【Germany】Car Rental Companies Review and Experience Sharing

In Germany, there are many car rental companies, with the most common ones being Europcar, Sixt, Avis, and Enterprise. In big cities, there are also car-sharing services like Sharenow and MILES, which allow you to use their cars via an app verification without the need to interact with anyone. However, whether online or in person, there are some things to watch out for when renting a car, and this article will share my experience and tips on what to look out for.

In a previous article, I already shared tips on how to get the best deal when renting a car. This article will focus on what to pay attention to once you have the car and share some personal experiences with different rental companies.

The most important thing, of course, is to check the condition of the car and confirm the return rules with the rental company before driving off. For returning the car, most companies have 24-hour return stations where you can drop the keys in the box and leave after confirming that the key has fallen inside the box and no one else can retrieve it. For cars parked in a parking garage, you should return the parking ticket along with the keys in the box, not leaving it inside the car.

I usually use video recording to check the condition of the car, walking around the car to ensure that no damage is missed, and paying extra attention to the roof and door seams where scratches might be found. This is just to protect myself in case there is any dispute with the rental company over damage to the car later.

If you plan to drive to the suburbs, do not rent an electric car, as their battery capacity is limited and not yet matured. Germany’s suburbs are usually several tens of kilometers away, and if you rent an electric car, it may run out of battery frequently, and finding a charging station can be challenging if you are far away from the city.

Based on my experiences,
Europcar has the best overall experience among the rental companies. Their rental prices are slightly cheaper, and they have a wide selection of cars since the company is quite large. They are also very easy to deal with when returning the car, and they do not constantly push for additional insurance.
Enterprise’s experience is average, and while their rental prices are the cheapest, sometimes they do not have enough cars, and they may offer you an upgrade to another car at a discounted price. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes, it can be awkward when they have many more demands than they can supply.
Sixt’s experience is ordinary, and their rental prices are slightly higher than other rental companies. One advantage is that they have many rental locations, making renting and returning cars very convenient.
However, they often push for additional insurance, and they are quite strict when it comes to checking the car condition, so taking a video of the car’s condition is a must when renting from them.