The ins and outs of renting a car in Europe

International Driving Permit

An International Driving Permit is essential. Many car rental companies won’t let you hire a vehicle without one and your insurance may be invalid in the event that you have an incident while driving. For WA drivers, IDPs are only available through RAC.

Prepay

Book and pay before you leave to lock in your rate in Australian dollars and avoid overseas transaction fees on your credit card. Don’t just turn up at a car rental desk and expect either to get a good rate or in fact any car at all, especially during July/August high season.

Car models

Don’t waste time choosing specific cars as you will only be guaranteed a similar model. In Europe, the cars are smaller and more-often- than-not manual transmission. If you need automatic transmission, you’ll pay a premium and must book early as supplies are limited. Use soft luggage to fit more bags into a smaller boot. You’ll be glad of a smaller car in the generally narrower streets across Europe. In Europe, each company and country has its own price breaks but the daily rental rates go down the longer you rent the car. RAC members save on car hire with SIXT.

GPS

Some rental cars come with satellite navigation built-in, which is great since the maps are right in front of you as you drive, however, sometimes they are not up to date and often don’t show recent construction and traffic problems. Here WeGo (wego.here.com) is an excellent free App.

Pick up

It is easier to pick up cars at airports, which are removed from the heavy traffic of large cities. They are also open longer hours (major airports offer 24-hour collection), generally cost the same and have the widest car selection. Many city/town rental agencies close on Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and at lunch time. A grace period for drop-off is approximately 1 hour.

One-way rentals

These can be expensive. Consider doing a loop trip to avoid covering the same ground twice. Chat with a local car rental specialist before booking as the charges vary with countries and companies. One-way rental between countries is possible but the fees, which may differ between suppliers, tend to be very expensive. The greater the distance between start and end points, the higher the fee, generally.

Insurance

Most fully prepaid car rentals cover the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Third Party Insurance. You can get rates exclusive of insurance but you’ll pay a lot more at the counter upon pick-up. Check your credit card coverage and personal travel insurance to ascertain whether either covers the excess charges and thus the full cost of any claim. If they don’t, pay to reduce the excess, even though it will be expensive.

Personal Accident Insurance covering accidental death and medical coverage of renter and passengers and Personal Effects Coverage (PEC) are generally covered by your personal travel insurance but it’s always a good idea to check your travel insurance company’s Product Disclosure Statement.

Leasing

Three French car companies (Citroen, Renault and Peugeot) offer leasing of brand new cars as an alternative to rental. These cars can be picked up in a number of European destinations, not just France, however there is a charge involved if you want to collect and/or return outside of France. If you are driving longer than six weeks, it can be an economical option. Other advantages are that you get a brand-new car of your choice with built-in GPS and there are no one-way drop-off charges when returning to a different location within France. You can also visit Eastern European countries, such as Poland, Serbia, and Bosnia, which are sometimes off-limits with rental cars.

There is no tax (it is like a duty-free car), zero excess insurance, a guaranteed buy back and the prices get particularly attractive the longer the duration with a 175-day limit. All immediate family members can also drive at no extra cost.

Loyalty discounts

There are car rental loyalty programs available for customers who have signed up directly with a car rental supplier e.g. Alamo Insiders Program. Loyalty rewards for leasing change every year. The current repeat customer loyalty reward for Citroen Leasing is two free days and a Priority Pass Membership. There are also special deals for particular car models. It’s always best to secure your lease when the early bird specials are released in October each year. This may include free days and half price collection and return fees outside of France. World Drive Holidays offers a 5% discount promo code (DRIVE5) for customers who have rented through World Drive Holidays in the past five years.

18 September 2019