With my job I have to travel to Europe quite a lot, this travel also entails carrying quite a lot of equipment, so flying is really out of the question, both practically and cost wise. To get to Europe, the best option for me is to drive, and I'm certainly not going to use my own car!Also my office is some 250 miles from my house, so I could use my own car, but looking from a cost perspective, I can claim 40 pence per mile up to the first 10,000 miles (Inland Revenue rules) or I can hire a car, which benefits me on 2 counts
I'm not wearing my car out
It is actually cheaper for the company
*** What am I going to do? ***
So to cover my requirements, I always try to rent a car. The company I use is Europcar, simply for the fact that my local branch was quite easy for me to walk to (until they moved), and they offered a good service. As a company, you can set up an business agreement and get a 15% discount, depending on the volume of car rental.
*** Who are they? ***
Euorpcar are a large car rental business spanning some 170 countries. Europcar were founded in Paris in 1949, and have over the years had many varied owners, from Volkwagen, to Wagon-Lits, right up to 2006 when they were acquired by Eurazeo (a European Investment company)
*** Where are they located? ***
They have many local, regional, and country offices, and of course at all Major airports.
My local office in Taunton, has recently moved from the convenient location of the local railway station, to somewhere about 6 miles out of town, basically in the middle of nowhere - apparently it costs £15 in taxi fares to get there. I think this was a big mistake for Europcar, surely if you need to rent a car, the majority of people will be on foot! It is not so much of a problem for me, as if I am hiring a people carrier; I cycle to the rental office, and just put the bike in the back! If not I walk!
When I travel to the USA, I have not used Europcar, I always tend to use Hertz - just because that is what I have always done. A colleague of mine went to the US recently, and used Europcar, and assured me there were no problems, the booking worked smoothly, and they had a good range of cars.
*** On-line? ***
You can of course go on-line to obtain your booking, just go to www.europcar.co.uk, and fill in the various forms for obtaining a quote, as an example, On the web site, I selected Get a quote From here I have the options of
Leisure bookings
Business bookings
Chauffeur Drive
Travel Agents
Van Hire
Luxury Cars
Disabled Service
I have only really used the Leisure section, so cannot comment on the other options.
So for this review, I have decided to rent a car from my local branch for 2 weeks, return back to my local branch.
You select the car type, and the dates required, once you select OK, the next page then gives you a drop down menu with a choice of cars, also the options of child seats etc.
So I have gone for a Golf 1.4 or similar for 2 weeks, with no extras. The next page then gives me the quote. Two prices are displayed a prepaid price of £239 or a pay on arrival price of £342.16. I have looked at the conditions for both of these options, and to be honest, I can see no difference, so from a cost perspective, it is much better to go for prepay!
Also on the Home page on the web site, they have a number of deals, the one I am looking at tells me I can rent a car for the weekend from £45 (that is for a mini car for 3 days)
All in all, when I have used the on-line booking process it has been very easy. The only thing to be aware of is that if you need the car for going the Europe, you will need to ring them, and you need to ensure you have the Green Form, which is the European Vehicle Hire Certificate.
*** Customer Service ***
I have had to ring customer service a couple of times, every time I have spoken to them they have been very helpful. The last occasion, I had a query on my bill (the local office couldn't print a bill for some reason) so while I was on the phone, they emailed my bill to me, and we sorted the problem right away, I was very impressed.
*** What does it cost?***
It depends what you want really! The cars they have range from small cars such as Nissan Micras, to luxury cars such as Mercedes, they even have vans
The prices vary so much depending on various options, it is always best to check the web site, or ring the reservation centre. Your costs include VAT, insurance (except Europe), unlimited mileage etc. Again these costs are listed on the web site. There are extra optional costs, such as additional drivers
*** How do you get a car? ***
As mentioned earlier, you can book through the web site, or as I do go directly to my local office. Late last year I had to make several bookings, so I cycled to the Europcar offices on one occasion I had to make 2 rental bookings at the same time. In the five or so minutes it took to arrange these, the rental agreement number had increased by over 2500, so they are renting A LOT of cars
All the cars are new, as soon as they get to around 12,000 miles they cars are sold on.
My last rental was a Renault Megane estate. This with my business discount cost £26 per day (I had the car for 15 days). The European insurance cost a further £97 - this is not negotiable, you need this. In total the rental was £514 and I did over 3000 miles in it too!
As I was going to Europe, they supply all the required safety equipment, warning triangle, fluorescent vest, GB sticker, and headlight converters.
Within the documentation you are given, there are number for contacting roadside assistance; the AA I have never had to do this, so not sure if the procedure works!
*** Boomerang ***
This is a great deal - if you have are going on holiday, you could of course drive to the airport, lets say you were flying from Heathrow, the car parking for a 2 week holiday would cost in excess of £14 a day, unless you went to one of the specialist off-site car parking companies. You are still driving, and your car is, well do you know what is happening with your car while it is parked?
The boomerang service allows you to pick up a car from your local branch the day before you fly, drive to the airport car rental and drop it off, and have a car waiting for you when you return - great no worries about loosing car keys on the beach or up a mountain! When you arrive back, certainly at Heathrow, Europcar have courtesy busses which take you from Arrivals to the Car Rental site, your car is ready, fill in the details Driving Licence, Credit Card etc. and off you go. This is my preferred option if I do have to fly anywhere, if find it so easy. It worked out for me the last time I did it £30 each way.
You cannot book this option through your local office, instead you have to book through central reservations. It is an 0845 number, the reservation desk runs 24/7, so you can always get through. When I have called this number, I have never had to wait more than 2 minutes.
*** Picking up the Car ***
So the day has arrived, you go to the Car Hire offices to pick up your car. You should take your driving licence, you credit card (that you made the booking with) It is also recommended to take a utility bill, that said I've never had to show one, I always take my passport though. They are starting to introduce taking a finger print as well.
The hiring office, should have all your details to hand, they then go through a rather long form which has all your rental details on. There are a number of places you have to sign the form; ensure that you check everything! Also on the form are some drawings of the car. Any existing damage to the car will be noted here. Ensure that you walk around the car, and CHECK to see if there is anything not noted, as potentially you may be liable for damage. Next you should be shown all the controls for the car, where the lights are, the gears etc. I know us blokes don't want to be told, but it is worth listening to! Also ensure you CHECK that the fuel is full. When you return the car you are expected to fill the tank (unless you have paid for the tank) You are then given the keys and off you go!
The car should be in good order, and clean (they are washed before every rental). If it is not do as I do, and have a moan, you will get money knocked off the rental.
As I mentioned at the top, I go to Europe, so generally I need a people carrier. I don't need the seats though, as I have so much stuff, the seat come out and live in my garage. I have on two occasions had a car where I couldn't remove the seats, as someone had replaced them incorrectly. Now I really didn't want to damage the seat trying to get them out, so I took the car back to the hire station, and demanded a replacement car; the car was duly provided.
~~WARNING 1 ~~
If you are renting a people carried, especially for a large family, CHECK the rear seats, I have on many occasions found these seats to be incorrectly fitted, and potentially dangerous.
~~~ WARNING 2 ~~~
Always ensure you have the green card insurance documents if travelling to Europe. Don't think you can get away without it! At the beginning of January I was going to Germany, and I always go through the Channel Tunnel. Before you get to passport control, you pass some number plate recognition cameras. When I went to passport control, the Policeman there knew this was a hire car, and he wanted to see the green card, be warned!
*** Returning the Car ***
Once your trip is complete, you have to return the car - shame I know! Ensure that you have taken everything of your out - obvious I know, but with most cars nowadays there are so many little cubby holes, it is easy to forget, and remember the CD player.
Once at the Hire station, take your paperwork in. The person will then check the car for you, ensure the tank is full, check the mileage, and check for damage.
You are then given a printed receipt of your bill
*** Contacting Europcar ***
EUROPCAR UK Limited Reservations and Sales Centre James House 55 Welford Road Leicester LE2 7AR
very helpful
very helpful
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This product has not yet been reviewed. 
