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Geneva Car hire

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
That does sound good service, @johnE, but I can't find any link to argus.com car rental.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@pam w, try https://www.arguscarhire.com. I've changed the original post to give the correct URL

They don't do everywhere - for example they have no cars on Kalymnos
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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?
Thanks @johnE. Rapidly drew a blank there - because I'm over 70. Not found that with any other firms, though they generally ask age, which I obviously answer honestly.
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@pam w, I'm over 70 - 72. I just put my age on the form and it comes up with quotes.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Just used the easyjet site to book for January on the swiss side with unirent who are an arm or europcar and the pickup address is the swiss side.

Easyjet had the best rates (today!) for this rental compared to ryanair, skyscanner, rentalcars and europcar themselves.
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Just watch out for the scams.

Last year Hertz hit me for ChF456 for damage that a wipe with a wet cloth removed from the bumper; probably as I had the extended insurance.
This year Enterprise sent me a second invoice for ~6ChF about 10 days after the return for a re-fuelling charge, they did the same with my mate on the same trip.
This was despite both of us tanking at the airport, and being signed in as full.
After last year we both had the cars fully inspected on return by the return staff.

Both of us challenged the second invoice, both of us had the money refunded.

The swiss have replaced the Belgians as the scam artists of Europe in my view.
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Jameswp wrote:
Just watch out for the scams.
...
The swiss have replaced the Belgians as the scam artists of Europe in my view.

.... closely followed by the Austrians at Salzburg: we were done for ~£900 for a couple of miniscule scuffs on the rear bumper (probably where someone had loaded luggage) - luckily we'd photographed the car before leaving and could show that at least one was present at pickup.
They eventually backed down and apologised for the "mistake"

This came on top of a similar thing at the same airport a couple of weeks previously - luckily my mate was informed when handing in the key and was able to prove them wrong and get the claim cancelled : the women at the desk actually said
Quote:
"well you're covered by your own insurance, so why does it matter to you"
... Shocked

Clearly a scam wink
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Dravot wrote:
Mjit wrote:
What are your dates/where are you searching?

Just guessed at 22nd/31st and ran a search on Skyscanner and to get anywhere near the £1k mark I had to go up to a Mercedes E class convertable!


yes, for French side. I think others have confirmed that its not as complex as I thought to collect from French side


Oh that's a change in the way Skyscanner works - and one I'm glad you pointed out to me before I need to be a car! "GVA" always used to give you the Swiss side and you needed to specifically search for the French side to get that. Looks like they are doing both, or maybe just the French side for "GVA" now - which has a lot of confused people at hire car desks in the wrong country written all over it!
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The airport code for Swiss French side is GGV and ive used at rentalcars.com
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Just some feedback on current car rental prices at GVA: final bill for 8 days with Europcar 3-10 May was CHF 50 / day for the cheapest automatic, a 4x4 Skoda estate. A Manual would have been less but an auto is easier and my preference, and it wasn’t much of a premium over a manual. This was the first time I’ve booked a car as part of booking the flights i.e. via the easyJet website - in this case it turned out cheaper than the other options I looked at.

At CHF 50 a day for an auto estate the price seems to represent a return to something more reasonable. Albeit this is obviously low season and a weekday-to-weekday rental.
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That's better than I found yesterday - a small non-automatic car for £45 a day for 4 days, French side, May. Will keep checking though.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
That all sounds quite pricey even considering any covid stock issues which really should have gone by now . My recent Norwegian rental was just over £200 for 6 days for a mid sized auto petrol SUV
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I checked Autoeurope today and found a weird issue - prices for many rental companies were higher once I signed in. It should be the other way round. Anyone else finding the same thing?
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I find the whole rental comparison thing weird - especially as I look across both sides of Geneva airport where there is no consistency of difference. A couple of weeks ago when I looked a booking direct with Hertz was the cheapest.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@LaForet, we booked car hire through EJ once and it was indeed the cheapest option. But, and it was a big but, our return flight was cancelled due to French ATC strikes and when we extended the car hire the extra over charge, paid when we dropped it back at the airport, was ridiculous! Turns out they cancelled the whole booking and the recharged us at a stupid daily rate...lesson learnt, we wouldn't do a linked booking like that again.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
That's well worth knowing, @homphomp, thanks. We used easyJet back in the day when they had the Mercedes A class cars. You were supposed to return them clean - I recall my OH using a pair of M&S briefs for a bit of last minute buffing...... You could return them empty..... a few deep breaths of the same briefs just got us there. Phew.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Quote:

OH using a pair of M&S briefs for a bit of last minute buffing...... You could return them empty.....

