I was aware of their bad reputation
I was aware of the bad reputation of the Europcar, but disregarding that I've decided to give it a try and to experience it on my own. To be honest I was pleasantly surprised that I had a real smooth experience with them in both of my cases. One when I booked a Jaguar (though it had a problem with the boot, but after I contacted them they offered me a replacement car without any problems, however my planned trip was affected by this incident, but the new car worth the hassle). With the Jag I bought their full protection for a piece of mind so hadn't met any problems while returning it back. On my second occasion I booked a Polo (from Carhire.ie, but that's the company owned by Europcar, so this review is relevant for them too), but got a Corsa instead, not a big deal, so was fine with. This time didn't go with their insurance, as I got an excess cover from the Blue Insurance and they put a hold of 1500eur on my CC (was a bit worried as many of people mentioned here that they might charge you exaggerate amounts for the minor defects). So I've checked the car carefully before leaving the parking lot and took some pictures of it. Can say that second trip was smooth as well, wasn't charged for anything extra (as at the drop-off their rep checked the car and confirmed that's all fine with it) and later been refunded for the fuel charge (aprox 60euros). So be careful when you are getting your car check it, document everything and keep the proofs as a reference, just in case. Planning to rent for a long-term next time, and will leave my review afterwards.
December 28, 2017
Unprompted review