Kemwel Auto Rental Special

[CathyCruises]

If anyone is planning to rent a car in Europe this summer, Kemwel is having a special right now that will give you a free GPS (newest Garmin Nuvi) if you pay the $40 shipping fee. I realize this isn't exactly FREE, but it's a good deal nevertheless. You do have to book by March 31.

 

I am trying to figure out if we need to take their additional (inclusive) insurance, or if it's covered either under our regular auto policy or by our credit card. It's VERY cheap to rent the car (starting at $160 for two weeks!) but the additional insurance adds several hundred dollars. Any opinions? I have a call in to my ins. agent already.

 

Thx Cathy

[CathyCruises]

Just as a follow-up, I contacted my credit card company and as long as we rent the car using their card and pay the entire thing through them, we do not need any of the additional insurance in France or Italy at all. In fact, they specifically stated to reject the collision damage waiver and theft insurance offered by the rental company or that would negate their coverage, so that was really good news.

[Hlitner]

We have used Kemwel (the sister company of Autoeurope) and have always been pleased with their prices and service. As to the insurance issue, if you are renting the car in France then all is fine with most credit card coverage. But if renting a car in Italy, nearly all the credit cards exclude that country from their excess insurance coverage (this has to do with Italian law). But one can always expect the rental car clerks to try to twist an arm to sell more insurance :(.

 

Hank

[CathyCruises]

Thanks Hank. We have used Kemwel before based on your and several other recommendations here, quite a better deal than going direct.

 

We will be renting the car in France and possibly driving into Italy before going back to France, so we should be covered for this trip. But that's a good reminder.

 

The interesting thing about Kemwel was in reading the fine print. Each company that they represent has different rules; Avis had an 800€ deductible, for Dollar, it was 1500€. Some had a surcharge for renting from a train station, some did not, all charged extra when renting at an airport. So even though it's tedious, it's probably worthwhile to actually check out the differences. What appears at first blush to be the best deal may not be, in fact.

[Hlitner]

We have always been puzzled about the relationship between Kemwel and Autoeurope. Both have their offices in Portland, Maine and they both generally "consolidate" or discount rentals from the same major rental car companies (often Hertz and Europecar). But we have been told that each company negotiates their own deals and the can be substantially different. This is why we always check the fine print (and prices) from both consolidators.

 

As an example, you might find that while Kemwel has an 800€ deductible with Hertz....Autoeurope might have a 200€ deductible with the same company. Although our credit card coverage would handle any deductible we do prefer to find the lowest amount. We think the ins and outs of booking rental cars requires a PhD in rental car managment :(.

 

Hank