No upselling, but make sure to check the contract carefully. Initially, the wrong return location was listed for one-way rental, but it was later corrected. Additionally, the deposit fee was charged directly to the card instead of being pre-authorized, and there was a loss due to exchange rate differences upon refund.
We received a Renault station wagon, but its trunk space is smaller than that of a Corolla station wagon, which resulted in two of our suitcases having to be placed on the rear middle seat.
We got a brand-new hybrid car with only 77 kilometers on the odometer and drove it across Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria using a Hong Kong driver’s license to complete the rental paperwork. We covered a total of 3,153 kilometers with an average fuel consumption of 4.8 liters per 100 kilometers. At the counter, €1,500 (€1,300 deposit + €200) was frozen on the card, and we paid €91 for the cross-border fee and Hungarian highway toll. The car return process was very straightforward; the staff checked the dashboard, inspected the car from all sides, opened all five doors for a quick check, and then had me sign off. Shortly after, I received the notification that the €1,300 deposit was released. The station wagon's trunk was very practical—it accommodated three 24-inch suitcases with room to close the lid, and for our trip, we packed two 24-inch suitcases, one 20-inch suitcase, and still had space for a backpack. The only downside was that the hybrid car had sluggish acceleration, lacked power for overtaking, and generated significant noise.
This car rental company is really great. My English is average, and I am not familiar with UK road safety regulations. When picking up the car, a young Pakistani gentleman named NAVEED was extremely patient and helpful in explaining all the relevant details. He also helped me with other issues, taking over an hour before I finally left with the car. I am very grateful to him. The car was in excellent condition, easy to drive, and very fuel-efficient. Returning the car was also very simple and convenient—the staff did a quick inspection and even helped me load my luggage into the shuttle to the airport. It was a very enjoyable road trip.
This was my third time driving overseas. Before going, I was mentally prepared for aggressive insurance upselling, but honestly, this was the worst car rental experience I've had, and it completely deterred me from planning future self-driving trips in Italy. Next time in Italy, I'd rather take the unreliable high-speed rail. If you absolutely must rent a car, I recommend buying basic insurance through Zuzuche and getting the car rental company's insurance as well; this will save time but will be more expensive. Otherwise, you might encounter problems like I did, where I not only ended up buying the car rental company's insurance but also wasted three hours there. The staff's pricing seemed arbitrary, so I suggest recording everything from the moment you step up to the counter to pick up the car. Photograph any price-related paperwork as well. Here's the detailed breakdown:
First, the cross-border fee was initially quoted at €110 plus tax, but they said it could be waived if insurance was bought. The first attempt to upsell insurance was priced at over €300. After Zuzuche intervened, the cross-border fee changed to €9 per day (total amount).
Second, surprisingly, the car rental company's POS machine showed a 'credit card limit exceeded' message when trying to charge €1100 without their insurance plan. My credit card app showed an available limit of over €6000, so there shouldn't have been any issue handling €1100. I wasn’t the only one experiencing this; another foreign customer, who had booked through a website starting with 'B', had the same problem. Whether this was a coincidence or intentional is unclear. This issue has been reported to the bank after returning. Despite trying every possible solution, the only workaround was to buy the rental company's insurance. I recommend calling your bank beforehand to check your single authorization limit for pre-authorizations.
Finally, when the rental company staff notice that your card can't handle the authorization amount, they'll either cancel the rental (with full loss of the rental fee) or push you to buy their insurance, which lowers the deposit to a few hundred euros and gets approved instantly. At this point, the insurance upselling price had changed to €500+, discounted to €400+. When I pointed out that they had earlier quoted me just €300+, they denied ever saying that. It's ridiculous, and unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures of the initial quote paper or record the entire conversation. Eventually, I argued with the staff quoting me earlier and managed to get the price back to €300+, but it was still higher than the initial quote due to the addition of a 22% tax.
On a positive note, the rental staff's attitude was relatively good. After the pre-authorization issue, I asked to make a phone call and try again, and they patiently waited.
Returning the car with purchased insurance was smooth. They checked the trunk, seat conditions, and fuel gauge but didn’t mention any additional charges. I'm unsure if more unexpected issues will arise later since trust was completely shattered due to the arbitrary pricing during pickup. Currently waiting for the bill and will monitor further.
Called them, and within five minutes they arrived to pick me up. The process of picking up and returning the car was very quick, and the staff were very friendly.
I was forced to purchase insurance. If I didn’t buy insurance, I couldn't pick up the car. Did I have any other choice? Should I have switched to another rental company? It was a last-minute situation. I had no option but to pay 660 euros to continue my trip. Besides, I couldn't rent another car elsewhere. Should I have given up the car for 660 euros? Would you compensate me for the hotel bookings, itinerary, and time I would have lost?
In addition to credit and debit cards, you can now pay for online car rentals with cryptocurrency! Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) are accepted. Curious about how long a Bitcoin transaction takes or how to pay with Bitcoin? Read our FAQs for more details.
Una Coleridge
-
-
-
-
View more >Jason Burne-Jones
-
-
-
-
View more >Burnell
-
-
-
-
View more >Baldwin Johnson
-
-
-
-
View more >Nat Watt
-
-
-
-
View more >Tab Halifax
-
-
-
-
View more >Stan Saroyan
-
-
-
-
View more >Ternence Theresa
-
-
-
-
View more >Todd Southey
-
-
-
-
View more >Lucy Wyat(t)
-
-
-
-
View more >Oswald Norris
-
-
-
-
View more >Elvis Lee
-
-
-
-
View more >Carey Huxley
-
-
-
-
View more >Sara Bartholomew
-
-
-
-
View more >Pearl Sailsbury
-
-
-
-
View more >Tyrone Kelsen
-
-
-
-
View more >August Bessemer
-
-
-
-
View more >Kent Stephens
-
-
-
-
View more >Donna Beard
-
-
-
-
View more >Anna Jim
-
-
-
-
View more >Hot Destinations For GREEN MOTION
Pay for Car Rentals with Crypto