American needs help with German car rental! / Amerikaner braucht Hilfe mit der deutschen Autovermietung!

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    Hallo alle, Ich bin Amerikaner und zu einem Besuch in Deutschland im November. Ich spreche kein Deutsch, aber ich bin mit Google Translate, diesen Posten zu machen. Wir werden aus Berlin zu fahren (Flughafen Tegel, aber abholen können an anderen Berliner Bahnhöfen, wenn besser) bis München nach Zürich auf unserer Reise und ich freue mich über die deutsche Mietwagen Geschäft zu lernen. In den USA habe ich Hertz # 1 Club Gold President Circle bin, "Executive Elite" mit National (Tochtergesellschaft von Europcar) und Sixt Gold (Platin in Kürze). Ich habe mehrere Fragen:
    1) Wir würden gerne etwas "Spaß" zu mieten. Ich war SSMR Auto-Klasse sucht Sixt. Welche Arten von Autos in dieser Klasse sein? Hat jemand irgendwelche Vorschläge, was andere Fahrzeugklassen sollte ich schauen? Schaltgetriebe ist nicht ein Problem für uns, aber wenn eine automatische Reservierung die Chancen eines Upgrades erhöhen können kann ich das auch tun.
    2), welche Unternehmen haben die besten Preise, und was ist der beste Weg, um diese Preise zu bekommen? Ich bin damit vertraut, wie das System funktioniert hier in den USA, aber nicht wissen, wie es in Deutschland funktioniert.
    3) Gibt es irgendwelche guten Rabatt-Codes zur Miete für diese zu verwenden? Die Länge wird ca. 8 Tage betragen.
    4) Gibt es einen Ort auf diesem Forum, wo Menschen berichten, was Fahrzeuge an bestimmten Mietstationen sind können?
    Irgendwelche Tipps oder Hilfe wäre willkommen!
    Mit besten Grüßen, dwbf1


    EDIT: moved to english thread! rgds KM

    you may not believe it, but we do speak a little english here.
    so most likely you better keep it in english.


    because you just said that you are an elite member of the nazis


    I dont think you really meant that

    Speak english please :). It is better this way because google-translator...puhhh...you know isn´t that correct.


    1.) Don´t really know, what you mean.


    2.) Don´t really know, what you mean.


    3.) Have a look @ hertz.de, sixt.de or europcar.de and check the cars and prices with your personal status


    4.) Don´t really know, what you mean. Maybe...Tatortthread

    Zitat von dwbf1

    1) Wir würden gerne etwas "Spaß" zu mieten. Ich war SSMR Auto-Klasse sucht Sixt. Welche Arten von Autos in dieser Klasse sein?


    You can take a look in the Wiki (head navigation). There are sample vehicles what's possible to get.

    Zitat von dwbf1

    4) Gibt es einen Ort auf diesem Forum, wo Menschen berichten, was Fahrzeuge an bestimmten Mietstationen sind können?


    Look at the word "Erfahrungsberichte" in the sub forums. Link to the Sixt experiences: http://www.mietwagen-talk.de/erfahrungsberichte-sixt.html (I hope you mean that ;) )

    Let's see...


    1.) Although SSMR is a special group, this doesn't guarantee you fun in any way. If you click on the word SSMR in your post you will be redirected to a summary of all the cars in this class. You will notice that there will be cars in there that are not that fast (VW Scirocco 1.4 TSI etc.). Still - if you don't want to get LDAR or higher - they are probably the most fun cars you can get.


    2.) In my opinion Sixt offers the best prices but the others will probably say something different. Might be that your Hertz status might offer you better prices, but if your looking for the best equipped cars you should probably stick to Sixt or Europcar.


    3.) Do you really need the car for the whole 8 days? If you would only take a car for seven days, the price would be A LOT cheaper. Otherwise you should think about getting a small car for one day and the fun car for a week.


    4.) As was said before, the Tatortthread will help you get an overview of the different fleets. Just browse through it and feel free to ask if something is not clear.