The prospects of returning the briefs full would worry me. Wink

I think that automatics are becoming much more common as hire cars these days. A few of my recent rentals have asked if I would mind taking an automatic instead of a manual as it was all they had left. Normally I prefer a manual as it gives more control.
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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?
I find automatics excellent on twisty and hilly mountain roads - it was hiring one which sold me on the idea of my next car being an automatic. But then I'm not a "driver" - just someone who likes to get from A to B with minimum fuss. After driving an automatic for some time I had to drive my old car in France last summer (I'd given it to son and family) and made a right royal hash of it. Short journey on quiet roads, thankfully, but as I slowed down, or even stopped, several times, without putting my foot on the clutch it was alarming for the passengers. Skullie This time I'm going with my sister and she can drive the hire car out of the French side of the airport and onto the motorway. She's a good driver and used to changing gear.
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The old slush-box automatics could be terrible on mountain roads, particularly if paired with a small engine, such that you could find yourself unable to maintain a particular speed, revving too high in one gear so it would changewi, but not enough power to maintain the speed in the next gear up.

Thankfully these days they nearly all been replaced by variations on the semi-manual boxes, with six or more gears and usually a complete manual control if you prefer. If I were offered an auto I would first check that it was one of these, not being familiar enough with various manufacturers to know if some of them are still the old style.

I'm fine with manual anyway, and don't find it a problem when driving the LandRover around town, and in fact often leaving it in a higher gear than an auto may choose can help with fuel consumption.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Trying to book a car at GVA July and the prices are astronomical - £150/day for the smallest one. Is there something on?
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Quote:

£150/day for the smallest one

Ouch. Is it that motor show?
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
TdF ?
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
The last time I transited Geneva airport (in May, not peak season) the delays, particularly on leaving (an hour's wait just to drop bag and then huge passport delays which entailed another hour standing in line) were really bad. Some very smart new buildings and a very expensive wine and seafood bar but shocking basic people-handling. My mother would have said "fur coat and no knickers". Gatwick, in contrast, was a model of efficiency in both directions. What with the travel hassle and the high cost of car hire (and that entails yet another wait, usually) the arguments for driving your own car down to the Alps are mounting every day. It can take four hours and a fair bit of discomfort to get to and to and from airports at both ends of a journey. And costs and arm and a leg for a family.

Our very first family ski holiday (an Inghams package to an apartment in Austria was for two weeks. The marginal cost of the extra week was very good value!
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LaForet wrote:
Trying to book a car at GVA July and the prices are astronomical - £150/day for the smallest one. Is there something on?


There are a busy couple of weeks cycling with l'Etape du Tour being held on the 9th July Annemasse > Morzine (I thnk 10-20K participants) and the TDF will be the Haute Savoie and Jura regions on a week or so afterwards for a few days.
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Last minute trip out to the Alps this week and I found the car rental was going to be the most expensive I've seen it (I never travel at super peak times like half term etc). Was looking at about £450 for one week for the cheapest car from GVA. Almost flew to Lyon instead which was more like £300 for one week. However, with 48 hours to departure I managed to book Hertz Swiss side GVA at £330. And now, with less than 24 hours until departure, I've modified the booking with Hertz as a cheaper car became available for £230 - they will refund the difference without any fees.

Dollar, Thrifty and Hertz (all the same group?) all seem to have reduced the price to ~£230 for the week at the last minute, from what was about £450 until a few days ago. So definitely worth checking!
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Follow up from the previous post. Hertz at GVA (Swiss side) charged me a CHF 32 cross border fee because I was driving to France. I'm used to paying a cross border fee when hiring from other locations, for example Munich. But this is my first time ever having to pay this fee at Geneva in many years of regular car hire using most of the companies on both the French and Swiss side.
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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.
@musehead, like you, I've only recently paid cross-border charges at Geneva. Your experience (which mirrors others, and mine) shows it's foolish to book hire well in advance unless you can change without penalty. Outside snowy times there's a lot be said in favour of French side car hire, though it's by no means always cheaper.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I’ve only been charged the cross border fee at GVA CH a few times in the past 18 months. It seems very random as to which companies and when it is applied.

