Renting a car in Germany

[Takedown]

It's Germany so I imagine the tolerance is zero or possibly lower.

No 10 km / h tolerance on a speeding ticket in my experience. Once I was fined for driving at 86 km / h where the limit was of 80 km / h.

There absolutely is, the ticket explicitly mentions it.

Just hop on the bus, Gus. Don't need to discuss much. Drop off the key, Lee. And set yourself free. I'm doing a trip now and am going to hook up with a friend and we looked at renting cars, which we don't normally do. The more we looked into it, the more it started to lose appeal. And that was before I read this thread about imaginary microscratches and lingering traffic tickets. We might, possibly, maybe, perhaps, do some one-day rentals to go to some places we might not otherwise get to, such as certain FKKs. Maybe. But if we do, we are going to document, document, document. Although, renting Germany seemed like less of a PITA than renting in France, Italy, and a couple of other countries we looked at.

Great point about checking the spare tire and jack. I hired a driver in Belize and I checked the tires and the brakes and a bunch of shit but I did not check to see if he had a spare tire, and he got a flat and stranded us in the middle of nowhere when I had a boat to catch. It worked out okay for me, not so much for him, but I will always check that now. In Germany you have to have triangles or road flares, and also a first aid kit, or at least that was the case when I took their test back in 2004.

The posts here are stories of relatively rare instances. I have rented dozens of times in Europe. Most of the charges were my fault for speeding. The freedom of having a car plus the relatively cheap rates in Germany makes having a car a no brainer. The only time not having a car is a better option is for trips less than three days or if you only plan on visiting 1 or 2 clubs and nothing else outside of clubs.

[Christian G]

On a speeding ticket I remember reading something like "10 km / h above limit including tolerance". There was no mention of how high the tolerance was. It may just have been some rounding down.

No 10 km / h tolerance on a speeding ticket in my experience. Once I was fined for driving at 86 km / h where the limit was of 80 km / h.

[Optimist]

My post re breakdown cover needs updating. The company is responsible for any breakdown due to mechanical failure. This means the extra they are selling only covers driver induced need for roadside assistance (for example, losing the keys, running out of fuel, draining the battery by leaving lights on).

[Rogue Nation]

It's Germany so I imagine the tolerance is zero or possibly lower.

Imagining doesn't get us anywhere. I posted before that there is a tolerance. And there is. It is about 3%. Actually it is 3 km / h if you're driving less than 100 km / h. If you are driving more thatn 100 km / h, it is 3%. Rounded up to the next full km.

https://www.bussgeldkatalog-mpu.de/b...windigkeit.php

Plus the speed shown in your car is always higher than your actual speed, never lower. By law it is allowed to show 114 km / h max when driving 100 km / h.

[Dickhead]

Just hop on the bus, Gus. Don't need to discuss much. Drop off the key, Lee. And set yourself free. I'm doing a trip now and am going to hook up with a friend and we looked at renting cars, which we don't normally do. The more we looked into it, the more it started to lose appeal. And that was before I read this thread about imaginary microscratches and lingering traffic tickets. We might, possibly, maybe, perhaps, do some one-day rentals to go to some places we might not otherwise get to, such as certain FKKs. Maybe. But if we do, we are going to document, document, document. Although, renting Germany seemed like less of a PITA than renting in France, Italy, and a couple of other countries we looked at.

Great point about checking the spare tire and jack. I hired a driver in Belize and I checked the tires and the brakes and a bunch of shit but I did not check to see if he had a spare tire, and he got a flat and stranded us in the middle of nowhere when I had a boat to catch. It worked out okay for me, not so much for him, but I will always check that now. In Germany you have to have triangles or road flares, and also a first aid kit, or at least that was the case when I took their test back in 2004.

[Optimist]

The 10% was referred to on the few tickets I have received.It is the official procedure so is strictly followed.

Separate issue. I have noticed some companies now do not cover for breakdown unless you take this out as an extra (typically around 6 euros a day). Another way to bump up the price from a low headline figure

[Citizen Kane]

On a speeding ticket I remember reading something like "10 km / h above limit including tolerance". There was no mention of how high the tolerance was. It may just have been some rounding down.

It's Germany so I imagine the tolerance is zero or possibly lower.

[Ggekko2009]

From my experience, I have never been charged anything fraudulent or anything questionable by a Frankfurt rental company. All charges have been legit speeding admin fees. My rentals from Dusseldorf and Dortmund have however produced at least a half dozen non speeding charges.

Same here with me but keeping my fingers crossed, and I can always fall back on my credit card company should there be any charge dispute. Is it also possible that these rental companies differentiate between their loyalty reward and / or corporate members vs just regular consumer? They might find the latter juicier targets for such scams, since they don't need them as repeat customers.

[Takedown]

From my experience, I have never been charged anything fraudulent or anything questionable by a Frankfurt rental company. All charges have been legit speeding admin fees. My rentals from Dusseldorf and Dortmund have however produced at least a half dozen non speeding charges.

[BadinSweet]

Hertz at the Frankfurt airport is notorius for scamming renters. They house the rental cars in a very dark area and you turn in to a well lit area. When I turned in my car last year, there were 3-4 cars being processed at the same time, all with damage. I asked for a supervisor but all were too busy to see me.

Luckily, AE paid for the $800 in repairs to the wheels, but I am pretty sure that damage was there when I rented it. Always take pictures and note any damage not on the rental agreement.

Hertz has forever lost my business in Frankfurt.

I have rented at least 30-50+ times in FRA and have never been charged anything. Maybe because I am Gold or President status I get different treatment but I doubt that is the case. I normally find the return guy at terminal 1 to be less picky. They just walk around and send me out of the way. They guys in Terminal 2 check a little more throughly but not like crime scene inspection like other places. So, if I have time to spare, I will normally return at terminal 1 eventhough my flight is out of terminal 2.

[Rogue Nation]

It's not safe to assume this. I understand that there is no leeway given. Speeding is speeding and no allowances given.

It is. But probably a non German citizen will know better than me, having a driving license for 25+ years.

[XXL]

It's not safe to assume this. I understand that there is no leeway given. Speeding is speeding and no allowances given.

On a speeding ticket I remember reading something like "10 km / h above limit including tolerance". There was no mention of how high the tolerance was. It may just have been some rounding down.

[Citizen Kane]

Best.

Thread.

Ever.

[Downandup]

It is safe to go 10% above speed limit as the meter is showing a slightly higher speed than your real speed. Plus the tolerance of you get controlled by police.

It's not safe to assume this. I understand that there is no leeway given. Speeding is speeding and no allowances given.

[Smoke Light]

Before leaving the parking lot, I also recommend opening the trunk and checking the completeness of the spare tire assembly with the wheel, the wrench, and the jack. Hasn't happened to me, but I've heard some people were charged for a missing spare tire when returning the car.