 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all
Just got a few minutes to write up what happened to me in January.....
Truly awful service from the French side after I'd booked an automatic BWW 5 series automatic estate with sat-nav (exactly what I needed in terms of size for everything we had to carry and equipment to help me find the skiing resort) for me and 4 of my family (and their suitcases etc). I also ordered winter tyres, had confirmation of the price and confirmation of the booking.
1. I got upgraded upon arrival to a Lexus 4X4 with navigation but summer tyres......then down to an Open Insignia manual with no navigation but with winter tyres. They told me to stand an wait until Monday if I wanted to complain to customer services! We couldn't even fit in all the cases so we had to put them on the laps of the people sitting on the back seats.
2. The winter tyres that I order in advance weren't booked and I was advised to try and drive to the ski resort 3 hours away on summer tyres. If I had, I would never have got to my destination as the snow was around 2 feet high.
3. The price quoted was wrong and I was charged double when I arrived. I was not the only one too. They deliberately lower the price on the internet then hit you with hidden charges when you arrive. BEWARE.
They were arrogant and had zero idea about customer services. When I put in official complaints, all I got was a 5% discount and no apology. I will not use them again and we will also remove them as our corporate supplier.
One unhappy client =thousands of $$$$ lost revenue.
Be VERY careful as once you're there, you're trapped and have little choice, especially if (like us) you were travelling in peak times.
I understand accidents happy but it's the attitude that got to me. When I told them that I had email confirmation of the winter tyres, they asked me to show them, which I was happy to do but I was roaming on my phone so asked to use their computer to check my Yahoo account. They said that they didn't have internet there, which was a lie as a few minutes before they Googled the ski resort where we were going as they said that I wouldn't need snow tyres as there was no snow!
I'm sick of Sixt screwing me and expecting me to come back so PLEASE be careful booking with them or, even better, avoid them like the plague.
Nick
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Did you book direct or through a consolidator? Can understand yout indignation. I always carry paper copies of all vital documentation.
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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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I booked directly via their website and our special corporate login, Pam. I emailed them separately for tyres but didn't print that confirmation. I work in Moscow and roaming costs are scandalous but I went online and showed them the confirmation. It just made them even less helpful. When I got back I checked my corporate phone bill and that download cost me about £60. It's not a lot compared to the £1500 I paid for the rental but it could so easily have been avoided with some help.
As I said, it wasn't the money, it was the attitude and lies.
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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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Sixt have always been fine from Grenoble and Lyon, only used them once from Geneve, and apart from finding the drop off point, again everything fine. This was a few years ago, so things may have changed
They would still be my preferred rental company if I every did a fly/drive again.
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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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I used them a few years ago too and it was "ok" but just ok. They had issues with their credit card terminal which kept us waiting for 3 hours - we never even had a "sorry" then either.
This time was different - full of surprises. Three people in the queue in the hour or two that I was waiting were also angered by mistakes. One Brit was furious as they had lost his booking completely and wanted to charge him "walk-up" rates. He had two kids and a crying baby but there didn't seem to be an ounce of sympathy from them towards him.
Another American person, just behind us in the queue, was given a manual instead of the automatic that he asked for and had booked. He had never driven a manual car in his life and didn't want to start by driving around mountain roads in the snow.
It truly was pathetic.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
They had issues with their credit card terminal which kept us waiting for 3 hours
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I used them in summer from Geneva (french side) and had zero issues.
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| Nadenoodlee wrote: |
| I used them in summer from Geneva (french side) and had zero issues. |
We used them in December from GVA for a pre Christmas trip to Les Arcs and they were excellent, we got upgraded to an absolute beauty of a car.
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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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Jack
I feel for you. But if what you say is true and you are a big corporate customer and you have the power to move your business then have you spoken with someone in SIXT corporate team not in the local office.
I either have a paper copy if every relevant email or a PDF saved on the phone.
I find with car hire, just like ski hire, you are hiring something similar to model XYZ. I've never once had what it said on the page I booked from. That said I'd have run a mile from a BMW in snow... ...what were you thinking?
THREE hours in a car rental office is beyond stupid. I'd have been trying other suppliers.
