Cost of Car Rental in Europe for 2021-2022 - Anyone rented a car recently?

[cyber888]

I was wondering if anyone rented a car that fits 4 persons recently in any European country - Italy, Germany, UK, France, Norway, etc ..

Would be grateful if you shared the daily or weekly total cost (with taxes and any fees), and what country. Thanks.

 

[brett]

Why not get on the web and get some quotes for yourself.?

Try autoeurope or other similar vendors. etc.

There are at least a half dozen well known rental agencies that you could access to view specific rental rates. Hertz, Europcar, Avis, Budget, Sixt etc.

We found the prices varied very much from country to country, vendor to vendor. Airport rentals are often more expensive than city rentals. Portugal was far more expensive than Greece. Most of our rentals are one way. We buy the smallest car for the two of us and we have no issue whatsoever with a standard transmission. In some countries we prefer it.

If there are four adults traveling you need to understand how much luggage you will be taking vs the luggage capacity of the car that you hire. We have seen a few instances at rental agencies in Europe where that was an obvious mismatch between luggage and trunk space.

It also depends on when you rent, how long you rent for, and to a certain extent where you rent. This is a demand and supply business.

We find it less expensive to arrange a rental before we go. Rental prices change. If you reserve, keep shopping the prices. We have realized reductions on several autoeurope bookings because of downward price changes.



You might also want to understand what car rental insurance you might have from your credit card provider and/or from your auto insurance provider

 

[cyber888]

Thanks for the feedback.
To clarify, I was really looking for 'actual rental data' vs. 'online quotes' which I sure can get a quote in a few minutes.

My experience has been that the car agencies can have the occasional hidden fees, or they upsell some additional services, like 'oh the car you have has no GPS and there's an additional $150 for that.

My last experience renting a car in Edinburgh Scotland was that I was late for 30 minutes, because there was a long line of people in the que, and the Car Rental company Sixt said they no longer held the car I reserved because I was 30 minutes late, and I had to get another vehicle and the price was different. And I thought people here may have different experience to share about car rental quirks and actual pricing in different countries.

For insurance, I use AmEx but my Chase card and Costco Card also cover travel/car insurance now.

And if someone got some discount instead of added fees, I do love to hear it.

Why not get on the web and get some quotes for yourself.?

Try autoeurope or other similar vendors. etc.

There are at least a half dozen well known rental agencies that you could access to view specific rental rates. Hertz, Europcar, Avis, Budget, Sixt etc.

We found the prices varied very much from country to country, vendor to vendor. Airport rentals are often more expensive than city rentals. Portugal was far more expensive than Greece. Most of our rentals are one way. We buy the smallest car for the two of us and we have no issue whatsoever with a standard transmission. In some countries we prefer it.

If there are four adults traveling you need to understand how much luggage you will be taking vs the luggage capacity of the car that you hire. We have seen a few instances at rental agencies in Europe where that was an obvious mismatch between luggage and trunk space.

It also depends on when you rent, how long you rent for, and to a certain extent where you rent. This is a demand and supply business.

We find it less expensive to arrange a rental before we go. Rental prices change. If you reserve, keep shopping the prices. We have realized reductions on several autoeurope bookings because of downward price changes.



You might also want to understand what car rental insurance you might have from your credit card provider and/or from your auto insurance provider

 

[brett]

We have rental car insurance. On our credit card and on our auto insurance.

We never pay 'hidden' fees. One reason why we like autoeurpe and have rented through then so often in Europe.

You should expect to see an upsell for insurance. And for GPS. We bought our own Europe GPS a number of years ago. It has paid for itself many times over.
GPS is not an upsell. It is a customer option. Just because there is an upsell attempt does not mean that you have to accept it. We never do. The exact same thing happens to us when we rent cars in North America.

When we get the upsell we always say no. Last time in Faro the Euorpcar lady told us we had to have insurance since car radio antenaes are often stolen. We said no thanks. She was somewhat taken aback when I unscrewed the antenae and put it in the trunk for safekeeping.

There will always be a few rental offices that will try to rip you off. The trick is to understand exactly what you are buying when you reserve. The only delta that we have experienced was a higher than normal credit card block of 200eur on Corfu because we declined the insurance. This happens from time to time.

 

[cyber888]

We bought our own Europe GPS a number of years ago.

Yes, I agree with you here, I just bought a 7 inch Car GPS with all the 2021 Maps in Europe including Scandinavia, and 2022 USA/Canadian map too.

My 2 cars have a US GPS but they are like a few years old, but we really bought this GPS for any EU or Canadian travel in the next 5 years. It's going to save us some $ on car rental.

 

[Bamaman]

I usually go with AutoEurope or Hertz. Never had any problems over there with either.

Many of the big name rental companies we see in the U.S. are franchise operations in Europe, and they don't necessarily follow the same operations and procedures. Hertz is company owned in Europe is the reason I stick with them.

