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Thread: Car Rental in Europe

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    Default Car Rental in Europe

    Ensuring I dot my i's and cross my t's WRT to proper insurance coverage while in Europe. My partner and I will be driving and personal insurance is only valid in NA, which leaves us with these two things:

    CC Coverage
    Includes: The Policy only covers loss or damage to a rental vehicle. Decline the rental agency’s collision damage waiver (CDW) or loss damage waiver (LDW), or similar provision.

    NOT included: This coverage does not provide any form of third party automobile property damage or personal injury liability insurance; Third party liability (injury to anyone or anything inside or outside the vehicle).

    Sixt Coverage:
    Includes: the Client and any Authorised Driver are therefore guaranteed against the financial consequences of their civil liability for bodily injury or material damage caused to third parties (including passengers of the vehicle) for any incident that the rented vehicle is involved in.

    NOT included: The Client or any Authorised Driver, in the position of driver at the time of the accident, is not covered by this insurance. Damages suffered by the vehicle are also not covered by the compulsory third party insurance.

    ---

    Now if I'm interpretting this all correctly, the CC will cover damage/total loss of the car itself. The Sixt coverage will cover damage to other people's medical costs and their car repairs if we're at fault. We will have traveller's insurance through my partner's work insurance, plus the CC coverage, to cover our own medical costs if needed.

    Is that how you'd interpret this? All the other bullshit stuff like roadside service and glass I'm not worried about.
    Ultracrepidarian

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    You are correct and also be aware that:

    Third Party Insurance in Europe will be included in your car rental. This covers you in the event of injury or damage to a third party. Be sure to check the maximum protection cover amounts for personal injuries and material damages for the specific European country you plan to rent a car in, as they vary.
    Make sure Sixt know if you are crossing into other EU countries beyond where you picked it up.

    Also make sure your CC LDW covers the country you will be driving in and make sure the car doesn't exceed $65K CDN in value.

    Travel in some countries may not be covered by your credit card’s car rental insurance, e.g. in countries for which the Canadian government has issued a formal travel advisory.

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    Thanks! Pickup, dropoff is from Paris. We'll driving in France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland which falls into their Zone 1, ie: properly covered. Sixt doesn't mentioning anything, that I can see, regarding needing to use their own Collision/LDW coverage.

    The CC coverage says Worldwide, more specifically:

    While Car Rental Collision/Loss
    Damage Waiver Insurance provide coverage on a worldwide basis (except where prohibited by law), and the coverage is well received by car rental merchants, there is no guarantee that this coverage will be accepted at every car rental facility. Some rental agencies may resist Your declining their CDW/LDW coverage. They may try to encourage You to take their coverage. If You refuse, they may insist You provide a deposit. Before booking a vehicle, confirm that the rental agency will accept this Car Rental Collision/Loss Damage Waiver insurance without requiring a deposit. If they won’t, find one that will, and try to get written confirmation.
    Ultracrepidarian

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    Quote Originally Posted by msommers View Post
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    Thanks! Pickup, dropoff is from Paris. We'll driving in France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland which falls into their Zone 1, ie: properly covered. Sixt doesn't mentioning anything, that I can see, regarding needing to use their own Collision/LDW coverage.

    The CC coverage says Worldwide, more specifically:
    https://www.sixt.com/magazine/tips/c...nce-in-europe/

    I rented from Budget last time in Frankfurt. Nothing goes wrong (other than 2 speeding tix) but I declined C/LDW and use CC coverage instead. 3rd party coverage is already quoted including going to Prague and up to Denmark.

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    How much is the deductible/excess waiver? I'd probably just buy the full meal deal insurance unless it is prohibitively expensive. If it's $300-400 more or so I'd just do it so I didn't have to worry about a thing, especially when so many people in Europe bump-park and don't seem to care about door dings. Especially in Italy i'd be surprised if your vehicle didn't sustain some kind of minor damage haha. I did that on my last trip and it saved me so much stress, especially since some dumbass in an X5 backed into us at a scenic lookout 2 days in - I would be stressing about that for the rest of the trip if I had a claim process to deal with. Not having to worry about where you park is also a nice perk.