@pam w, I hired from the French side this summer following a long break (due to previous bad experience getting lost on return) and found it really good this time around and will now be my goto for summer rentals due to cost. Found it was easier to navigate using the Waze (Avis provided a leaflet with a QR code to the correct location in google maps). I believe they may have also improved access from the major roadworks that have been ongoing for a long time around the airport motorway. Also benefited from Avis/Budget Quick Pass by pre-registering online (submitting licence, ID and Cc details) the day before arrival which allowed me to jump the long queue at the desk and join the empty quick pass counter to be handed the keys. This was a tad embarrassing given the long queue being assisted by only one person and usual delays / disputed from renters arriving without the correct docs.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:

Also benefited from Avis/Budget Quick Pass by pre-registering online (submitting licence, ID and Cc details) the day before arrival which allowed me to jump the long queue at the desk and join the empty quick pass counter to be handed the keys.

Mmm. That sounds like a VERY good idea - thanks.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I'm not a big fan of the whole concept of 'get xx car or similar' - I understand why they have to do it, but it feels a bit woolly to me. Especially as I don't know a huge amount about cars.

I was just looking at car hire from Geneva for our next ski trip - one company listing 3 estates (Megane, Mazda 6, BMW grand tourer) with a £200 difference in price between the cars. If I turn up and they give me something different, I've no idea if that was actually something similar or just what they had left in the lot - and that I would have ended up with that whatever I'd paid.

I'm sure it's not like that, but it would be a bit more transparent if they grouped the cars i.e. Class 1, Class 2 etc - and then had a reference of what types of cars are in each group.

Or maybe I'm just over-thinking it Laughing
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Yes, you probably are. Cars generally are described in "groups". After all, some middle sized cars are far more expensive than other middle-sized cars and some folk, whether buying or hiring, will pay more for features which others will find completely irrelevant. Walking through the Geneva car hire garage in May I was struck by how many really flash cars there were - I guess they're not being rented by Snowheads! You will generally get a car in the same "group" that you've rented, or sometimes a higher group, if they've run out. One time I was inconvenienced I'd rented a model on the basis that I could get a folding wheelchair in the back, and was given a rather "smarter" car but with stupidly small boot space. It sorted itself out in the end but it does take time.

When I rented last October I encountered a "keyless entry" for the first time. It fooled me and the friend who was co-driving when it refused to lock at the big supermarket in Sallanches, until I just thought "o well sod it" and walked away. The car we rented in May, a very new and to my mind clumsy Volkswagen with a less-than-perfect automatic gearbox (my Skoda is far superior) was very unlovable. I would always prefer to take my own car and it's surprisingly often cheaper than flying and renting if you're going for a longer trip.

The best part of renting a car is when you take it back, unscathed, having not hit anything! I have twice had punctures in hired cars (pot holes in the Alps, caused by freeze/that, can have very sharp edges) and both times though it was a major hassle and delay, whereas in my own car I'd have been able to change the wheel.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Yes, you probably are. Cars generally are described in "groups". After all, some middle sized cars are far more expensive than other middle-sized cars and some folk, whether buying or hiring, will pay more for features which others will find completely irrelevant. Walking through the Geneva car hire garage in May I was struck by how many really flash cars there were - I guess they're not being rented by Snowheads! You will generally get a car in the same "group" that you've rented, or sometimes a higher group, if they've run out. One time I was inconvenienced I'd rented a model on the basis that I could get a folding wheelchair in the back, and was given a rather "smarter" car but with stupidly small boot space. It sorted itself out in the end but it does take time.

When I rented last October I encountered a "keyless entry" for the first time. It fooled me and the friend who was co-driving when it refused to lock at the big supermarket in Sallanches, until I just thought "o well sod it" and walked away. The car we rented in May, a very new and to my mind clumsy Volkswagen with a less-than-perfect automatic gearbox (my Skoda is far superior) was very unlovable. I would always prefer to take my own car and it's surprisingly often cheaper than flying and renting if you're going for a longer trip.

The best part of renting a car is when you take it back, unscathed, having not hit anything! I have twice had punctures in hired cars (pot holes in the Alps, caused by freeze/that, can have very sharp edges) and both times though it was a major hassle and delay, whereas in my own car I'd have been able to change the wheel.
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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?
pam w wrote:
Yes, you probably are. Cars generally are described in "groups". After all, some middle sized cars are far more expensive than other middle-sized cars and some folk, whether buying or hiring, will pay more for features which others will find completely irrelevant.


Yes I have no doubt am! Laughing And yes, I get that similar sized cars can be more or less expensive, hence the the price different. Cars are generally grouped by size or type, but apart from that I don't think they are necessarily described in groups at all. For example, the only difference in the description of the 3 cars in the immediate category was the price and the name. I can do some research to see which car might suit my needs more, but if I turn up at the airport and they give me a completely different car, I'm essentially playing a trust exercise that it's from a pool of cars in a similar price bracket.

