Rental Car at FRA
 

Hey everyone,

Heading back to Europe with a start in Amsterdam, a 4 night cruise down the Rhine and then stopping in Mainz. Our plan is to go to FRA to pick up a rental car and spend a couple of days in that area. I've rented from Avis (FRA) before and it was a bit of a nightmare. Seems like reviews of all the different rental counters have the same sad story - long wait times, forced insurance upgrades, rude customer service, dinged for prices and just a real hassle for tourists.

So, my question is - Out of all the rental agencies, and their not so glowing reviews at FRA, which one do you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

Is there a specific reason to rent the car at FRA? Why not look for a rental station in Mainz? Normally rentals at airport stations cost more than rentals at city locations.

We plan on flying out of FRA back to IAD.

Figured it would be less hassle than catching a rental from Mainz to, ultimately, Frankfurt. The cruise company will pay for a shuttle to the airport and I figured this would be a good way of using that shuttle service to pick up a car at the airport and returning it a few days later. This is all predicated on the idea of not knowing where I'm going and just being sure to make it as simple, painless and easy as possible. I've dealt with renting a car with Avis (FRA) and it didn't go well. Seems like the rest of the companies aren't much better.

Do a one way rental from Mainz to FRA. No big deal. Carrentals.com will give you a good rate if you are covered for insurance with your credit card: https://book.carrentals.com/goto?pic...2&promo_type=2

Thanks! Looking into it, it's probably a much better way to go. Line waits won't be as bad, service is probably better and prices seem reasonable.

I've had several experiences with Avis at both T1 and T2 and it was alright. I think the first one or two times I rented with them I was Preferred Plus. Now a mere Preferred. No issues.

A wait time at the counter of up to 10-15 min or so seems relatively common with all agencies I've used in FRA, though.

Good site to look for rentals is https://www.autoeurope.com/ . I used them several times and never had problems.

I used Avis there as well. I do recall requesting a bigger car and they were going to put me in a "Mini" class of vehicle. With 4 people and luggage that wasn't going to work. I went back and they hooked me up with a Fiesta, which was perfect. I don't recall the line being all that long but I do recall a bit of disappointment with their attitude but they did right by me, even if I had to get them to honor their previous commitment.

Thanks! Giving them a try now.

What category did you book? I never was offered a Fiesta.....

I rented a "premium" as non-member (president's club now) at FRA T1. Received Fully decked out volvo V90 which was amazing. Much better than Eclass I was expecting. This was June 2019.

Arrived at airport around 8am and waited in line for about 10 minutes. It was definitely a win day.

I think it was compact. I believe the size of the car I booked, at the time, was VW Golf or Similar. They were going to give me a mini class car. With 4-people and luggage that was a no-go.

We had no membership as I recall. But they were most definitely going to downgrade us from our booking.

Fiesta is definitively not Golf or similar, this is already a "scam" in my eyes.

Just be specific about your pick up time. We were 1 hour and 5 minutes past our scheduled time and the actual car rental company gave away our car. Thankfully, someone else missed their window and we scooped up their car.
But other than that, it was a great rental experience. Way cheaper and included all insurance for a small portion of the normal price.