Oh and for £1500 you could have been taxid there and back surely?
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I got "upgraded" (ha ha) once to a car which wouldn't easily fit my mother's wheelchair in (the key consideration when I chose what car to rent). But yes, you have to be prepared to be given something different.
I don't know how effective it would be to state that the specific model (or in my case another car which a wheelchair would fit in) is "of the essence of the contract" when you book. And winter tyres too, if appropriate.
If you don't have written confirmation of exactly what you want and copies of that confirmation readily available when you turn up to pick up the car, you are probably stuffed.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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would never book a car with navigation. even europcar tried hard to upsell satnav at the counter (also very slow at midnight friday)
got in the car... it had satnav built in (but Peugeot satnav is **** and didn't have a clue around Guildford). Just follow the road signs. Had head up display too (useless for anyone over 6ft), and rear parking camera.
Never had an issue with sixt. Arrive, get what I want, drive off. And sixt is one of those that sometimes does give exactly what you choose, usually the BMW X6's and what I would call "stupid cars". Guys here use Sixt specially as a kind of longer term test drive (blag a Sixt car for a weekend and you get a 6 or 7 series at Mondeo price).
And at GVA, I'd always go to the Swiss side. That'd have the winter tyres by default and the vignette, and no need for satnav to get out of the airport and round Geneva while trying to skimp the €40 vignette fee.
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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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I did a couple of French side cars in the summer and autumn as the tyres were irrelevant. I did drive through Geneva. I've done it before with no big problems but of my four trips through Geneva two got stuck in very heavy traffic and on another I got lost after a diversion (despite having thought I'd be able to muddle my way through) and I decided not to bother again. On a short holiday you just need to get there.
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Is this the box where I write that I used them and didn't have any problems? Thus contradicting and invalidating the claims of the OP!
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You know it makes sense.
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Polc1410 - I've tried Sixt in France and UK (via HQ) but I got brushed aside - it's quite typical of their arrogance. When I book a hire car (about 10 rentals a year), I check out Hertz (with my discount code) and Sixt (with corporate rates) - sometimes one is far cheaper than the other so I generally use the cheapest. One thing I've noticed over the past 3 or 4 years is that Sixt, outside of UK, are incredibly arrogant and rude.
When I book a car, I always expect something different to what they advertise but, in this case, it would have been something like a Volvo V70 or Audi A6 Avant instead of the BMW 5 Series Touring. I would have been happy with any of those options. I actually like the BMWs in the snow. I live and drive in Moscow (and have for quite a while) so really enjoy rear wheel drive cars in the snow, as long as there are winter tyres on them. I've actually got a 7 series BMW now and it's fun in the snow. The main purpose of renting this "class" was the space for 5 adults and the cases they had with them. Also, we can put skis in the back of necessary and go off for a drive during the day (something we often like to do).
The Opel Vectra was crammed, basic and the sat nav they gave me (as the one built in was broken) was honestly no bigger than a cigarette packet. My front seat passenger had to hold it and read it for me. The people in the back had to put two of the smaller cases on their laps for about 3 hours. Not ideal.
If I hadn't had confirmation of winter tyres on the model/class that I ordered, I would have understood being downgraded.....but 5% discount was a bit insulting too.
That was the 3rd and last time renting from Sixt on the French side. It was considerably cheaper (50%) than the Swiss side (which is why I went for it) but I should have known better. The three hours spent waiting whilst they tried and tried to get their card machine to work should have been enough of a warning as they admitted it was a regular problem but they can't let the cars go without clearing at least one card from the driver. If I had a euro for every time they said "wait....5 more minutes" I would have had a free car. Again, no apology and no compensation (not even something small) for the inconvenience at all. What annoyed me most was that I wanted to get to Val d'Isere before it got dark (I don't really like driving unknown roads in the dark) but the delay meant we set off in the dark instead.
As I said originally, it all would have been acceptable had the service been polite and considerate. They had zero care for my safety (or that of my family) and were downright rude. I wanted to shout and scream at them, but I knew that was pointless as they really didn't care at all.
