Renting a car in Germany

[Voyager1]

I have been renting cars for over 20 years in Germany and this location has to be the worst experience I have ever had.

This station would not rent me the car because I had not purchased a local SIM for my cell phone. At least that was the official line I was given. To begin with I stood in line for over 30 min to get service. During the interrogation I was informed that even the booking agents grandmother has a phone number in Germany and that me not having one was not acceptable. I replied I had not needed one here since I was only here for the weekend. That was enough to further escalate the matter to the upper management who then proceeded to cancel my reservation. Frustrated I went to a SIM shop and purchased a $35.00 Euro SIM to try and book with Alamo or Enterprise Car Rental. I stood in line once again for 40 min listening to the overworked agent blab on with the customer in front of me. When my turn came up I presented my new phone number to the agent and she then called the upper management again and told me to step aside and wait while the upper manager calls even higher up. What the hell is going on now. , was my first response.

Finally 20 min later the agent informs me that they have decided to not rent any cars to me. I really did not know what to say. Clearly the SIM thing was a stall tactic. The absolutely only reason I came here is because I was offered unlimited mileage. . No one else was refused service while I was in line. What I did not understand is why they do not have the courtesy to come out and say that we do not cater to your kind rather then jerk me around. All I can say is there seems to be some kind of phobia in play here. Very strange to experience this at an International airport, especially in Germany.

To make matter worst, the manager at this office started contacting the neighbour rental agency after the refusal and had them reject me. She got as far as AVIS and Europcar. I stood in line at Avis watching this manager talking to the Avis agents while keeping her back to me. Clearly they were talking about me as the agents were sneaking glances at me during the conversation. Sure enough when I approached the Avis desk I hardly had my request for a car made when the Avis agent immediately cut me off and stated no cars were available. I pointed to the sign behind him that stated otherwise. But he said no and that I should have booked weeks ago. What I think he meant, after his paranoid conversation with Enterprise, is that he too do not wish to cater to my kind. I started this process at 3:30 and it was now 8:00 pm All this precious vacation time wasted due to the misplaced paranoid of this office manager. Disgusted and frustrated I left and went to my first choice SIXT. They had absolutely no problem renting the exact vehicle I wanted all within 5 min from start to finish. I was in the vehicle within 15 min. Now that is service!

Needless to say this is my first and last time I rent from Enterprise or Alamo Dusseldorf. Life and vacation time are just too precious for this kind of garbage. What is more weird is that I have rented from Enterprise before and the agent had all of my data on file. Enterprise wasted my precious vacation time and for that I will never forget it.

[Routard]

I've been a passenger with various ISGers over the years at speeds of around 200 kph..

Great memories!

[Wanking]

https://www.motion-drive-rental.com/Rent-sports-cars/

[Wanking]

I've been a passenger with various ISGers over the years at speeds of around 200 kph. I wonder is there some service where I could hire someone to bring me for a high speed blast in their Porsche etc?? Where they do the driving and I'm just a passenger.

I do drive at home but I'm not interested in renting a car in Germany since I often end up in a swingers club in the evening and like to have a few beers.

Been watching a lot of high speed autobahn vids on youtube lately.

[Ulver]

I have been using Avis and Hertz when I have rented cars in Germany. Never any problems with Avis. Hertz on the other side, Rip off.

[BigBuddy69]

That's really strange. I always take the cheapest car with companies like Buchbinder, Global-rent, etc. And I was never scammed. The only time when they found some scratches on the car was my fault, I parked near the entrance of a cycling lane and my car was probably scratched by a cyclist. My CC company took care of it. Most of the time when I give the car back, the attendant makes a quick check and says that everything is good.

Maybe being an american tourist in a European rental car company is the same as being an Asian tourist in a Frankfurt FKK?

[Chongmal]

I'm paying 330 euros for 20 days full-coverage. That's 40% of the rental price proper. But I'm now glad I did (too soon to tell however). Europcar seemed glad to sell me the coverage. Maybe they are glad to finally have a customer who buys full-coverage so that they can have the car put right at the expense of the insurance (and the insured customer).

This is all a pain in the neck and threatens to severely reduce the attraction of Europe as a mongering field for me. If I am to get overcharged each time with cars I'll be better off putting the money into tickets to the Cameroons. In fact I would already be doing so if I hadn't family to visit in Europe.

I guess in the US a car is considered a consumer good and wear an tear normal. This is how it should be. Why would a car have to be returned 100% outwardly intact after having been driven 10000 miles? That's absurd! I for one wouldn't mind driving a rental car full of scratches. When will a car rental company with no paintwork pretense be set up ("Scratchy Rent-a-Car" would sound good).

I also had Cologne in sight as a possible landing point in Germany. It would actually suit me better than Frankfurt. But the car rental prices were 20% higher. I found this surprising considering Cologne should be a less expensive place than Frankfurt overall.

20% higher for the car price, charged once per day by comparison to the difference in price for ladies for equal service on three or four sessions per day.

[Triptogamont]

And if there is no attendant when you return, and then charge you subsequently wtf am I supposed to do? That happened 3 fucking times to me.

I've heard if you fight it, they will drop the charges. They just want a fast score. If you start causing them problems, they will most likely just forget about it. Dispute it with your CC company and have them fight for you, too.

Good luck!

[Member #4581]

XXL - you have a good point about expectation of a rental car to be dinged up and with a lot of wear and tear.

Don't they auction them off after just a few years and for a low price at that?

