UKC

I'm travelling to Zurich in September and travelling around Southern Switzerland and Italy for 5 weeks. Does anyone have a recommended car rental company or car rental companies to avoid from Zurich airport. I am also thinking of getting full insurance to lessen the stress and hassle. Thanks for any replies.

In reply to sean1:
I recently booked Geneva Swiss side via the broker Autoeurope who had an offer on Avis that was significantly cheaper than anything else I could find. The service from Avis was as you would expect from one of big boys , full to full etc. The only negative was that since we have an annual policy to cover car hire excesses we never bother with the extra insurance . However Avis wanted to take a 1000 euros on a credit card if you didn't take out their excess waiver . Not a problem but A quick goggle revealed that should the worst happen the actual process of getting the money back is less than Statightforawrd . Since we were two adults , three kids and a heap of ski gear and would be doing lots of driving about I though the chances of damaging the inside of car or having a prang were quiet high . As I think you have also decided , I payed the waiver and then ceased to worry about it. Well worth it on a family trip.

In reply to sean1:

The last three years, in Switzerland and France, we've used Easycar who simply hook you up with one of the big firms, Alamo and Europcar if I remember correctly, but could easily be Hertz or Avis. Rental typically £150pw for a Golf. The excess insurance we just buy online for about £15pw. Not yet had to find out how easy it is to reclaim the excess but you can buy it from big names like the AA for rather more than that if it makes you feel more secure.

In reply to mike123:

Thanks for the reply. I had insurance waiver with my travel insurance once but the car rental company still took the excess from my credit card and I had to claim off my insurance. Slow, lots of chasing paperwork and not knowing if I would get paid out. Did finally, less their excess but never again. Five weeks driving around surely there is going to be a mishap even if it's not your own fault.

In reply to BnB:

Thank you for the reply.i had a look at Easycar and their best deal was with Enterprise. Have you used them before?

In reply to sean1:

Just avoid goldcar like the plague on steroids. (google if you want the horror stories). I think they are just based around the med though.

Car hire firms generally are becoming more of a pain in the arse - they are having to reduce their headline prices to compete over the internet on comparison sites etc and are then ramping up the add ons.

That said, if you stick to a mainstream firm you are likely to go less wrong than someone more obtuse.

(I have had many a happy car despite my post, I am not a complete grouch)

In reply to sean1:

Quite possibly we have. I think any firm of that size (ie multinational) ought to be easier to grumble at than a small local. After that, it's just about getting a reliable car at a good price, surely? But do insure your excess for peace of mind in supermarket car parks, or any French roads for that matter

In reply to ClimberEd:

Avoid Avis/Budget always doing scams and looking for minor damage.
Watch out for Holiday autos putting a mileage limit in the small print.

In reply to Gael Force:

We always photograph existing scuffs at point of hire so as not to get blamed for them.