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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've had generally good experience with Sixt and they were my go-to hire choice until this year in the French side of GVA. We had two problems. Firstly, when I booked online there is a box to tick for collision damage waiver. This is included free in the cost of the basic rental (although with a big excess). I didn't click the box because it was hidden in a "more options" section of the hire website. When I arrived they then informed me there was no CDW and even though it is a free option with the online rental I had to pay a massive fee to get it added at the rental desk. It was something like an extra £100. Then she asked if we wanted winter tyres. I said no, but noticed when we got the car it was fitted with winter tyres anyway. Sure enough when I checked the invoice when it came in, they had charged extra for the winter tyres even though I had declined them. I complained and got a refund of the tyre cost but the experience was such a pain, I won't use them again.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I always wonder with booking on the French side if they make a point of removing any vignettes that have been bought, and switch to summer tyres after each rental, just so they can charge you the relevant fees.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I never thought about what happened to unused vignettes. Very good point. I really hope they don't change the tyres (or most probably the wheel with tyres on) just to make more money....but it wouldn't surprise me too much.
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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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you do occasionally get a car with a vignette on already. If they're stuck on they are very difficult to remove - I really can't see them doing that. Most people who rent on the French side do so to avoid paying for the vignette.
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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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This is just depressing. I don't think there is a single car hire outfit that I haven't had a bad experience with, somewhere, some time. It is not hard to get the impression that their business model is basically dishonest (i.e., they can't make a profit without tricking or conning you out of something else).
Sometimes, perhaps even more often than not, it is fine. But sometimes, it isn't, and that casts a shadow over the whole process for me. I can't be bothered to spell out my various experiences but suffice to say they are very similar to the soft of things mentioned above.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Gaza, I could have had a transfer (it would have been cheaper) but I like driving and when we're at the resorts we like to drive around and see more of the place we're in. If we're skiing for 2 weeks, we enjoy throwing the skis in the back and just driving somewhere, or leaving the skis behind and seeing the sights.
I also don't get why they didn't reply to me, even though they could see I'm a corporate client. Maybe we're not big enough for them to worry about or maybe they don't care. I do know that since my experience we have had a memo from our car fleet department giving us two other options (providers) to consider when hiring.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Mon 9-03-15 21:51; edited 1 time in total
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Because its probably a franchise - so unless all your corporate business is done through that branch then your just another punter...
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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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for zero money I can print out my key documents. You really shouldn't rely on a phone - sometimes there is no signal, especially in ski resorts in terrible weather, and when you might just need to get the detail of your travel insurance. And people drop phones all over the piste. 
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| Quote: |
£3 a day in Europe I can access my in tariff data
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€1.99/day here (and they have the decency to count switzerland and liechtenstein as "EU" too, which is handy when in PdS or GVA and border hopping).
Doubt Sixt or Avis or Europcar will lose much sleep over a corporate defection, nor rub their hands with a cheshire cat grin if they gain a corporate contract)
We've just binned Avis for EuropCar for our corporate contract. I'd bet some other corporate has just binned Europcar for Sixt or Avis.
They're all the same really (if you use the rental co. direct).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Polc - you're absolutely wrong about everything you wrote. You sound like a bitter and twisted person if you think everyone is like that. I didn't even think about my corporate account until I got back, but don't let that stop you from inventing ideas from nowhere. "The king of power" - sounds to me as if you've got some issues of your own as all I wanted was either what I paid for (or similar!) and if not, some polite service.
Re prices - have you checked car hire over Xmas and New Year? Prices are crazy yet you say "more money than sense". How rude and arrogant that sounds.
Next...I had my rental docs, but not the follow up email confirming that I had separately booked and paid for winter tyres. My mistake but I didn't think I needed it as I had called in advance to check everything was as planned.
Finally, I get a local sim when I'm at the resort but didn't have a chance at the airport. I work in Moscow so I have a Moscow-based number and ALL the providers in Moscow screw you when roaming. I had little choice but I don't see what that's got to do with you. It wasn't about the money, it was about the fact that they didn't want to help me and basically accused me of lying.
Anyway, I just wanted people to know to be careful using Sixt on the French side....I've done that so I hope nobody else has such issues. Thanks to those for the polite replies.
