Hi All,

Hoping for a bit of advice regarding car hire in Germany (Frankfurt) this coming August. At the moment i'm tossing up between hiring from Sixt or Europcar with a hire period of either 2wks or possibly 4wks and was hoping i could get a few opinions of which way i should go.

Story goes , initially i was leaning towards Sixt as they appear to have a good reputation and the car class i was looking at CPMR (1 series / A3) comes in at the right price. However i found out today that through my platinum amex i recieve a free 2 car class upgrade with Europcar which to me is very appealing as i'd much prefer to be have an SDMR and thus either a Passat CC or an A4.

Seemed perfect untill i started reading all the horror rental stories about hiring with Europcar, charges for damages not done, hidden charges, impossible customer service etc thus it prompted a few questions to pop into my head.

- Is there an Young Driver Surcharge with Europcar in Germany (will be 24 when i rent) as i know Sixt dont have one for my age.

- Anybody have any tips on how i could get an upgrade with Sixt?

- Whats the general opinion of Europcar in Germany as to date i havent read one good review about them!

- I have a preference towards a Diesel and Automatic (partner doesnt drive manual and we were hoping to share the driving), will this make any difference to the possibility of an upgrade with Sixt?

Cheers,
Rob