Anyway, $1500 for a small scratch, even if it was genuinely my fault, would be preposterous. 10 to 15 such scratches covers the full price of a new car. In the photo they mailed me, the scratch seems a cm or perhaps 15 mm at most. I don't know where these guys get these cars repaired after such scratches and why it costs that much. I had my personal cars fixed in the US after dents and other probelms, and they cost far far less. Most of the time, the actual cost to fix the dent is less than even the $500 deductible I carry, and hence I ended up paying for it and not really using my insurance. Yet, these Eu rental car scammers charge so much for a damage that appears much smaller.

People say, but why don't you take photos of the whole car and protect yourself. Sometimes, there is an attendant when you take it out/sometimes there is not, and yes if there is an obvious big dent or scratch I will note it down and inform the rental company. But most of the time, you are jet lagged after a long flight and more time in the line at the rental counter; and perhaps you want to go to the hotel, take a shower and eat and fuck some girls at the clubs. Anyway, doing such an inch by inch microexamination is not the first thing on my mind.

And if there is no attendant when you return, and then charge you subsequently wtf am I supposed to do? That happened 3 fucking times to me.

[XXL]

... I think their premiums are usually higher than what I paid purchasing through OTA.

Obviously, many credit cards cover this sort of thing, but I am risk averse and I would rather pay up and purchase it explicitly and have the peace of mind.

I'm paying 330 euros for 20 days full-coverage. That's 40% of the rental price proper. But I'm now glad I did (too soon to tell however). Europcar seemed glad to sell me the coverage. Maybe they are glad to finally have a customer who buys full-coverage so that they can have the car put right at the expense of the insurance (and the insured customer).

This is all a pain in the neck and threatens to severely reduce the attraction of Europe as a mongering field for me. If I am to get overcharged each time with cars I'll be better off putting the money into tickets to the Cameroons. In fact I would already be doing so if I hadn't family to visit in Europe.

I guess in the US a car is considered a consumer good and wear an tear normal. This is how it should be. Why would a car have to be returned 100% outwardly intact after having been driven 10000 miles? That's absurd! I for one wouldn't mind driving a rental car full of scratches. When will a car rental company with no paintwork pretense be set up ("Scratchy Rent-a-Car" would sound good).

... Anyway for my next month trip (the first since Oct. 2016) I found the price in Cologne Airport quite more expensive compared to last time. Checked also the price for my trip in Frankfurt this summer, and the price for rent a car in Frankfurt Int. Airport are much cheaper compared to Cologne Airport.

I also had Cologne in sight as a possible landing point in Germany. It would actually suit me better than Frankfurt. But the car rental prices were 20% higher. I found this surprising considering Cologne should be a less expensive place than Frankfurt overall.

[Christian G]

Perhaps I was lucky but I rented the car in Germany 8/9 times, few times in Weeze I dropped the car in the lot without attendant, and I never had any problem nor "strange" charge on my credit card. I have always rented the car through the Ryanair website during the flight reservation.

Anyway for my next month trip (the first since Oct. 2016) I found the price in Cologne Airport quite more expensive compared to last time. Checked also the price for my trip in Frankfurt this summer, and the price for rent a car in Frankfurt Int. Airport are much cheaper compared to Cologne Airport.

[Member #4581]

I had this experience multiple times. Every time I rent a car in EU, they concoct some scratch, bump, dent, something else. And charge me. A few times, I returned the car early in the morning and there was no attendant to receive it, I dropped the car off in the lot and the keys in the box, and magically there is a $1500 charge on my credit card.

Worst of all, these guys take forever to return calls, emails, etc. You call them up and ask why was I charged, they give a curt reply and put the phone down. Who do I complain to? No one is picking up the phone. You can dispute the charge w / the credit card company but that hardly helps.

To me, Eu car rental firms are total rip-off masters. The same Hertz and Avis and Alamo which have never charged a single time in the US charge me more than 50%of the time on EU rentals.

I always purchase damage insurance from the OtA be it Priceline or Expedia, and they always pay up. So, the way it worked is, the rental firm charges me and the insurance (which I bought through my OTA) refunded. Takes a couple of months at least. If you buy insurance with Hertz or the other car rental guys, I guess it is covered right then and there and they will not charge your credit card, but I think their premiums are usually higher than what I paid purchasing through OTA.

Obviously, many credit cards cover this sort of thing, but I am risk averse and I would rather pay up and purchase it explicitly and have the peace of mind.

Never rented in Asia. If EU is this much of a rip off, I would not dare to do it in Asia.

[XXL]

Do any of you guys have experience whether in case of damage the car rental company automatically settles direct with the insurance (say full-coverage without deductible) or whether they charge you and it's then up to you to chase the refund with the insurance company. I now have a car from Europcar and there are small bumps I couldn't see because the car was not clean on that side. If they'd purposefully left some dirt to hide the bumps they couldn't have done a better job of it. I saw some dents and complained to the guy on duty but just my luck, these dents were duly listed in the contract. The guy bit my head off saying it was pointless for me to complain about things that were properly registered in the contract. This unsettled me and I dropped my guard and rode off (to Oase).

I have the fullest coverage ("premium Schutzpaket") so it it the least unfavorable situation insurance-wise. My nightmare however is having to fight a battle with an insurance company from where I'll be in 4 months time (Thailand).

I wonder whether the business model of those crooks is not having 5 consecutive customers pay for the same dents/bumps. We should put up a website with the number plates and what we were required to pay for. As soon as two of us can confirm they were made to pay for the same thing we go to court.

[Rogue Nation]

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 is a tolerance. The 86 km / h are the measured speed minus the tolerance of 3 km / h. So yes, you will be fined when the speed minus tolerance is above speed limit. If your measured speed had been 83 km / h. No fine.

[Pistons]

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.

I believe this differs from brand to brand. Toyota is well known to have a speedometer lying excessively much for example. And there is a 2 or 3 km / h margin of error on these cameras also.