Forget Europcar, try a local business

Last week I was traveling in Nice, France. We wanted to visit Cannes and Monte Carlo, so we thought a car would easy our trip. First of all I checked the Europcar office. They offered me a Renault Twingo for the fabulous price of 194 euros per day. WTF! I told the clerk that on their website I could find better cars under 50 euros. She said is high season and all the cars are rented, so that’s the final price. In the next minute, I was walking out of their office.

That was the office near Le Meridiene (Verdun Street). Another attempt to get a car was from AVIS, another well seen car rental company. On their website they have an available vehicle, but when I checked with the office near Massena Place, the clerk told me there is none. Then I was wondering what would have happen if I make the payment online….

The third attempt was at the train station where we found 4 car rental businesses. However, one of them, which I don’t remember, told me they had a Fiat 500. The first price was 104 euros, then they asked for 140 euros. At the very moment, they had a price list on the table with better cars that cost less than 100 euros. When I asked why they ask this huge price in comparison with the list, the clerk told me the price depends on season and how many request they have.

In the same spot, at the Europcar desk a furious lady arrived. She was coming straight from the airport where Europcar should have delivered her rental car. The woman showed a paper that stated the payment in advance, exactly $486. The clerk from Europcar said that wasn’t the payment for reservation, but for the insurance. I left.

Then I saw a car rental business on the streets near the port – www.riviera-car-rent.fr. It’s a local business from Nice. Mrs Catherine offered me a Citroen C3 for 75 euros per day. She was very nice and explained me all the rental conditions.

Thus my advice is to avoid Europcar even their online prices look appealing. They might forget your reservation like in t the US woman’s case. Europcar is not cheap, Europcar is not serious, Europcar could ruin your holiday!