    Also if you do go that route, use a company that does not use a third party for the deductible waiver insurance - otherwise what happens is you are still responsible for all the costs in the event of a claim when you return the vehicle, and then you need to chase down some third party company in another country for your money back, and there isn't really any recourse if they deny it.

    Most CC coverage also requires you to decline all coverage from the rental company, "doubling up" sounds like it's better but it's not. If you go with CC coverage you are likely still responsible for the deductible/excess on the car in the event of damage, and some of the deductibles are huge, like $1000-2000+ Euro, so you might end up paying just as much as the excess/deductible waiver insurance anyway if they are picky about door dings or minor damage. Not every CC handles minor damage below the deductible value the same, which can still end up being a lot because the deductibles can be so big.

    The CC insurance also requires your entire rental cost to be on that card, so if you and your partner have shared any costs or if you used a different CC for better FX rates or something, just be aware of that.

    Europe is better than some other countries for letting you use CC insurance (USA is *by far* the worst), just make sure you have read every single word of the fine print. Be especially certain about how the deductible and claim process works in the event of damage and take tons of pics of the car.
    Last edited by Mitsu3000gt; 05-21-2019 at 12:10 PM.

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    Thanks guys. Mark I assume you have the same Cap1 card as I do, so I'll look at the deductible stuff you mentioned.
    Ultracrepidarian

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    Wow .. this is awesome ..

    I am just checking car rental in Europe too, and this pop up when I open beyond!

    Just noticed pick up from one country, and return to another country, there is a big fee to pay .. like $450 .. any advice? How about difference city, but same country? (Germany, France etc?)

    Last couple times I pick up and return in same city/country, so it was quite easy ...

    Thx
    The Original !

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    I would make sure they know you are going to Italy. From what I understand that is an entirely different ballgame when it comes to risk of theft and damage from people I know who have done a similar trip.
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

    If you think I have been trying to present myself as intellectually superior, then you truly are a dimwit.
    Originally posted by Toma
    fact.
    Quote Originally Posted by Yolobimmer View Post
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    guessing who I might be, psychologizing me with your non existent degree.

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    Quote Originally Posted by C4S View Post
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    Just noticed pick up from one country, and return to another country, there is a big fee to pay .. like $450 .. any advice? How about difference city, but same country? (Germany, France etc?)
    This was a massive expense for us. We are picking up in Paris and ideally would have dropped off in Munich. However the one-way fee was going to be 800 Euros!! So we decided to extend our trip by a few days and slowly drive back to Paris. Unless some of the bigger agencies allow you to reasonably drop-off in a different country, I really have no idea how to avoid/reduce that cost.

    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    I would make sure they know you are going to Italy. From what I understand that is an entirely different ballgame when it comes to risk of theft and damage from people I know who have done a similar trip.
    As long as the country falls into their Zone lists, it's fine.
    Ultracrepidarian

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    Quote Originally Posted by msommers View Post
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    Thanks guys. Mark I assume you have the same Cap1 card as I do, so I'll look at the deductible stuff you mentioned.
    Yeah I think we have the same card - it's been almost year now since I last was in Europe so I don't recall exactly, but the Cap 1 card had plenty of fine print on rental car insurance. Just make sure you go through it all and make sure it's up to date - I was doing a price claim the other day with them and was informed I didn't have the latest policies, and they emailed me an updated PDF relating to their price guarantees - might be the same for the car stuff too.

    Also if you use any type of points other than Capital One points as part of the rental car payment (like Expedia points or something, even though you paid with your Cap 1 card), it voids everything.

    Basically if it's like $500 for the car and $800 for the car + full insurance, zero deductible/excess waiver, etc. and it's not third party insurance, I'd just pay the extra and not have any stress about the vehicle. If the insurance doubles or triples the rental cost then yeah I would probably try to get away with the CC if I was confident it covered me, as they will probably look for any reason not to cover you in the event of a claim.