You have to be careful on the additions. They like to put insurance on the rental tha covers if you have your personal items stolen--a rip off. And the PDI insurance varies.

I checked my Capital One terms and conditions online. I'm covered on PDI in most places, but not in Ireland or Italy. Italian PDI is reasonably priced which indicates the government makes'em hold down the price. Ireland PDI is not so kind to the pocketbook, however. If renting, i do carry a paper copy of my terms and conditions showing the insurance coverage terms.

Another issue is renters 70 years of age and over. (I'm in that range now.) You need to make sure the rental company will rent to you. Some cut off rentals by age.

 

[DrRoy]

We rented from the Venice airport in May for 14 days. I think the total bill was ~$1400. We booked months ahead. Plus gas and tolls.

 

[LastOfTheBoomers]

Just rented a car in Croatia a few weeks ago - used Rentalcars.com

A couple of notes:
One way drop off fee was around $110
Study up on insurance requirements
If you are over age 70 - read up on the rules

 

[foxcreek9]

Norway this past July, VW passat (upgrade to volvo xc60) $534 for 8 days through Auto Europe and Hertz.

 

[Drake3287]

Just returned from Italy. Rented a 4 door Fiat 500 from Hertz through AutoEurope for a week. Originally with full insurance coverage it was $690., after noticing that prices had fallen I called them up and they dropped the price $211. for a new total of $479. out the door.

Once in Florence I elected to buy the $5.00 per day emergency road service. Other then that no hidden costs and I was happy with the rental.

Just a tip though, if you get a diesel which most are, MAKE SURE they fill up the Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). Last you want to do is run around looking to buy it someplace. My DEF warning light came on just before getting back to the rental location.

 

[Bamaman]

When I'm wanting to make price comparisons, I just go to Expedia and plug in the city and the dates. I'm often surprised at the wide variance in pricing. I usually see 4-5 different rental companies listed on Expedia.

I still have a company Hertz Gold Card before I retired 14 years ago. And it's till in place. Usually no other fare received beats my card's rates. My Mega company was owned a large European auto manufacturer.

We often travel by train from city to city, especially if it crosses borders. But in places like Austria, Switzerland or Tuscany travel by automobile is so much more efficient and fulfilling.

 

[brett]

We have used autoeurope frequently in the past. We also shop.

Our last pre covid car shopping was a surprise. We had a car in Ioannini for five days. Aegean Air car rental beat autoeurope by a significant amount.

We had a car for 10 days one way on Kefelonia for ten days. A local island supplier was substantially less than autoeurope.

We rented for 14 days on Cyprus. Booking direct with Budget gave us a 20 percent edge on the autoeurope pricing.


One good thing about autoeurope is that they will go to bat for a customer if there is an issue with the car agency.

 

[cyber888]

thanks for the heads up. $479 looks good for a week.
Did you have a hard time driving around Italy, or was it all smooth

Just returned from Italy. Rented a 4 door Fiat 500 from Hertz through AutoEurope for a week. Originally with full insurance coverage it was $690., after noticing that prices had fallen I called them up and they dropped the price $211. for a new total of $479. out the door.

Once in Florence I elected to buy the $5.00 per day emergency road service. Other then that no hidden costs and I was happy with the rental.

Just a tip though, if you get a diesel which most are, MAKE SURE they fill up the Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). Last you want to do is run around looking to buy it someplace. My DEF warning light came on just before getting back to the rental location.

 

[Drake3287]

thanks for the heads up. $479 looks good for a week.
Did you have a hard time driving around Italy, or was it all smooth

No, but the big secret is to NOT rent a car in a large city like Florence, Worse thing you can do as a new driver in Italy. Big cities are a nightmare and you can easily drive into a ZTL area and end up getting a ticket.

Having rented a car several times in the Florence area, other than the first time years ago when I made the mistake of renting it downtown, I always pick them up at the airport car rental location. MUCH easier to get into the Tuscany area's without the dreaded city traffic. It's also easy to get between the Florence Train Station and the airport. If that's your plans let me know.

As for getting around Italy, I went to many out of the way places and Google maps on my phone worked perfectly. Didn't miss a turn anywhere. Just don't rely on Apple Maps.

Another thing, don't speed (at all), they have traffic camera's in many out of the way area's and you'll end up getting a ticket in the mail months down the road. Just keeping my fingers crossed I was fine.

Last thing, remember that you need an International Drivers Permit from AAA to drive in Italy.

 

[euro]

Another thing, don't speed (at all), they have traffic camera's in many out of the way area's and you'll end up getting a ticket in the mail months down the road. Just keeping my fingers crossed I was fine.

Last thing, remember that you need an International Drivers Permit from AAA to drive in Italy.

The speed trap tip goes for Switzerland too. And while you can refuse to pay, only do so if you don;t plan on ever returning to those countries.... also, there are processing fees that your car rental place will charge for each ticket you get (ask me how I know.... )


Last time I rented a car in Milan, they did NOT ask for an international drivers license. That was pre-pandemic though. Has the law in Italy changed?