    Thank you all for the quick responses....here is my original query in English:


    We will be driving from Berlin (Tegel Airport, but can pick up at other Berlin stations if better) to Munich to Zurich during our trip and I am learning about the German rental car business. In the US I am Hertz #1 Gold President's Club, "Executive Elite" with National (affiliate of Europcar), and Sixt Gold (Platinum hopefully through a Skymiles status match). I have several questions:


    1) We would like to rent something "fun". I was looking at SSMR car class with Sixt. What types of cars will be in this class? Does anyone have any suggestions of what other car classes I should look at? Manual transmission is not a problem for us, but if reserving an automatic may increase the chances of an upgrade I can do that too. In the US we use different abbreviations for our car classes than I am seeing in Germany (example - Premium is "PCAR" and Full Size is "FCAR"). Our full size is typically a Chevrolet Impala (don't think those are sold in Europe) where I am seeing a 320i as the standard full size for Germany.


    2) Which companies will have the best rates, and what is the best way to get those rates? I am familiar with how the system works here in the US but do not know how it works in Germany.


    3) Are there any good discount codes to use for a week rental? The length will be approximately 7-8 days.


    4) Is there a place on this forum where people can report what vehicles are at specific rental stations?
    Any advice or help would be appreciated!

    Please define "a little fun". Do you want a car for doing 140 - 150 (mph that is) on the Autobahn, or a little coupe for twisty by-roads?


    You don't want to return a German rental car in Zurich, do you? Oneway fees for rentals from one country to another can burn a big hole into your wallet.


    Typical cars in SSMR are cars like VW Scirocco and Peugeot RCZ. Could be compared to a Scion FR-S in the US, albeit less powerful. Some 140 hp or so. You might have more fun in a 3 Series BMW. Or even a 1 Series.


    Don't believe that Diesel powered cars are slow! Actually cars like a BMW 320d are very economical, even if you have a rather heavy right foot! They will easily cut you fuel costs by 30%. What is even better considering that our fuel prices will make you cry out loud.


    Most people here believe that Sixt cars are better equipped, with bigger engines, too, while cars from Avis, Hertz or Europcar are more likely to be base models. If you can afford it, go for LDAR at Sixt. This includes automatic transmission, some nice luxury and generally a powerful engine. Actually the most bang for your buck. 5 Series BMW and Audi A6 most likely.


    Did you check sixt.de? It can be switched to English.

    mega-O: By "fun" I prefer something with a more powerful engine for autobahn cruising. I don't think there will be much time on this trip for back road twists (next time!).


    Unfortunately I do have to return in Zurich since that is our trip plan. I understand that it will be more expensive.



    So it seems like LDAR would be the best choice, other than SSMR. And it also seems like Sixt has better equipped models. Would it be better to reserve something at the Berlin Tegel Airport, or at a city center location, or at the train station? More likely to get an upgrade in city locations (with smaller number of cars, presumably) than airports?

    Am I surprised that fun means power and speed for you? ;) No!


    Correct, an LDAR car from Sixt should be just perfect for you. The same from Europcar however could dissappoint, as they have some Mercedes E 200 in that class. With 1.8 liter turbo fourbangers! Not slow, but neither the type of fun car you are looking for.


    Taking a German car over to Switzerland also means that you will either have to buy a Swiss Autobahn badge for the car OR avoid Swiss Autobahns by all means.


    It might make sense to return the car in Germany near the Swiss border, cross it and pick up a Swiss car. Or contact Sixt: maybe they offer a changeover in Konstanz or elsewhere en route to Zurich. (Konstanz is right at the Swiss border, approx. 40 miles from Zurich.)


    Just made a quick online price check. 1 week LDAR. Pickup Tegel, return Zurich: approx. 720 Euros, pickup elsewhere in Berlin, return Zurich: 600 Euros. Pickup Tegel, return Konstanz: 510 Euros and finally pickup elsewhere in Berlin, return in Konstanz: 420 Euros. Just to give you an idea of how much it costs extra to pickup a car at the airport and/or to return it abroad.


    Leave the car near the border in Germany and take a train to Zurich, how's that? 8)

    Zitat von mega-O

    Leave the car near the border in Germany and take a train to Zurich, how's that?


    Thats what I would do!


    Check out the train fares at Deutsche Bahn (click here).
    I tried to check this for you but they only show fares for the next 92 days. So I checked the October fares and it looks not that expansive (approx. 25 EUR or USD 30).


    My Opinion: If you want fun - Rent at Sixt and go for LDAR.


    AND> If you want A LOT OF FUN then check:


    R8-Muenchen
    ECC-RENT


    (also members in this Forum)


    They are reliable and they should be able to deliver and collect the car.


    Cheers
    :116:

    My next question for the experts:


    Will the NAV systems in a German rental car have the option to switch to English? I know here in the US my Volvo S60 with factory navigation can be configured for English, Spanish, or French.