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Post by Martin on Apr 19, 2022 15:42:42 GMT
Just as a postscript, the whole Sixt experience was exactly as it always is; efficient, quick, and completely trouble-free. For me, it is well worth parting with a few extra Euros to ensure that the car hire experience adds to the holiday rather than detracting from it. My thoughts exactly. |
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Post by alf on Apr 20, 2022 10:17:04 GMT
I have used Avis, Europcar and Enterprise plenty of times with zero issues - but I was very twitchy hiring from Enterprise a few weeks ago in Marseilles when they explained that the £1500 excess means that if anything happens to the car, you pay a min of £1500 - even if it cost barely anything to sort. Is this normal? I had no idea what this actually meant and will be either getting annual hire car excess insurance, or going for the more expensive options in future, as I'm not paying £1500 for a scuffed wheel!
In the end it was fine as usual but I did fret about it.... Especially in France!
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Post by Martin on Apr 20, 2022 10:37:40 GMT
I have used Avis, Europcar and Enterprise plenty of times with zero issues - but I was very twitchy hiring from Enterprise a few weeks ago in Marseilles when they explained that the £1500 excess means that if anything happens to the car, you pay a min of £1500 - even if it cost barely anything to sort. Is this normal? I had no idea what this actually meant and will be either getting annual hire car excess insurance, or going for the more expensive options in future, as I'm not paying £1500 for a scuffed wheel! In the end it was fine as usual but I did fret about it.... Especially in France! It's definitely worth getting annual excess insurance. I have a worldwide policy through Insurance4carhire, cost is £60 but you can get £16 back through topcashback, so only £44 and a European policy is £47 or £35 after topcashback. Cover is up to £6,500, includes lost key/mis-fuelling cover and can be used for loan cars as well as hire cars. I've had a policy with them for a number of years, only claimed once but it was a completely painless experience. |
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Post by Big Blue on Apr 20, 2022 13:58:19 GMT
Yep. On Martin's advice I have had the same policy and have used it three times in however many years with no quibbles on claims.
Whatever Enterprise told you it would be enough to never use them again, not that I would in the first place due to the Europcar account. I’m currently in a Peugeot 5008 and the notes on it are building up daily.
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Post by Martin on Apr 20, 2022 14:52:06 GMT
Yep. On Martin's advice I have had the same policy and have used it three times in however many years with no quibbles on claims. Whatever Enterprise told you it would be enough to never use them again, not that I would in the first place due to the Europcar account. I’m currently in a Peugeot 5008 and the notes on it are building up daily. Oh dear....what did you done to upset them, as I thought you were a valued customer?  |
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Post by racingteatray on Apr 21, 2022 10:53:00 GMT
I've only once had a problem with being stung for damage on a hire car and that was on a Panda my wife hired where the absolute arse at Hertz charged us over 300 euros for a tiny ding that was clearly part of pre-existing damage from a major hailstorm the week before she hired it. The insurer (Questor) said they would be quite happy to cover it but I was so pissed off that I insisted on fighting it with Hertz and eventually got a refund in full from Hertz. So I've never actually had to claim.
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Post by Martin on May 18, 2022 18:36:10 GMT
Not sure what prompted the thought, but I've just searched again for next weeks trip to Italy. Well worth 5mins, the 7 day cost for an X1/Q3 Auto has dropped from £925 to £675, so I've cancelled and booked again. I could have had an A7/7 Series for broadly the same as I'd paid, or an X3 / 5 Touring for c£750, but I want something fairly small for where we are going. It was only Sixt that was cheaper btw, the other suppliers didn't really have anything I'd want or was a lot more expensive.
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Post by LandieMark on May 18, 2022 19:59:54 GMT
I've just cancelled our Corfu Airport car hire and rebooked a private transfer and car hire at the resort office.
Flight times were going to make it a nightmare and that's not a good start to the holiday.
Luxury transfer, better car in resort and excess cover work out about the same as crappy car at the airport at a horrible time on unfamiliar roads when I'm tired.