 

[flyingaway]

I always buy full insurance from the rental car company outside of the U S. I know it is a ripoff. But I don't want to argue with them when I have a flight to catch. I do have credit cards with insurance, I only use them in the U.S. Cars in other countries are more likely to be of some ages with some damages.

I rented a car in Croatia in May and drove to Bosnia. A person guarding a nearby parking lot approached me and wanted to be my tour guide and I declined. The next morning, I found my car door was heavily scratched. I suspected the guard did it, but I had no evidence. When I returned my car, no question was asked, as I had full insurance.

 

[Drake3287]

Last time I rented a car in Milan, they did NOT ask for an international drivers license. That was pre-pandemic though. Has the law in Italy changed?

The rental companies don't care if you have one, only the police if you happen to get pulled over or in an accident. Even then most cops probably don't care. Too inexpensive not to get one just in case.

 

[braumeister]

remember that you need an International Drivers Permit from AAA to drive in Italy.

According to the State Dept:

Tourists may also use their valid American driver’s license if accompanied by an official translation in Italian.

Unfortunately, they don't say what would make a translation "official".

 

[luckydude]

I was wondering if anyone rented a car that fits 4 persons recently in any European country - Italy, Germany, UK, France, Norway, etc ..

Would be grateful if you shared the daily or weekly total cost (with taxes and any fees), and what country. Thanks.

I paid USD $3,200 for a 10-day rental in the UK in June. Pick-up location was London Heathrow Airport with Sixt. Rental was a Peugeot 3008 SUV. Price included GPS rental, pre-paid fuel and minimum excess (i.e., highest possible collision coverage), tax and premium location mark-up. So it worked out to be about USD $320 a day.

 

[luckydude]

I always buy full insurance from the rental car company outside of the U S. I know it is a ripoff. But I don't want to argue with them when I have a flight to catch. I do have credit cards with insurance, I only use them in the U.S. Cars in other countries are more likely to be of some ages with some damages.

+1

I do the same, especially in places like Iceland and Norway, where rental cars are very expensive and extreme local weather conditions make it a high probability that there will be some damage to a rental car during one's rental period.

Iceland is particularly notorious for its high wind (open the door the wrong way and the door will literally get blown off its hinges), sandstorms that can strip paint off a car, and bad road conditions outside Ring Road that can easily damage the tires, wheel or undercarriage. There are always tourists who try to go cheap renting cars in Iceland by forgoing damage waiver coverages and end up paying a lot more for repairs because of damages from unforeseen weather conditions.

 

[braumeister]

Iceland is particularly notorious for its high wind (open the door the wrong way and the door will literally get blown off its hinges), sandstorms that can strip paint off a car, and bad road conditions outside Ring Road that can easily damage the tires, wheel or undercarriage. There are always tourists who try to go cheap renting cars in Iceland by forgoing damage waiver coverages and end up paying a lot more for repairs because of damages from unforeseen weather conditions.

That's the story the rental companies give you, but I've driven all over the southern part of Iceland in both winter and summer, and never experienced those sorts of weather conditions. Maybe I've just been lucky?

 

[luckydude]

That's the story the rental companies give you, but I've driven all over the southern part of Iceland in both winter and summer, and never experienced those sorts of weather conditions. Maybe I've just been lucky?

You've been lucky my friend

It almost happened to me with respect to the strong wind. I was in South Iceland. Got out the car at a scenic spot, parked the wrong way (not against the wind), opened the door and whoosh! I caught the handle bar just in time or the door would have been history.

The website Iceland Review https://www.icelandreview.com/ regularly reports stupid behaviors by tourists: frequent drowning at Black Sand Beach because stupid tourists turned their backs on the ocean to take pics or ventured too far out and get swept away (stories always seem to feature Asian female tourists as victims, don't know why). 5 years ago (I think) there was a story about a French tourist (?) who drove his car into a sandstorm despite weather warnings and had all the paint stripped off. I recall the website even posted the picture of the car afterward.

 

[braumeister]

You've been lucky my friend

It almost happened to me with respect to the strong wind.

Good to know. I always get the insurance just in case, but I have wondered if it's a waste of money.

 

[luckydude]

Good to know. I always get the insurance just in case, but I have wondered if it's a waste of money.

It's definitely not a waste of money. Like you, I always take full insurance when I rent a car in Iceland.

Here's an incident in 2013 when a French couple in a rental car were caught in a sandstorm and had to be rescued:

https://www.icelandreview.com/news/french-tourists-sandstorm-“we-thought-we-would-die”/

 

[Sunset]

I paid USD $3,200 for a 10-day rental in the UK in June. Pick-up location was London Heathrow Airport with Sixt. Rental was a Peugeot 3008 SUV. Price included GPS rental, pre-paid fuel and minimum excess (i.e., highest possible collision coverage), tax and premium location mark-up. So it worked out to be about USD $320 a day.

Wow... Did you find this cost to be higher than normal for the UK/Europe.