blackstripe77

Hi, I'll be traveling to Germany in October (first time in Germany, and first time renting with SIXT!) and hoped to pick up an M3 for a couple days at FRA, but I just got an email to inform me they were not available. ** Just as I'm typing this I received a second email to inform me that neither the A45 AMG or BMW M models will be available after September due to requirement for winter tires.

Is there anything else in the fleet that is remotely sporty? Any chance of getting a Golf GTI in CPAR class? Just that I'd rather not end up driving a 100hp BMW 114i or something on the autobahn. I was offered a BMW M550d but a little bit hesitant on that, it's also a bit larger than I'd prefer.

Thanks

kamfer

If you are offered an M550D at a decent price, grab it !
It is heavier and probably less fun that an M3 for driving on alpine small roads, or for cornering, but the torque is just phenomenal !
It delivers even more torque than the M5.
Have fun !

blackstripe77

Hah turns out I wasn't. Was able to rebook the M550d online myself for cheaper. But otherwise I think FDAR might be the safer bet over CPAR.

Apparently they don't know what will be in their winterfleet yet so there's not much on offer outside of the usual stuff? Guess I'll have to keep an eye out to see if anything interesting comes up. Anyone have any idea what kind of stuff goes in the winterfleet?

highlanderfil

Probably close to zero. That class is overpopulated with S-Line Audi A3s with 122 PS.

demue

Hey when I got my first car (a new VW Golf III) it had a 1.8L engine producing 90bhp and I was a cool kid based on that .

But jokes aside, if you get offered (guaranteed) a 550d that is a great car with huge power and effortless acceleration. Out of a speed restricted construction zone on the Autobahn, the M3 would have no chance against the 550d from say 80km/h up to 200+km/h. Just make sure the 550d does not turn into a 520d later on (still a good car, but not what you are looking for).

Not sure if they still got VW Siroccos' instead of a Golf GTI as I had one well over a year ago in the 200bhp (IIRC) version though apparently most came in 1.4TFSI 160bhp trim.

cestmoi123

The 520d clearly doesn't have the crazy acceleration of the 550d, but it goes from 100-200kph more than fast enough, and cruises happily at 220-230kph.

blackstripe77

The M550d is an LPAN so I'm guessing the "or similar" part refers to an M550d wagon. I'm not sure if these are rare, or not though. But if we end up ditching (or losing) the fun car, anything that will be fast enough to get out of its own way and cruise comfortably down the autobahn should be fine, really. I've been told to check back in September when they'll have a better idea of what will be in their fleet.

Schweden

Does anyone have any experience of the Frankfurt East 24h rental location versus the airport? I'm planning to book an LDAR and the price difference is about $150 due to the location surcharges.

Also, how well equipped are their LDAR vehicles? I might forgo LDW if the MSRP is under what my credit card covers.

Schweden

If anybody is interested, I got a 2016 Audi 3.0 TDI A6 on an LDAR reservation. The car supposedly costs a lot due to options but it can't help feeling cheap compared to a BMW.

blackstripe77

Thanks. Did you end up renting from the airport? I'm mainly looking to rent from there as it will be more convenient to return to the airport. If I end up renting LDAR or FDAR I'd be happy with either the BMW Audi or Mercedes. I rented an Audi A4 from Silvercar at SFO once and really enjoyed it. Still, the unicorn 550d sounds fun.

Schweden

I rented once from the airport and once from the 24h Frankfurt Ost location. The Frankfurt Ost location wasn't inconvenient and saved me about US$200 on a one-week LDAR rental. Unfortunately, their selection is a bit smaller than FRA's and they might only have one vehicle in a reserved class. That being said, they did have cars like the M550d, M4, F-Type, and SLC available. Perhaps you should look into booking an LSMR vehicle as you'd probably get a BMW 430d. If you're willing to pay the airport premium, you should just go ahead and make several cancellable reservations with several agencies so that you can choose your car. Another option at the airport is renting from Europcar Selection as they apparently have several interesting guaranteed models such as a GTI or an S5.