More than just a rental car company

While car rental options today are plentiful and constantly evolving, a pioneer in the field existed long before all these newcomers and has held its ground against them. Europcar is a French company founded in 1949 in Paris by Raoul-Louis Mattei, boasting over 70 years of experience as a global leader in car and van rentals, and then some.

Originally known as "l'Abonnement Automobile" and later "Europcars" before adopting its current name in 1974, the company now goes far beyond its traditional car rental roots. It now offers alternative transportation solutions, including private chauffeur services, carsharing, electric scooter sharing, peer-to-peer car rentals, and more, to the point where it is better described as a mobility solutions company rather than a simple car rental agency.

Global reach and customer appeal

The brand chose to share these solutions with the world by expanding to 135 countries, encompassing 3,835 agencies across the globe, including nearly 365 in France, mostly located in airports and train stations so travelers can pick up their vehicle right as they step off a plane or train.

When it comes to the vehicles themselves, Europcar caters to both individuals and business clients with 2 main categories: cars and vans. For passenger cars, several ranges are available depending on your needs, including compact and economy models, minivans and sedans, and luxury vehicles. Europcar even offers electric and hybrid vehicles for rent, not to mention two-wheelers.

This wide array of services is backed by multiple special offers, such as 1-hour rentals, moving packages, a mobile app discount of 10%, and $1.20* one-way rentals, which remain major selling points for Europcar.

Discover all offers
https://www.europcar.fr/fr-fr
Voir le site

Reviews of Europcar

Summary of 5 reviews
3/5
Average rating
+8 recs +10 -2 Score weighted by contributor expertise level: a recommendation from a level 3 member counts as 3.
Total recs

Average ratings by criterion

Customer service
3/5
Reliability
3/5
Value for money
3.2/5

Great prices and reliable service

I am always afraid when renting a car that I will end up with a dishonest agency that invents scratches to charge extra fees, or has issues with timing, etc. When the prices are cheaper than the others, I am even more suspicious.

So, despite the attractive prices, I still chose Europcar for my last rental.
Vehicle was flawless, agents were super welcoming, and no scams!

I recommend!

22
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Great prices

Well-known brand but not a crazy reputation. And yet, interesting prices and no problems to report so far.

18
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Fair prices and professional agent

Pour faire quelques déplacements locaux l'espace d'une journée, j'avais besoin de louer un véhicule compact près de chez moi (Hauts de Seine).
Après avoir comparé différents tarifs, c'est l'agence Europcar de Nanterre - Rueil Malmaison qui proposait le meilleur tarif : une cinquantaine d'euros la journée, incluant 250 km.

Commençons par les moins :
L'agence est plutôt mal desservie par les transports en commun (par définition, si vous louez un véhicule, c'est que vous n'êtes pas véhiculé...).

Les points positifs :
Outre le tarif, déjà mentionné précédemment, j'ai bien aimé le professionnalisme de l'agent :
Arrivé un peu après l'heure prévue, elle a décalé d'une heure mon horaire de location (concrètement, j'avais 1h de plus pour rendre le véhicule le l'endemain, et ça m'a bien servi !).
Par rapport au kilométrage que je comptais faire, elle m'a orienté vers un véhicule électrique, plus grand que ce que j'avais réservé : un MG électrique et automatique Vs Fiat 500 essence et manuelle. Au départ, je pensais que c'était juste pour me "prendre" 15€ en plus, mais l'argument qui a fait mouche : je n'ai pas de plein à faire, c'est eux qui s'occupent de recharger la batterie, à leurs frais. En combinant cet avantage financier + le confort d'une voiture plus grande et automatique, c'était une bonne proposition.
Sur le reste, rien à signaler : prise en main et retour du véhicule sans problème.
17
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Flat tire in Namibia and extra charges

