Hertz - Avoid drop off charge-international. How?

Recently checked for pick up in Germany and drop off in Spain: drop off charge Euro 750. Any code or way to avoid this? any other car rental company which would not have such an expensive drop oof charge?

Does the lack of responses mean that no one has been ever been able to do this?

Unfortanitaly there is no way to get around it as long as you want to leave it in Spain.
If you were to drop it in Italy or France it would be different there would be no charge but Spain for some reason does not at least at this time want to offer anything like that.

[This message has been edited by pokes (edited Dec 27, 2003).]

I am planning to rent a car in Germany to drive to Italy, they are quoting 350 Euro drop charge. Anyone know any codes that could lessen that amount? Or how to get the previously referenced no-drop fee?

FWIW, this is still the cheapest drop charge I have found, some of the others want 1,000 E.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by djk7:
I am planning to rent a car in Germany to drive to Italy, they are quoting 350 Euro drop charge. Anyone know any codes that could lessen that amount? Or how to get the previously referenced no-drop fee?

FWIW, this is still the cheapest drop charge I have found, some of the others want 1,000 E.</font>

I recently rented a car at MUC and drove it to VIE - Drop charge was "only" 150 Euros. If you're going to Northern Italy, you might want to see if you can drop the car back off in Klagenfurt, Austria. Drop charge might be a lot lower.

When you pick up your car, make certain to ask whether they have one which was left there by someone who rented in the country to which you are going.

Giving it to you will save them a lot of money and they will not charge you the one way fee. Additionally, it does not matter what size the car is -- you will get it at your orginal rate.

I have avoided drop off charges like this on several occasions.

One time, I picked up a car in Dusseldorf and mentioned that I would be leaving it in Milan. I asked if they had an Italian car. They did not, but called FRA and arranged for me to switch cars there. I had rented "B" category, got "F" and paid no one way fee.

For my end, it only took me about 45 minutes to drive off of E35, make the trade, and get back onto E35.

5 years later, any updates?

The EU has enshrined into law the free movement of people and capital anywhere within the EU..... But we don't have a single set of laws, despite what some UK tabloids would say.

A car still has to be registered in the owner's domicile. So if you drive a car owned by BigRentalCorp in Germany and want to drop it in Spain (or any other EU state) then BigRentalCorp has to either
(1) get someone to drive it back to home country or
(2) pay - not inconsiderable - taxes and admin hassle to get the vehicle re-registered in the new country

Interesting point. In Europe things work differently because one-ways are between countries rather than states. In the US, the corporate fleet randomly circulates, but it's all within the same country. When I took an Avis car one-way from Newark NJ airport to my neighborhood location, they gave me a brand-new Kia Amanti with only 76 miles. Yet, this was already on its second one-way rental, as it had Connecticut plates.

Out of curiosity, I checked the registration in the glove box. It was registered to a holding corporation in New York City. Similarly surprising, Budget once gave me an SUV with Pennsylvania plates and the registration was to the same holding corporation, but in Minneapolis Minnesota. How are rental cars registered to an out-of-state address?

This sounds like a question for rentalguy or one of the other rental car agents lurking on these forums.

The EU has enshrined into law the free movement of people and capital anywhere within the EU..... But we don't have a single set of laws, despite what some UK tabloids would say.

A car still has to be registered in the owner's domicile. So if you drive a car owned by BigRentalCorp in Germany and want to drop it in Spain (or any other EU state) then BigRentalCorp has to either
(1) get someone to drive it back to home country or
(2) pay - not inconsiderable - taxes and admin hassle to get the vehicle re-registered in the new countryBut could they not just use the German car in Spain? I rented a German car from Sixt in AMS once that I had planned to drop somewhere in the Netherlands.

(by the way, due to the location being closed and there not being a box for the keys ended up dropping it off in Brussels (and was charged the 150 Euro international one-way fee).)

Hi SmilingBoy,

But could they not just use the German car in Spain? I rented a German car from Sixt in AMS once that I had planned to drop somewhere in the Netherlands.

Not necessarily. It is illegal for a resident of a European country to drive a car licensed in another country (except if you import your car when moving, when you typically have 1 year to do the import). Therefore, the rental station would not be allowed to rent this car to Spanish residents.

Also, there may be insurance limitations, or tax issues. Since taxes are not uniform in Europe, what would stop the rental company from buying cars in the lowest tax country and then using them in high tax countries.

That's the joys of having 27 countries in the same space as 1 United States.

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

So how come Sixt gave me a German-registered car in the Netherlands for a trip within the Netherlands?

