Hlitner and others with car rental experience

[Jolimont]

If your credit card doesn't have a chip in it (in other words is a typical US card used by swiping) you will not be able to use it to pay for gas at self-serve gas stations with no attendant--90% of them in France today. And you won't be able to pay your toll with that card either. Make sure you pull up to the boot with an attendant (again, not many of those around).

[Divi]

We want to rent a car in France for 7 or 8 days. We will be travelling from Paris to Barcelona.

We understand that drop off charges in a different country are very expensive so we plan to return the car in France, possibly Montpellier, and take a train from there to Barcelona.

We haven't been able to find what the costs are when you pick up and drop off in different cities.

Anyone know?

Thanks for your help.

[Hlitner]

We want to rent a car in France for 7 or 8 days. We will be travelling from Paris to Barcelona.

We understand that drop off charges in a different country are very expensive so we plan to return the car in France, possibly Montpellier, and take a train from there to Barcelona.

We haven't been able to find what the costs are when you pick up and drop off in different cities.

Anyone know?

Thanks for your help.

 

With a little research and some luck there might be zero drop charges as long as you drop in the same country. But you need to take a little time and check out several options. We would suggest trying both Autoeurope.com and Kemwel.com. These "sister companies" have their offices in the USA (with toll free numbers so you can access them from anywhere in North America or Europe) and are what is known as rental car "consolidators." This means they enter into contracts with various major rental car companies (usually Hertz and Europcar) and are able to discount their rates. You must rent for at least 3 days but there are usually no drop charges. There phone people are very helpful so if you have any questions you can call these folks during normal business hours.

 

You should directly check-out the usual majors (Hertz, Avis, Europcar, etc) to see how their prices compare to the two consolidators. Another company, with whom we have had good experience, is Sixt. Sixt is a bit unique since they are a family owned company (German) and own their own locations (not franchised). With Sixt you can sometimes rent really nice brand (BMW, Mercedes, Audi) cars at terrific prices.

 

My big WARNING on renting cars is the insurance issue. One needs to take care in knowing the fine print and if you have a credit card that might cover your insurance needs. Most of the major credit cards offer some kind of coverage for cars rented in France (or Spain). There are also some decent insurance companies that offer policies (bought online) that are pretty comprehensive and a lot cheaper then the options offered by the rental car company.

 

We do think you have a great idea about dropping the car in France and then taking the train (we have done this in the past). It never hurts to ask about the one-way inter-country drop charge, but we find that the train is often the best way to go.

 

Hank

Edited March 25, 2014 by Hlitner

[Hlitner]

We want to rent a car in France for 7 or 8 days. We will be travelling from Paris to Barcelona.

We understand that drop off charges in a different country are very expensive so we plan to return the car in France, possibly Montpellier, and take a train from there to Barcelona.

We haven't been able to find what the costs are when you pick up and drop off in different cities.

Anyone know?

Thanks for your help.

 

With a little research and some luck there might be zero drop charges as long as you drop in the same country. But you need to take a little time and check out several options. We would suggest trying both Autoeurope.com and Kemwel.com. These "sister companies" have their offices in the USA (with toll free numbers so you can access them from anywhere in North America or Europe) and are what is known as rental car "consolidators." This means they enter into contracts with various major rental car companies (usually Hertz and Europcar) and are able to discount their rates. You must rent for at least 3 days but there are usually no drop charges. There phone people are very helpful so if you have any questions you can call these folks during normal business hours.

 

You should directly check-out the usual majors (Hertz, Avis, Europcar, etc) to see how their prices compare to the two consolidators. Another company, with whom we have had good experience, is Sixt. Sixt is a bit unique since they are a family owned company (German) and own their own locations (not franchised). With Sixt you can sometimes rent really nice brand (BMW, Mercedes, Audi) cars at terrific prices. You might want to call these folks and inquire about their one-way drop fees....since they own their own locations.

 

My big WARNING on renting cars is the insurance issue. One needs to take care in knowing the fine print and if you have a credit card that might cover your insurance needs. Most of the major credit cards offer some kind of coverage for cars rented in France (or Spain). There are also some decent insurance companies that offer policies (bought online) that are pretty comprehensive and a lot cheaper then the options offered by the rental car company.

 

Hank

[Divi]

Thanks Hank. Will check out all your suggestions.

[Divi]

Hank,

Do you have any suggestions of where to pick up a car rental in Paris? We don't want to be driving in the city of course.

We will be travelling south, towards Bourges.

In Paris we are staying near Les Halles Metro and Chatelet les Halles RER.

Any advice?

Thanks.

[Hlitner]

Hank,

Do you have any suggestions of where to pick up a car rental in Paris? We don't want to be driving in the city of course.

We will be travelling south, towards Bourges.

In Paris we are staying near Les Halles Metro and Chatelet les Halles RER.

Any advice?

Thanks.

 

Funny you ask because we just wrestled with a similar issue needing to pick up a car on an upcoming trip. We are staying in St Germain des Pres and will actually have to take the Metro to get to where we have reserved a car.

 

You have lots of options depending on from whom you rent and how much driving you are willing to do to get yourself out of Paris. In your situation we would probably rent from the closest location of whatever agency you choose. You can just head immediately southeast along the Seine and jump right on the E15 heading out of town. Most likely you will find that the best locations for you will be around the Gare de Lyon although some agencies like Hertz do have other options that might be a bit closer...but perhaps not as convenient to get out of town.

 

Hank

[Divi]

Once again, Hank, thank you very much!:)

[CintiPam]

When I was returning from a week-long car rental trip (from CDG) from the Loire Valley, I dropped the car off at Orly airport (no extra charge) and took a taxi in the center of Paris from there. Worked out great.