Hello everyone, I want to share a bad experience I had with Europcar in Namibia. I traveled through this wonderful country with a rental car. As you might know, the majority of the "roads" are actually gravel tracks. It is almost inevitable that you will get at least one flat tire during a trip like this. So, you change the wheel, get the tire repaired at the next station, and everything is fine. But that is where the famous "safety standard" clause from Europcar comes into play. I unfortunately made the mistake of being too honest when I returned the vehicle by mentioning that I had a tire repaired. Surprise two weeks after I got back to France, Europcar billed me (actually, it was automatically deducted from my credit card) for the price of a brand new tire, about €80 (about $86)!!! After days of searching, emails, and messages, I finally got an email response from South Africa. This procedure is supposedly "normal," and Europcar replaces all repaired tires because of "safety standards"!!! No one at Europcar could send me a copy of these, so I am still waiting for this famous set of rules. I am convinced they are messing with me because:
- My spare tire was not new. So it had been used before. Why put a worn tire as a spare if it was not after a repair, so the "safety standard" is not valid.
- The 4 tires I had on the vehicle were very, very worn. It is impossible to drive 20,000 km in Namibia without getting a flat at least once, so these tires must have been repaired, so the "safety standard" is not valid.
- As everyone knows, you never replace just one tire on an axle. And I have not seen any Europcar vehicles with three worn tires and one brand new one!! So the "safety standard" is not valid.
..........QED!!! In short, to sum up: if you get a flat tire in Namibia or South Africa with Europcar, definitely do not report it, or it will cost you the price of the repair plus the price of a brand new tire (per flat tire). Have a good trip and watch out for Europcar. Review imported on 11/04/2020 from our old site Voyage-Net.com
16
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Issues following flooding in Portugal

Dear travelers, I would like to share my story and warn you following a negative experience I had with Europcar, which resulted in legal action.

The Europcar agency at the Lisbon airport in Portugal, where I had rented a Peugeot, really outdid themselves, to say the least. My rental vehicle broke down due to flooding caused by extremely violent storms in the Algarve. Europcar assistance sent a tow truck and I got a replacement vehicle so I could make my return flight to Paris.

Up to that point, I had no complaints, but imagine my surprise after returning to France to find that:
- The Europcar agency at the Lisbon airport had charged my credit card for repairs to the vehicle, even though I was in no way responsible for the cause of the breakdown.
- The cost of the repairs exceeded the €950 deductible by €202, even though the vehicle was rented online via GO VOYAGES under CDW conditions, meaning with a reduced deductible. The Europcar agency at the Lisbon airport justified this by sending me a document featuring my scanned signature, claiming that I had declined the reduced deductible ???

Subsequently, Europcar International France acted as a relay for their Portuguese colleagues, informing me that this excess over the deductible was due to the fact that the deductible had been exceeded because of VAT (?????). As a reminder, a deductible is always expressed inclusive of tax.
- The Europcar agency at the Lisbon airport overcharged me for fuel for the replacement vehicle, as they charged me for consumption over a distance of more than 500 KM, even though I had driven a little over 270 between Faro and Lisbon.
- The Europcar agency at the Lisbon airport charged me for an extra day of rental based on the time and date the broken-down vehicle was returned on the tow truck, not the replacement vehicle.

The total damage came to €1201. Faced with this behavior, I filed claims with Europcar International France to get a refund of this amount. Seeing no progress, I informed them by letter that I was going to start a legal procedure. They replied that they were not involved and that I had to start a procedure against Europcar France. I do not know if this redirection to Europcar France was a tactic, but in any case, despite the manifest misconduct of Europcar Portugal International, the French justice system considered that the contract was under Portuguese law and that the territorial jurisdiction for the procedure was in Lisbon.

Not seeing myself hiring a Portuguese lawyer and traveling 1500 km, I obviously left it at that. But I now know who I am dealing with when it comes to Europcar and their customer service policy. As for you, if you use them, I hope for your sake that you do not have any flooding problems abroad with your rental vehicle. In that case, check your bank statement carefully when you get back, or you might be in for some bad surprises.

Review imported on 11/04/2020 from our old site Voyage-Net.com
18
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