best car rental location
I am renting and returning a car in the Paris area for travel in France/Germany before flying out of Charles de Gaulle airport. Where is the best location for cost and ease of access to the airport?
jerry
nokomis, fl usa 3/4/13
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The airport itself.
Pick it up at the closest place to you when you're ready for it.
Return it at the aiport.
I would both pick up and drop off at CDG. It is easy to get to CDG on the RER and that means once you get your car, you are on your way without having to drive in Paris.
The Airport Charges for a 128 Euro weekly car rental at CDG is about E34($44 U.S.) just for the airport charges. The total for was E214 ($278), not including incredibly expensive CDW, Personal Property Insurance and a number of other profit makers.
Remember that VAT on French car rentals are 19.75%. Ouch!
Auto rentals are less expensive in other countries. It's almost enough to make you take a train to Germany.
Auto rentals are alway substantially lower in City Locations AS YOU LEAVE TOWN.
The information above appears skewed and offeres no comparison.
The cost of the individual elements may have nothing to do with the total cost. VAT in Germany for a rental is only a couple percent lower than in France, I think. Airport outfits often choke some profit in order to compete with the kids in town.
Using AutoEurope since they're the crowd most often recommended on this forum, an identical upcoming week, and the least expensive car available:
Paris CDG: $145
Paris Nord: $145
Paris Invalides: $174 (cheapest non-transportation site)
Frankfurt Hbf: $195
Identical runs on Hertz and Kayak showed the same general trend with minor variations.