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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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I thought that most Snowheads hired cars from the Swiss side of Geneva airport as winter tyres are fitted as standard (because this is required by Swiss law). Sorry, not much help to the OP but perhaps a consideration for the next time.
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| Quote: |
| You sound like a bitter and twisted person if you think everyone is like that. |
No I'm neither bitter nor twisted. I'm not the one who opened a thread here with the intention of affecting a company. I don't think everyone is bitter and twisted but a fair few who open ranty threads on forums are, especially when they are selective with facts...
| JackAbroad wrote: |
Just got a few minutes to write up what happened to me in January.....
If I had, I would never have got to my destination as the snow was around 2 feet high.
They were arrogant and had zero idea about customer services. When I put in official complaints, all I got was a 5% discount and no apology. I will not use them again and we will also remove them as our corporate supplier.
One unhappy client =thousands of $$$$ lost revenue.
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(my bold)
| Quote: |
I do know that since my experience we have had a memo from our car fleet department giving us two other options (providers) to consider when hiring. |
So you haven't removed them as a supplier just added some alternative choices as well.
| Quote: |
| Re prices - have you checked car hire over Xmas and New Year? Prices are crazy yet you say "more money than sense". How rude and arrogant that sounds. |
No I think hiring a car for 2 weeks for the value plenty of people buy a car for lacks logic. Especially for essentially two major journies. Granted the option to use it for trips is there but still think you could have been cheaper by taxi.. And I've never hired a car in Europe over Christmas.
But I'm confused when you travelled as you previously said January, you mention 2ft of snow which didn't happen till after Christmas but now you are hiring over Christmas. But for Christmas + New Year 2015 the most expensive car I can hire through thrifty.fr is £700 for 14 days including winter tyres. Granted its not a BMW, nor was it a snow plough which would have been far more helpful in 2ft of snow. But it is a large auto estate.
| Quote: |
Finally, I get a local sim when I'm at the resort but didn't have a chance at the airport. I work in Moscow so I have a Moscow-based number and ALL the providers in Moscow screw you when roaming. I had little choice but I don't see what that's got to do with you. It wasn't about the money, it was about the fact that they didn't want to help me and basically accused me of lying. |
Well you produced a booking that didn't include winter tyres as you added it later. You told us the price of data, you make it the forums business. However its also nonsense. Beeline a moscow provider will do you 40Mb of data for 200ru, which by my reckoning is under £3.
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm not going to both taking your comments apart bit-by-bit....this is getting boring and childish.
Every site has it's troll and it looks like I've come across one here. It's a pity as this site's generally been really good to me.
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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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@geetee, That is news to me. I have saved a lot of money over the last few years by always renting from the French side
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Poster: A snowHead
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I booked with SIXT at this depot and everything was excellent. I understood from the website that the cars were 'or equivalent'. I was travelling alone so didn't need a big car. I booked the opel corsa option but was actually given a mini when I arrived. Sorry to hear of your bad experience.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
@geetee, That is news to me. I have saved a lot of money over the last few years by always renting from the French side
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I'm sure it is cheaper. We gave up on it years ago because of similar problems - turning up and finding that the hire company didn't have a car with winters or chains!
However I think we will drive out more often in future - hired from Thrifty (Hertz) from the Swiss side at half term. Got a decentish price from an aggregator but then had to pay winterisation, huge extra driver fee (margin on that must be roughly 100%!), extra to have breakdown cover in France (appreciate it is over the border but hardly Mongolia). We didn't pay CDW insurance because my wife had taken it from the aggregator. In return for all this we got a base model Punto which was all we needed (2 adults, 2 children with hand luggage) but having driven a Fiesta and a Polo recently I had no idea that anyone made cars as nasty as the Punto anymore!
Anyway, I managed to scuff a wheel arch in a multi-story (idiot). It was superficial - I thought I might be able to t cut it - but no, it would need a little repaint. We fessed up and got charged ... CHF 880. Thrifty, eh? Clearly not very thrifty when it comes to sourcing cosmetic bodywork repairs. Anyway had a few days when we worried a bit that the aggregator would find a way of getting out of the insurance (you know how insurers are) but they have paid up. Alls well that ends well but I just hate "gotcha" pricing systems with teasers headline rates and hidden extra costs (breakdown cover, treating minor damage as a profit stream). They are probably all as bad as each other but think I'll boycott Hertz/Thrifty for a while.
