AutoEurope requires purchase of vacation packages to book some rates | Upgrade: Travel Better

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:31:58 +0000

[...] brag about, I check the Euro-centric rental car consolidators — even for rentals in the U.S. (See here for an earlier post on this trick.) I’ve been a fan of sites like AutoEurope, even for [...]

By: Hertz waives surcharges for younger drivers | Upgrade: Travel Better

Hertz waives surcharges for younger drivers | Upgrade: Travel Better — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:37:04 +0000

[...] a car without huge surcharges? – Before and After: Hertz to start photographing your rental car – Lousy domestic US car rental rates? Check the European providers Categorized in: travel No CommentsSHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Hertz waives surcharges for younger [...]

By: Toyota Prius Owner

Toyota Prius Owner — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:41:43 +0000

Hi, love your post, I think hybrid cars are the future.

By: Jayson

Jayson — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:35:22 +0000

That’s a pretty slick way to get lower rental rates; I hope it works out and you don’t get slammed with a bunch of hidden fees.

By: S A

S A — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:44:12 +0000

@nobugs — “of course NYC residents pay more for rentals” — I’m no New Yorker, but I’m not sure I’d be so nonchalant about that. Seems rather discriminatory. I just followed the links in Mark’s comment above and I was appalled. How can they justify charging $77 more PER DAY because of borough you live in???

By: nobugs

nobugs — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:21:22 +0000

HI Mark,

Yes– of course NYC residents pay more for rentals. However, usually when you search for a rental rate, it is built in — the rate offered should be the NYC rate. I had to go quite far in the process to find the rate was inaccurate and that the surcharge would be of an amount not stated specifically until I arrived to get the car.

Incidentally, I also tried going through the easycar rental process. Upon getting to the final stage, I finally got the information that the rates given were NOT for residents of the US (it may have said North America). This was not in the FAQs easycar provided, as I recall. You actually had to go through the process and right before the final commitment, you found out it was a no-go.

By: Renting a car downtown? Avoid hotel checkout hours | Upgrade: Travel Better

Renting a car downtown? Avoid hotel checkout hours | Upgrade: Travel Better — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:16:17 +0000

[...] noted last week, I rented a car in San Francisco from AutoEurope after finding significantly lower rates with them [...]

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:50:00 +0000

Belated thanks for the comments here. Apologies for the delay — I was in a no-internet no-cellphone zone for a few days, and I admit it was great. (Until I was able to surf from the plane, of course…)

A full post with some responses to these issues is coming shortly. But for starters:

theothersimon — yes, AutoEurope’s cancellation policy is solid. That’s a big benefit over Priceline and Hotwire, and easycar for that matter, which all withhold the name of the agency until the very end.

chris — you nailed it. The line was horrid. Maybe not as bad as what you witnessed, but it was a full house. A huge waste of time. Kiosks would have been lovely…

JeffB — you nailed it, too. Prepaid tank of fuel is required for all AutoEurope rentals. It worked out for me, given the duration of the rental and the distance traveled, but for a short rental, it might not. It’s important to do the math.

nobugs — Those New York surcharges are not an AutoEurope issue, they’re a NYC car rental issue. Major rental agencies sock it to New Yorkers. Check out these two posts from 2006. The numbers are only slightly different today:

http://www.upgradetravelbetter.com/2006/06/12/car-rental-companies-hate-new-yorkers-unless-they-live-in-manhattan-or-staten-island-apparently/

http://www.upgradetravelbetter.com/2006/06/14/update-hertz-and-dollar-explain-their-hatred-of-new-yorkers/

sosweho — I don’t think it’s about the BART strike threat (now resolved). But it probably didn’t help. The people renting were largely international tourists.

More shortly.

By: sosweho

sosweho — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:48:31 +0000

It may have been in anticipation of a BART strike that the San Francisco rentals were all taken up, perhaps?

By: smartwomentrav (Carol Margolis)

smartwomentrav (Carol Margolis) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:32:34 +0000

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Want cheaper car rentals? Try booking through European agencies. [link to post]

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