Last Update: 12/30/15

By Paul Burnham Finney
Special to the Tribune 
Sunday, March 26, 2000 

You know what to expect when you rent a car in the U.S., but how about when you rent a car in Europe? Making a booking for a European car in America is easy, what with a huge supply of toll-free numbers and Web sites.

After that, however, the experience can become foreign. How's this for sticker shock: Expect to pay roughly 50 percent more for a European car rental, or an average daily rate of about $60 compared with $42 in the U.S., according to veteran business travelers. That's in part due to the higher costs of vehicles and fuel but also to a maze of tricky taxes and red tape, which differ in each of the 15 countries in the -- European Union.

Moreover, the rules of the road can be surprising -- you may be cited for a violation in Germany if you have a flat tire and your spare doesn't have air -- though European police often defer to the innocence or ignorance of American drivers and give `warnings' rather than tickets.

Then there are those peculiar add-ons that mysteriously appear when you come to pay your bill -- for instance, a $12 charge for washing your car at a Milan drop-off.

Here are some perks and potholes for Americans renting cars in Europe

Train vs. car: City center to city center, trains can beat planes on short hauls like London-Paris, Paris-Brussels, London-Birmingham and others. And pitted against one of those fast ICE (Inter-City Express) trains or France's TGVs, a car can't win either.

Lower rates: Hertz, Avis, Budget and National Car Rental all offer lower prices if you book in the U.S. before you go. Some are also giving discounts for on-line bookings. Most rental companies also honor AAA and senior discounts when you book Europe.

The walk-up rates in Europe -- in effect, for Europeans -- can be twice those available in the U.S., typically $55 per day rather than $32. In any case, "Britain and Germany have the lowest rates in Europe -- around $130 a week before taxes and fees," according to Marianna Field Hoppin of Avis.

Stick shifts: Most low-end to mid-size European rentals have manual transmissions, perhaps due to the high price of gas. "You get more miles per gallon or liter" with a stick, says AAA's Douglas Love. Hoppin, a racing-car buff, thinks otherwise: "They're marginally better on gas, but Europeans just love stick shifts -- they're all Stirling Mosses at heart." Many young professionals, born to automatics, don't know how to shift gears, so manual isn't a realistic option. Be prepared to pay a premium for an automatic.

Luggage: There are plentiful anecdotes from frequent European renters to prove that car break-ins are rampant there. Thanks to their license plates and other telltale signs, cars fairly shout that they're rentals, and thus fair game for petty theft.

Economy and compact cars make it easier to maneuver through Europe's narrow city streets, but they have no room to hide valuable luggage. So upgrade to a mid-size, travel security experts advise.

"Hide luggage in the trunk on the edge of town before you park in front of a cafe for a drink," says one consultant. "Putting stuff away in a trunk in full public view is a no-no."

Remember that European rental cars are smaller, on average, than those back home, with reduced capacity for people and suitcases. Some companies' Web sites will show how much you can expect to fit into the various models. The Web sites are worth checking out in any case, because the unfamiliar model names for European rentals will probably tell you nothing about the specifics of the vehicle.

East European embargoes: Don't be surprised to see a rental contract clause prohibiting travel to Eastern Europe in a car rented in, say Milan. That's because the black market in stolen cars -- mostly BMWs and Mercedes, some for shipment to Russia -- is still thriving, though declining, in the Czech Republic, eastern Germany and Hungary. The Big Four make some exceptions for run-of-the-mill models like an Opel Vectra, not a target for thieves. Budget allows cars from the former West Germany to go into eastern Germany, but not to other eastern countries.

Car phones: After hard-wiring mobile phones mostly in luxury cars, the Big Four rental firms have taken them out and shifted to the phone du jour, the cell.

If you're a Hertz customer, a phone call to their international desk (800-654-3001) can get you a cell phone that works anywhere in Europe. Its supplier, International Phone Rental, will air express the phone to your home or office or European pick-up point with a return package included. The rental cost is $7.95 a day with air-minute charges varying from country to country. Budget offers Nokias, Ericssons and Motorolas at that price or more, depending on the model. In a crunch, you can rent from almost any upscale European hotel.

Dashboard maps: Hertz will begin deploying the NeverLost navigation system -- a tiny TV screen with GPS locator maps and voice commands -- into some European cars in mid-2000. Its computerized driving instructions are available at many European counters -- for instance, at both the airport and downtown in Brussels, the Dover and Calais rental branches at each end of the Eurotunnel and Heathrow, Gatwick, Victoria Station and Marble Arch in London.