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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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You definitely can't rely on getting chains on french side. Family members completely failed with Europcar despite requests. Was dry and sunny so no problem had they not ignored my weather warnings, had to slide around looking for chains on their departure day and expensively missed flight from Geneva.
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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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@pam w, you can't rely on getting them at the Swiss side either! Christmas 2013 we booked a car with Sixt from the Swiss side. We attempted to pre-book chains but were told it's not possible to pre-book, but it would be no problem getting them on arrival. On arrival, they had no chains. It was late on Friday night, so no possibility of buying them either. It was snowing as we drove into resort but we (just) got away with it on the winter tyres alone.
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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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I had a bad experience with Sixt in the UK years ago so have avoided them ever since. As much on principal as anything. I've rented a few times from different companies, in different countries over the years (but never for skiing trips as we drive from the UK). They are all shysters in my book. Essentially they are all playing a game and whenever I go to counter with my online booking reference I am expecting them to try and fleece me for something. I guess it's one of those things in life you have to endure like traffic wardens and dentists. Although my dental practice has been taken over and the new people are really good... estimated £55 and then only charged £32 because the work didn't take so long. Still.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Tue 10-03-15 17:06; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Layne, +1 re they are all as bad as each other. Regularly rented with Europcar in Spain - often upgraded at no extra charge. V good experiences. Rented with them in Norway. They told me that I couldn't rent a ski rack with the small car which I had booked because there were no rails for mounting on the small cars, and therefore I would have to have a large car instead - at increased cost of course. Nothing about that on Europcar's website when booking! They tried to tell me I booked through an aggregator which was complete rhubarb. Managed to get the bigger car for an extra £60 in the end, which was not too bad a result, but it was the general smugness of the bloke which I found annoying.....
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I too had a bad experience with Sixt at Geneva, but on the Swiss side. I rented an estate car and was "upgraded" to a people carrier. Not a real problem although the driving experience was not so good. Drove to Morzine without incident. parked at the hotel and three days later drove back without incident.Surprise surprise, when I turned the car in the Sixt employee found a dent in the front wing. At no point had I hit anything nor had anything hit me. It was snowing when I parked and when I came back to the car the snow blanket was undisturbed. In short, no way could the dent have been produced during my rental period. It was small with no break to the paintwork and I assume I just didn't notice it when I picked the car up. A few days after getting home I received an emailed bill for 850 CHF. Fortunately for me I have good insurance so I'm not out of pocket but I do have a nasty taste in my mouth.
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A stupid rented car with a puncture and can of gunge instead of a spare tyre cost a lot of time and - initially - many hundreds of Euros, eventually reluctantly paid back because I'd paid the insurance excess. Also a scary time for my daughter in law on a mountain road as dark fell, with three small kids in the car. And poor and intermittent mobile signal.
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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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On the other hand...we just got back from a wonderful trip to Iceland.
Four adults, we wanted a hire car. A search, using a number of aggregators, made my credit card pucker with fear until we came across SAD Cars a local company.
Their prices were much, much less and at first glance their website looked entirely normal.
We read a few review on tripadvis' and realised that they are a little bit different: their cars are used, some of them very used!
They do charge for extras, but a second driver cost €10 in total for example.
Still we wanted a 4x4 that would be up to the job and I contacted them and was reassured. We booked, we arrived, we drove. All was good.
The comical bit was doing the pre-drive walk around with the condition report: dents, rust, scratches, scuffs...this car was used!
On reflection they did exactly what they promised. The car was not new (!), but did the job 100% and did it at a very reasonable price.
I'd use them again, and would use that business model again for rentals. When renting a car I need reliable transport that is up to the job required (size, journey length etc) but I don't need a brand new car, and I don't need to be ripped off with all the "extras".
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@rungsp,
good point. Years ago I found a similar service in NZ - we got a 8 year old 4wd Subaru estate - pretty much perfect for exploring South Island
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FAQ