To be honest, it's not that different to hiring ski's! I'm trusting the ski shop to give me the ski's I've actually paid for!

I've never really had an issue, and I've not even thought about it that much - so not sure why I'm worrying about it now!! snowHead
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Quote:

I have twice had punctures in hired cars (pot holes in the Alps, caused by freeze/that, can have very sharp edges) and both times though it was a major hassle and delay, whereas in my own car I'd have been able to change the wheel.

I had a puncture in a hire car once. I just took it to a tyre place in Bourg st Maurice and got it repaired. It cost 10€ and a cup of coffee while I waited. No real hassle.
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One of mine was in the dark, late at night, on the "quiet side" of Lake Annecy on the way to pick up a friend at the airport. The other, with car load of kids, end of ski day, pulling in to let the ski bus pass on a very snowy road. No spare in either case, no chance of moving the car from where it (precariously) was. The former I waited 2 hours for a breakdown truck. The latter my daughter in law was driving the car. Another member of the party took the kids. I tried in vain (I knew it would be in vain but had to try) to fix the hole with a stupid can of gunk. It was after hours, no chance whatsoever of getting anyone out. Had to rendezvous with tow truck the following day (I was the only French speaker) then go and pick the car up, using another car, and pay for 2 new tyres, then have a fight with the car hire company who eventually paid up because I had evidence I'd paid the extra insurance for tyres (on a lot of hire contracts there's no cover for tyres).

When I had puncture in my own car I was very luckily just driving into our covered garage (picked up a nail, easily spotted) so could change the wheel (mucky job) and take the punctured one down to Albertville and got it mended - cost about 20 euros IIRC and took me less than the 2 hours I'd waited for a truck in the dark.
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Handy Turnip wrote:
I was just looking at car hire from Geneva for our next ski trip - one company listing 3 estates (Megane, Mazda 6, BMW grand tourer) with a £200 difference in price between the cars. If I turn up and they give me something different, I've no idea if that was actually something similar or just what they had left in the lot - and that I would have ended up with that whatever I'd paid.


We find the Skoda Octavia estate quite good for a ski trip for 3-4 adults with kit and is generally always provided when this model
Is booked at GVA. Drives well, good size boot, and is AWD. We’ve rented these from Unirent, Avis and Europcar. Peugeot 308 Estate is normally a cheaper option. I was once given Fiat 500 estate as a substitution which we rejected as was tiny and not suitable.

Last month, while travelling alone, I ordered a mini category from GVA FR, and to my delight they gave me a Peugeot 208 GT racer boy hatch back with only 5kms on the odometer.
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A funny (well, it was at the time Toofy Grin ) story about car hire at GVA.
4 yrs ago I went to my mate's chalet for the w/e with him, his 2 sons and his g/f. That's five people.

They didn't have luggage so headed straight for the Enterprise (?) desk while I got my bag. A suitable car had already been booked.
Those who have met me know I'm not small - 6'1" with a 52" chest.

Anyway, turns out they didn't have the car we'd booked and tried to fob him off with an Audi A1 - which only has 4 seats anyway. By chance, at just the right moment, I walk up to them and he tells the rep 'and he has to get in it'. There were a few chuckles from others in the queue, and we ended up getting the car we wanted Very Happy Very Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Cheers @Ozboy, good tip, I'll keep my eye open for them.

@MorningGory, great story and exactly my fear!
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“Or similar” seems to have a special meaning to hire car companies, “also has four wheels”.

This year Europcar had a great deal at the French side of Geneva - “Kia sportage 4x4 with winter tyres… or similar” (I think other snowheads also booked this deal) for £250 at feb half term. Suffice to say “or similar” seemed to mean a 2WD with summer tyres. After some discussion we got winter tyres, a larger car, and a free second driver, but no 4WD.

The French side might be cheaper, but I’ve never had a seamless experience there. However, it was about £700 cheaper than the Swiss side, so I booked knowing there would invariably be some kind of catch.
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Just back from a trip to see some men on bicycles riding around France.
6 nights and all the usual suspects were looking for about £530 for a Polo and about £650 for a Golf (or equivalent)
Persistently returning to all the usual sites, just checking prices, and I came upon a great deal from Alamo/National for a Premium SUV on Expedia ex GVA Swiss side.
Not only was it only £375 - yes £155 CHEAPER than a Polo - but i had the delight of driving a gorgeous Alfa Romeo Stelvio around the Alps for a week.
I have no idea why I got that deal, but I guess my takeaway from the process is be persistent (look every few days or weekly) and look at all the car size options.
Good luck with your search!
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