Collision Damage Waiver: If you buy the infamous CDW, slightly costlier in Europe ($15 to $22 per day) than in the U.S. ($12 to $18), note that it covers a collision, rollover or theft, but not damage to others. It isn't worth buying if you are absolutely sure -- after careful checking -- that your own auto policy provides for car-rental coverage overseas. Separate theft and vandalism coverage is usually offered as well.

Moreover, if you charge a rental on a major card like American Express (except for its corporate cards), it may cover damage or theft, beyond a deductible, in some European countries. In Ireland and Italy, for example, MasterCard and Visa provide coverage -- but American Express doesn't. In any case, be aware that the
charge-card insurance usually does not include "expensive" or "exotic" cars like a Jaguar, Porsche or Rolls-Royce.

Taxes and surcharges: These mandatory extra costs can be as bad over there as they are here -- things like national value-added taxes and surcharges for cars rented at airports. Take this example: A car rented at London's Heathrow or Gatwick for $100 incurs a 17.5 percent VAT (bringing your total to $117.50) and a 10 percent surcharge ($129.25).

You can avoid airport surcharges by renting from an off-airport location like one at your hotel downtown, or at the rail terminal. That's fairly easy in Europe, with its generally excellent airport to downtown train connections like the Heathrow Express to Paddington and the Frankfurt Airport Train to Central Station.

Drop-off fees: Happily for renters, the Big Four have been lowering exorbitant European drop-off fees, which kick in when you pick up and return at different locations. The size of the fee has a lot to do with the amount of traffic between two destinations (considerable between Milan and Rome), ownership of franchises or branches and inter-country restrictions (such as protectionist policies aimed at foreign cars). For example, in Britain, Budget has a standard $40 charge for one-way rentals and none between London's Heathrow and Gatwick. Other Budget drop-off fees vary by country. Often, however, there are no drop-off charges for vehicles picked up and returned in the same country.

Here's how it all works:

You book a car through Hertz for a week in Frankfurt. A mid-size manual sedan -- Opel Vectra or Ford Mondeo -- will cost $179 for five days including VAT and unlimited mileage, if it's prepaid in the U.S. A premium car like a Mercedes E200 or BMW 523I, both automatics, will cost $736; a lesser Mercedes, like the full-size C180, would be $372.

Thinking of tacking on a few days in Paris at the end of the trip? You'll have to pay a reasonable drop charge of 94 deutschmarks (about $52) if you leave the car there. Both that charge and the airport surcharge of 33.36 DM (about $18.50) must be paid at the Frankfurt rental counter.

The AAA and veteran drivers offer other pointers: Your stateside driver's license is sufficient for renting in Europe. But if you're in an accident involving local police and insurance matters, it's helpful to have an International Driving Permit obtainable at AAA offices. Requirements: a driver's license, two passport photos and $10. At least one country (Spain) has begun to require an International Driving Permit. Some police insist that drivers be able to produce a permit to pay a fine.

Avis has a useful "On Call" system of SOS numbers (800-297-4447) for its renters to call in each European country. "I doglegged from Paris to London and then to Pisa on a BA multi-city pass, but my bag didn't go with me," recalls one driver. "I phoned the Avis number and they found the bag and trucked it to my villa within 18 hours of my distress call."

AAA has reciprocal agreements with most of the automobile associations in Europe -- e.g., the Royal Automobile Club in Britain. Contact your local AAA office for details.

----------

Reprinted with permission from Frequent Flyer Magazine.

RENTAL BASICS

ON-LINE INFO

You can research the specific rules for renting in any European country by visiting Auto Europe's Web site at www.autoeurope.com.

On the main screen's upper left corner, just choose "car rentals" from the select-a-service menu and select the country.

When you get to the rental home page for that country, click on "driving info" under the "more information" menu. There you'll find insurance regulations and rental restrictions for that country, as well as lots of background information on traffic rules, road signs, parking tolls, gas stations and more.

WHERE TO BOOK

You can get detailed information on European rentals at Web sites and, in some cases, book cars with on-screen confirmations. Ask about discounts for on-line bookings. With rental contract details so important, the company also suggests following up with a phone call to double-check.