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Post by racingteatray on May 19, 2022 12:13:42 GMT
1. Does that matter if you've got your own excess cover? 2. Europcar charged me for damage that was on the car when I collected it, so I'll never use them again on principle. The thing had been in a hailstorm and I think a demolition derby, it was a right mess and the guy at pickup marked the paperwork with every panel damaged. They didn't say anything when I dropped it off, but charged me a couple of hundred Euros. I tried to get it back but they were impossible to deal with so I ended up claiming it back through my excess insurance which was nice and easy. So I didn't lose out, but I won't use them again. 1. Yes because their base offering is not excess-based, so you get a headline price which matches or beats Europcar but it's unlimited and your excess insurance will argue that you didn't have an excess, rather a total liability. The first price point for extra (i.e. excess-based insurance) is what you get included with Europcar.
2. I find that the rental station you use is massively variable with Europcar so I don't disagree with your stance. In Nice and in Marseille they're shite: never offer me an upgrade, charged me for an upgrade (which I then got back) and have a poor choice of base cars. In Vienna it couldn't be more opposite. Same staff for over a decade; know me by name; give me double upgrades without asking and just accept the key without looking at the car. We're putting Roadrunner right off, here  Talk me through this one again? Sixt are coming up cheapest for a hire in Bologna for once but wary. |
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2022 12:26:38 GMT
1. Yes because their base offering is not excess-based, so you get a headline price which matches or beats Europcar but it's unlimited and your excess insurance will argue that you didn't have an excess, rather a total liability. The first price point for extra (i.e. excess-based insurance) is what you get included with Europcar.
2. I find that the rental station you use is massively variable with Europcar so I don't disagree with your stance. In Nice and in Marseille they're shite: never offer me an upgrade, charged me for an upgrade (which I then got back) and have a poor choice of base cars. In Vienna it couldn't be more opposite. Same staff for over a decade; know me by name; give me double upgrades without asking and just accept the key without looking at the car. We're putting Roadrunner right off, here Talk me through this one again? Sixt are coming up cheapest for a hire in Bologna for once but wary. I’ve looked at booking direct and there was a (high) excess rather than it being unlimited in the quote. But I booked through Holiday Autos as it was the same price, but I got just over 8% off through TopCashback. It’s also very clear that there is an excess on the insurance |
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Post by racingteatray on May 19, 2022 13:01:17 GMT
Yes I was using Holiday Autos too and could see the excess there, which is what confused me.
What is TopCashback?
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2022 13:05:09 GMT
Yes I was using Holiday Autos too and could see the excess there, which is what confused me. What is TopCashback? I’ve used Sixt a few times and have always been given an excess, but sounds like it’s something that needs checking. www.topcashback.co.ukGo to the website via the link and after a period of time (it varies by company) the cash back is payable. You can just transfer it to a bank account or get a bit more by putting it onto a gift card |
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2022 13:08:32 GMT
I’ve had a quick look at my account and over time (quite a few years) I’ve earned / saved £2521.32. Worth having for nothing, although I get less out of it than I used to as spending habits have changed. Airport parking is another area where you can save a reasonable % saving eg 7.87% at Heathrow. Edit: This referral link will give you an extra £10 if/when you make the first transaction. www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/Martin275 |
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Post by Big Blue on May 19, 2022 14:39:41 GMT
Sixt are coming up cheapest for a hire in Bologna for once but wary. Here is the best illustration: SIXT are cheaper but....  There is no excess: you are liable to all damage hence a policy that covers the excess won't pay out as you didn't restrict THEIR exposure by taking out the cover. Also SIXT almost always limit their mileage (this is 1,000kms) which is OK if you potter about but we regularly scoot off to far off places plus our families are not living at the end of the runway in the first place. The equivalent from Europcar before my discount:  Yes it costs more but: no limit on mileage; CDW at €1,200 included. If I add the excess to SIXT and my discount to Europcar it's about even, and then I get a two class upgrade, additional driver and airport lounge as well. All that said we are going to a wedding in July and the car we're hiring is from a Slovak company. They drive it to Vienna, we drop it there. It costs less than half the price of Europcar. |
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2022 14:50:25 GMT
That’s strange. I’ve never seen anything other than an excess and unlimited KMs when booking via the Sixt app (without selecting anything during the process) and on the odd occasion I use someone like Holiday Autos it’s been the same. Do you use their US site maybe? As no insurance cover is always something you have to watch out for if you don’t book US car hire through the rental firms UK website? I think it’s user error rather than a Sixt issue! |
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Post by Big Blue on May 19, 2022 15:25:48 GMT
Don’t doubt that I have myself considered this to be user error but I get the same online, the app and .co.uk in both cases.