    You probably have the same one but this is the PDF I had saved, last updated Sep 2018: https://www.capitalone.ca/assets/pdf...r-Benefits.pdf

    Chances are you will have no major issues, it's the little damage I would worry about, especially in Italy where they literally use their cars to push others out of the way to make a big enough spot to park in haha. If they charge you for every dent/ding etc. it might add up if they're picky.

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    I can surely say that in most countries in Europe the price of car rental is beyond real. I was someone who believed this for quite a long time. But when I and my family travelled to Malaga we came across Car rental Malaga Airport which was convenient as I needed a vehicle. The best prices to rent a car in Malaga and drive through its road network easily are in Marbesol. I will not soon forget their amazing service.

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    That’s a weird fucking post
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

    If you think I have been trying to present myself as intellectually superior, then you truly are a dimwit.
    Originally posted by Toma
    fact.
    Quote Originally Posted by Yolobimmer View Post
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    guessing who I might be, psychologizing me with your non existent degree.

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    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    That’s a weird fucking post
    And in 4 years we'll get email from the new social media guy at Marbesol asking to remove Melvin_D's post because it's a negative google ranking. In which case I'll refer them to our long standing policy of only the poster can remove their own post. In which they'll reply, but he's banned! Then I would inform them that they shouldn't have hired a fucking spammer in the first place, and point to this post predicting the future 4 years ago.
    Originally posted by SEANBANERJEE
    I have gone above and beyond what I should rightfully have to do to protect my good name

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    Gold
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

    If you think I have been trying to present myself as intellectually superior, then you truly are a dimwit.
    Originally posted by Toma
    fact.
    Quote Originally Posted by Yolobimmer View Post
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    guessing who I might be, psychologizing me with your non existent degree.

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    Italy and France... You'll be given an Opel or something cheap. No chance for BMW or any decent rental, just an FYI.
    France also pushes cars out of the way to park and you better be on high alert there. Personally, will never drive in France or Italy or Greece. Transit is much better.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mr2mike View Post
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    Italy and France... You'll be given an Opel or something cheap. No chance for BMW or any decent rental, just an FYI.
    France also pushes cars out of the way to park and you better be on high alert there. Personally, will never drive in France or Italy or Greece. Transit is much better.
    My brother was just in the South of France for a couple weeks and he got a BMW 5 series wagon for a "regular" rental.

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    I just drove through out Italy a couple of months ago. I got insurance (damage and 3rd party etc) not theft. My insurance clearly said even though my insurance extends to rental cars in North America it won't cover anything out of NA. My credit card is a travel card and I guess I could have explored that further too but I feel like they said the same thing. I just don't remember exactly. To be on the safe side I got it - it wasn't that expensive. Like 100 Euro difference over 4 days.

    Also, get an international driving license from AMA. I picked up in Rome and returned in Bologna. The price was more than returning it at the same place, but not dramatically more.
    Last edited by shakalaka; 07-08-2019 at 05:13 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mitsu3000gt View Post
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    My brother was just in the South of France for a couple weeks and he got a BMW 5 series wagon for a "regular" rental.
    Interesting. My experience is a few years old but rejected from a 3 series once I said was dropping off in Paris. Rented in Germany.

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    Have returned and driving was overall fantastic in Europe! It was the French highways where people had their shit together the most, while close to Milan was rather reminiscent of Calgary drivers. Going through Genoa was terrifying. The Autobahn was sweet...definite trade off of guzzling gas and going 200 the whole way; our little Opel was revving pretty high lol. Between France, Italy and Germany...Germany was the cheapest by a small margin w.r.t. gas prices. The cheapest we ever came across was ~2.15 CAD/L.

    Made a call to my credit card as there might have been a mishap with a mirror down an Italian "street"...they were stellar to deal with. But it didn't matter since the girl inspecting the car on return gave zero fucks!

    Driving in Calgary is so boring, I can see why distracted driving is such a problem here.
    Ultracrepidarian

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    Did you return it in Italy? I am pretty sure you could have crashed it and they wouldn't have cared there haha.

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