Other Car Rental Programs/Partners (ie. Alamo, Enterprise, Sixt) - Renting in Munich

Hey...I am new here but have been reading this forum off and on for some time.

Anyway, this fall I will be taking a long holiday in Germany, and for the last 9 days of the trip I plan to rent a car, picking it up in Munich and driving a bit thereafter, with dropoff in Stuttgart. As I am a car enthusiast, I want to rent something nice - specifically the new style (W212) MB E-class, but a few other cars might be enough to make me happy. What is the best way to ensure I am able to rent this particular car, and which company should I use? I notice Sixt already lists specials for this car, and Europcar pictures it in their fleet descriptions.

I have never rented a car on the continent before - only in the UK, and not any kind of special car. I usually rent through Hertz, but not enough to have any special status, just #1 club. Therefore, I am not concerned with which company I patronize, rather I just want to enjoy a nice drive in a particular car for the final leg of my trip. I have been studying the rental company websites, and I see Sixt has a few locations at what appear to be MB dealers or service centers in Munich - would this increase my odds of getting what I seek (a MB product)? I will be arriving in Munich via train several days earlier, and will not be near the airport at any time, so I do not wish to take delivery there - not to mention it avoids the surcharge.

Does anyone have any information of the current fleet in Munich, and what I might expect if I rent from PDAR vs LDAR? Do agencies there react kindly if I was to contact them a couple days in advance and try to arrange a specific model? I have heard of people getting S/CLS/A8 from Sixt as well - what group would these be in? Also, do these cars have the proprietary nav systems, or an add on like Hertz uses? As my personal car has COMAND, having a rental MB with this could be handy.

Thanks for any help or information you can give - I am planning this out several months in advance in hopes of having the entire journey paid for by the time I am there, so I have time to work it out.

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

Sixt is definitely the way forward for Munich. If you call the station direct they'll be able to tell you what they have on their fleet. Good luck.

Thanks for the feedback. I made a Sixt reservation at the central MB agency, near hbf - I assume this gives a decent chance of getting something I seek. I booked an LDAR for 9 days - I'd like to get the new E350 blue efficiency, but if they didn't have one and upgraded me, I wouldn't cry :cool:

I forgot to check the 'diesel' preference on the form - I assume it is not a problem to simply ask for this upon arrival.

I hope my thread isn't out of place here...this is the only venue I could find to discuss what cars might be available.

Hi ww88ww and welcome to FT.

Yes, the best way to guarantee to get a MB is to rent at a MB-service station.
These SIXT stations are not allowed to give you something else than a MB, so you can be sure of that.

The SIXT station at the Arnulfstr. (München Daimler NL Mitte) is a very busy, yet very limited one talking about choice-spread.
So normally the don´t offer you several cars to chooce from, but order and deliver the car specifically for you.

Renting LDAR you can absolutely be sure to receive at leat an E-class (new modell).
For LDAR customers SIXT often grant an upgrade, so it could be as well that you might get a S- or ML-class.
I´ve never had an SIXT E-class without navigation, but you can´t be sure to get COMAND.
The idea to call the station a few days prior helps to clarify your wishes and explaining your situation in a friendly manner might help you getting an upgrade :-)

Enjoy your trip.

Thanks for the info. It seems most here prefer to have a BMW for their nicer rental, but I am a MB enthusiast and I have my preferences, especially for long drives, as I will be driving about 3000km during my rental.

Is the Arnulfstr. location a good one or is another preferable? I have never rented in Munich before - it's been a few years since I've been there. Is there any chance to choose a car from the available units? How would one go about the upgrade if for some reason they didn't have an E350?

I hope I wouldn't get stuck with an ML...I don't care much for SUVs...I'd have to get that changed. I could probably cope with the pain of parking something as large as an S-class in tight spots if I had to :D

Also, for prepaid LDAR rentals, does Sixt still require 2 credit cards, or is this for postpaid? I have found conflicting data about this, and I only use one card.

This station is located not too far away of the central station, so it´s good to be reached by public transport without having an extra-charge as at the central station or airport.
The station is ok, but doesn´t offers to much cars to select from.

If you give them a call upfront, I´m sure they will arrange a nice car for you and can avoid an upgrade to a SUV.

In my experience, you just need 1 CC, but they book a deposit of 2.000 - 4.000 EUR. If you CC-card limit is high enough, you won´t need a second card.

Thanks for all of the information. As long as I get at least the E350 I will be happy...but if they want to give me something higher, I won't complain :)

I assume most of the E and equivalents are diesel?

I know Munich is BMW city, but unless I had a 6er or 7er, I'd rather have a MB. When I booked my rental, I didn't even know about XDAR - the option didn't appear.

Does the Arnulfstr. location have a larger fleet than any other city locations? I guessed with that specific MB center looking like the largest one, they would have the most cars.

I assume most of the E and equivalents are diesel?


Does the Arnulfstr. location have a larger fleet than any other city locations? I guessed with that specific MB center looking like the largest one, they would have the most cars.

Yes, most of the E-class models are Diesel.

Yes, the MB center is the largest one in Munich.
I bought my ML here :-).

But this doesn´t conclude in the fact that the SIXT station is big as well.
In fact, all SIXT-MB stations are small one´s and they let deliver their cars from larger stations.
The SIXT station here is just a small SIXT counter and a few parking spaces in the parking ground.

So if you want to have a large selection of different cars, there are better SIXT-stations in Munich.
As you want to be safe getting a MB, your idea is good.
In all larger stations you may have a larger selection, but maybe no MB you want.

In my experience, the most friendly, attentive and most hard-trying MB-SIXT-station is in the Otto-Hahn-Str.
They always offerd me (and friens of mine) great service and sometimes gave amazing upgrades. This is, apart of MUC-airport my favourite SIXT-station in Munich, but this may also be personal subjectivity.

Now you are making me think, as you seem to be the Munich/Sixt expert :p ...maybe I should try to change the location for delivery of the car. I also chose Arnulfstr because it was not far for me and I could get a ride with my luggage. I am staying in Isarvorstadt, Otto-Hahn Ring looks some distance away...I would not wish to take the luggage that far on a bus...but maybe I could use a taxi or pick up the car and drive back to get my things. Do you think Sixt would be accommodating to this change? The rental is still a few months in advance.

Or maybe I am thinking about this too much...I just want things to go as good as possible.

I have another question - my flight has been changed and now departs from STR before the opening hours of the Sixt office there. Do you have any experience dropping off a car there when the desk is closed? Or should I try to do it late the previous evening? I don't have any rental experience at that airport.