I assume there is a cookie against my id that defaults to “shit” offering.
😆
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2022 16:06:45 GMT
Don’t doubt that I have myself considered this to be user error but I get the same online, the app and .co.uk in both cases. I assume there is a cookie against my id that defaults to “shit” offering. 😆 Or they assume you’re American. Which is worse?! |
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Post by racingteatray on May 23, 2022 14:10:19 GMT
In the end we've gone for Avis. They were showing "no cars available" anywhere remotely near us but they do have a small local office about 15 mins away so my wife rang it and they managed to find us a car at a price to match Europcar (who were otherwise the cheapest). It just means not having to find our way to the nearest airport to pick it up and also we get the second driver for free as I have Avis Preferred. And normally I worry about taking rental cars back to little local offices but this time we'll be dropping it off at Rome airport, so it shouldn't face the usual local office "Sherlock Holmes with magnifying glass" inspection for additional damage upon return.
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Post by bryan on May 24, 2022 21:22:08 GMT
Prepare yourself for the crappiest car if they are losing it to another office!
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Post by racingteatray on May 25, 2022 10:37:31 GMT
Possibly. It should be an Opel Corsa.
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Post by Martin on May 26, 2022 15:37:53 GMT
All good with Sixt this morning. I got exactly what I booked (X1 Auto or similar), an X1 XDrive 18d M Sport Auto. Couple of options as usual, Leather / Parking Cameras / HUD / bigger wheels etc. Good to be back with iDrive actually, so intuitive and far better using the controller than a touchscreen. All I can say about it at the moment is you feel every pothole but it rides nicely on the motorway, it’s super economical (easy 60mpg+ on the motorway, 53mpg overall today), plenty of space for 3 and our luggage (which still includes a pushchair) and the performance is fine for the roads I’ll be driving on. Getting something small was the right thing to do as well, the roads around here are quite tight in places and I’d forgotten how poor the driving / motorbike riding is in Italy.   |
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Post by racingteatray on May 30, 2022 17:50:19 GMT
We got a dark metallic blue Fiat Tipo with a 100bhp 1.0 engine, the anachronism of a 5spd box and in something called “Life” trim according to the key fob. It’s 8mths old and had just under 10k kms on the clock. Quite well-equipped - sat nav, reversing camera, what appear to be upgraded LED headlamps, phone charging pad (which my wife is thrilled about) and various other FG. It’s not a quick car but actually it goes better than you’d expect from what is not a very small car powered by a very small engine. It has the usual Italian appetite for being flogged, provided you give the gearbox a good work-out and match your revs accurately.  |
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Post by racingteatray on Jun 2, 2022 18:02:11 GMT
Five days and about 1,000kms later, handed back at Fiumicino:   it seems to have been remarkably economical. |
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Post by Martin on Jun 7, 2022 17:22:52 GMT
Not worth a new thread on the X1. It was fine for what we needed / used it for, enough space for the cases in the boot and plenty of room inside with the car seat behind Lindsay. It was comfortable enough, even on badly surfaced roads (19" wheels, std suspension) and it was nice to be using iDrive again, it really is the best infotainment system I've used. One downside was the ventilation, the upper vents didn't put out much volume of air and when you set it to face level, the air mainly came out of vents on top of the dashboard which you can't adjust for direction and were partly obstructed by the screen.
We only did 340kms in the week, but it took ages to get anywhere, the average speed was only 32.8kmh / 20mph over that 211 miles. It averaged 41.5mpg which I think is pretty good considering the low avg speed and amount of stop/start on narrow roads. On the drive from the hotel back to the airport, it averaged 56.6mpg with an average speed of 32mph, that was c40% motorway when it seemed to easily get into the 60s mpg.
No issues with Sixt again. It had quite a lot of marks on it (it had done 44k KMs) and we had to drop the keys in the box, so didn't speak to anyone when it was returned, but the invoice has come through now and the only charge is for the car seat. That was £85 for the week, but better than lugging one of ours around the airport and it was brand new with Isofix and top tether, so a decent seat.
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