 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi
Short notice trip just sorted from Monda for a weeky; can anyone advise best value car rental to use from Salzburg Airport. 4 adults with bags ( no ski/board bags) so decent sized motor needed.
Travel supermarket looks a tad dear with holiday auto a little better.
Any advise welcome.
Thanks
Mitch
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Mitchell, i used auto europe as the broker last time, the rental company was Buchbinder, but Megadrive is often the cheapest
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Hertz were best value last time I hired from Salzburg (ford c-max), but this was possibly because the others were charging an out of hours fee for a collection on Easter Sunday. I tried the various brokers for pricing then ended up booking directly.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I usually use Megadrive or Buchbinder (same company - different brands) but always check prices on the autoeurope site, as the brokers often have good deals available.
At Salzburg Airport, all of the rental companies are based on the ground floor of the multi-storey car park, directly opposite the main exit of the terminal building. The cars are collected and returned in the basement level of the car park.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Mitchell, don't go anywhere near Megadrive (auto-europe). I suffered a blatant con perpetrated by Megadrive at Innsbruck Airport. Other people have as well, both at Innsbruck and Salzburg (Tripadvisor).
This isn't about poor service or over-charging, it's about an act of defrauding a client. I have reported the full details on a previous thread. Auto-europe, the consolidator, were very unhelpful, it doesn't help that auto-europe are not U.K. based. As for Megadrive, there are dreadful reviews on them, no doubt some people may have been lucky with them, but there are enough instances of malpractice by Megadrive that they really should be avoided at all costs. I only chose Megadrive because they offered the lowest price.
I now consider very carefully the car rental company that I book with.
Needless to say auto-europe are not on my preferred list, if you have a problem you need a company that will be, at least, helpful and responsive if you have an issue with your rental and one that is U.K. based, if you are.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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davidthornton I replied with my own positive experience with Megadrive on your other thread, I won't repeat it here, the OP can find it if he wants.
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Ive used Auto-Europe and Mega drive/Bauchbinder many times and never had any problems at all. Both through Salzburg and Innsbruck. Horses for courses. What I will say is when the broker says there is a local charge for out of hours, then on their literature tells you they are actually open, Ive never been charged ever.
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I always start with autoeurope to see what deals they have, then re-price with Buchbinder, Megadrive, Hertz and Europcar to see if any of these has a cheaper or better deal. I've used all 4 companies from Salzburg, and never had anything but good service. On the one occasion that Buchbinder presented me with a car that had clearly not been cleaned and valeted, they changed it as soon as I went back to the desk. The 'out-of-hours' charge is an odd one at Salzburg, considering that it is an international airport and all the car rental desks are open early-to-late, 7 days a week. Even with the OOH charge, Buchbinder/Megadrive are usually cheapest and I'm sure I've not always been charged for this by them.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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there is also a Sixt at Salzburg, it was cheapest once through a broker
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One of the issues, very much the least serious, I had with Megadrive was that despite having paid for out of hours service there was nobody in attendance at their Innsbruck Airport desk/office. As I said above, there are plenty of adverse reviews on Megadrive, more than any other rental outfit seemingly. These adverse reviews, and my experience, point to possible fraudulent activity and the use of a legal loop hole in Austrian consumer law by Megadrive. Auto-europe are U.S based and are less than helpful when there is a problem.
Several times I have used Carhire 3000, a U.K. based company and call centre. The only time I had a problem with a Carhire 3000 rental was when I had inadvertently double-booked online, I contacted the U.K. office of Carhire 3000 and a refund was made immediately same day, all rental transactions with them have been positive. Carhire3000 name your rental company before you complete your booking, unlike auto-europe, who hide it behind "local supplier", another reason to avoid them.
No doubt a few people have had a positive experience with Megadrive, but, given the large choice available, I think it is prudent to use companies not subject to serious adverse experiences/reviews.
The problem with Megadrive, and by implication it's partner auto-europe, is not just about dirty vehicles or poor service, it is far more serious.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I have had good experience with Carhire3000 when I have had a query before booking. Having said that I would only book with them if they were the cheapest. I expect many, many thousands of people book car hire in Austria with no problems regardless of the broker or rental company. Equally I expect the OP and others are capable of making a call using their own judgement
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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All I can say is that I`ve used all of the above at different times and have had reason to communicate with them all by phone, e-mail etc and found everyone of them easy to deal with over a period of 10 years. The only hastle Ive had with anyone of them was Atlas Choice. And that was more to do with lack of clarity. They have a price comparison deal and they cancel your first booking and re book you. Only problem was this was for a minibus and there was a 2 day wait to have confirmation. I asked why they had cancelled the first one in the meantime. That part hadn't been explained. All turned out okay in the end.
I have found that the Austrian providers are more and more quoting without WT just like Munich, which is something you need to be aware of.
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The out of hours thing is indeed strange. I wasn't sure when whichever website I used mentioned out of hours charges, so I ended up e-mailing each of the hire companies based in Salzburg. The only one that said there would be no out of hours charge were Hertz. Yet when we got there all the hire companies desks were open.
I then did my own price comparisons directly and with brokers taking in to account the out of hours charges. (this was in my old job, I wouldn't have time to do this any more!)
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You know it makes sense.
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At present I'm checking on car hire from Stuttgart hbf (main station) picking up on a Sunday, some rental companies have desks there. However, some consolidator websites say that some of the desks are closed yet the actual websites of the rental companies at the station show Sunday hour openings. All the consolidators will quote for pick-up on a Sunday either charging for out of hours or, I assume, arranging through companies based elsewhere locally, in which case, your're reliant on some bod meeting the train on time.
I relied on that arrangement once, at Gerona airport early on a Saturday evening, the guy (and the car) failed to turn up, so spent an unplanned Saturday night in Gerona followed by a confrontation at the Gerona town office of National the following morning. The man who was supposed to have met us claimed that he was at the compact and small airport terminal all the time, the liar. Our flight was on time and we were the last to leave the place, no other flights, the staff locked up behind us! I think the guy used the car to take his girlfriend out on Saturday night. So now prefer a desk or portacabin to go to.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I would echo the advice about being wary of Megadrive. I used them in Salzburg airport through Argus car hire this year. I found myself caught out by the megadrive out of hour charges. Having booked the car based on picking up the car at 6pm and dropping it back at 5pm I assumed that any charges would be included in the quote. As it turned out megedrives normal opening hours at Salzburg airport are 7am until 12 noon. These opening hours seem opportunistic for a car hire company at an international airport where the vast majority is going to be on a Saturday. Also it wasn't as if someone had to wait especially for me as there was someone queuing before and after me. I wouldn't have a problem being charges extra if my flight was delayed and I picked up the car after the agreed time or was late dropping it back. I did eventually manage to get the €45 charge refunded from Argus. I found Argus car hire helpful though a little slow to return the money, this may have been due to the fact that the company was in the process of being sold at the time.
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FAQ