So how come Sixt gave me a German-registered car in the Netherlands for a trip within the Netherlands?

Maybe because you aren't an EU citizen?

Now that we all know why one-ways in the US are treated much differently than in Europe, the question comes to mind of how mechanical service swap issues are handled.

Rentalguy had once said what happens when cars from the US and Canada wind up in the "wrong" country. This could happen deliberately as a result of a one-way rental, such as Seattle to Vancouver. Or it could happen unintentionally as a result of a breakdown, since US cars are allowed to "visit" Canada and vice versa. (Mexico visits, by contrast, are expressly prohibited.)

So, if a car from FL breaks down in NC en route to NY, the nearest office with a fix-it shop on site will swap it for a car in good working order to continue the journey. The defective car will eventually be fixed under warranty and rented out where it was dropped. But what happens if, for instance, a car from Germany breaks down in France? I've heard Enterprise breakdowns in the US, while rare, raise similar issues, since they too are owned by regional franchise groups.

Not necessarily. It is illegal for a resident of a European country to drive a car licensed in another country (except if you import your car when moving, when you typically have 1 year to do the import). Therefore, the rental station would not be allowed to rent this car to Spanish residents.

So what do Spanish citizens do when they rent a car in Germany? Are they denied unless Germany has a Spanish licensed car?

So what do Spanish citizens do when they rent a car in Germany? Are they denied unless Germany has a Spanish licensed car?

No, since they are not a German resident, it does not apply to them. The rule applies to the country where you reside, it's not about citizenship. For example, living in Switzerland, I am not allowed to drive a car with non-Swiss registration while in Switzerland. However, I can very well drive a German registered car in Spain, since I do not reside in Spain.

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

Maybe because you aren't an EU citizen?I am.

No, since they are not a German resident, it does not apply to them. The rule applies to the country where you reside, it's not about citizenship. For example, living in Switzerland, I am not allowed to drive a car with non-Swiss registration while in Switzerland. However, I can very well drive a German registered car in Spain, since I do not reside in SpainAre you sure this applies to rental cars? I reside in Belgium - what if I rent a car in France with a French license plate, and then drive to Belgium. Surely this is not illegal.

Hi SmilingBoy,

Are you sure this applies to rental cars? I reside in Belgium - what if I rent a car in France with a French license plate, and then drive to Belgium. Surely this is not illegal.

Can't find a link for Belgium, but here's the Dutch example:

http://www.douane.nl/variabel/bpm/en/

Reporting short-term use

If you live in the Netherlands and wish to drive one of the following in the Netherlands for less than 14 days:

* A foreign-registered passenger car you borrowed, hired or leased.
* A foreign-registered motorcycle you borrowed, hired or leased.
* A foreign-registered delivery van you borrowed, hired or leased.

and you are returning the car or motorcycle abroad again within a maximum of 14 days.
Then you will have to report this short-term use to the Tax and Customs Administration electronically via the Internet.

Unless you report the short term use, you are in breach of tax and customs laws. I know the same kind of rule applies in Switzerland, although I don't know about the reporting duty. In a number of articles, the Swiss AAA has repeatedly indicated that this is a principle that applies all over Europe.

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

Amazing. Totally against the spirit of the EU common market.

Over here, a Canadian citizen/ (landed immigrant?) is not allowed to drive a US-registered car in Canada, because Canada Customs calls it an import! There is an exception for Canadians who work across the border (say Detroit) & have company cars, which they may drive home to Windsor & park, but not drive around within Canada.

So a Torontonian who flies to Seattle must rent a Canadian-plated car if s/he wants to drive to Vancouver :p !

Amazing. Totally against the spirit of the EU common market.

Until you get rid of national taxation systems, this will remain. For example, the Netherlands has a very high car tax (BPM), and thus they want to make sure they get their money. The Canadian example is the same, it's all about tax.

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

I still find it strange that it applies to rental cars. What if you are a resident in Germany and the Netherlands, and then rent a car to drive between the two countries?

Hi,

I still find it strange that it applies to rental cars. What if you are a resident in Germany and the Netherlands, and then rent a car to drive between the two countries?

From a fiscal perspective, you are typically only resident in one country, the one where you spend 6 months + 1 day (there are many variations on this, with many exceptions, but it's the general rule of thumb). As such, you would be a principal resident in only one of these countries. A friend of mine is in this situation, he commutes between France and Switzerland. However, the Swiss recognize that his main center of interest is in France, and therefore allow him to drive with a car registered in France.

As to why it applies to rental cars, it is to stop the rental companies registering all their cars in the cheapest possible country. Again, it's all about tax income.

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer