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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!cca!mickey
From: mickey@cca.UUCP (Mickey Levine)
Newsgroups: net.travel
Subject: Re: Transportation in Europe
Message-ID: <3274@cca.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 11-Jul-85 16:04:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: cca.3274
Posted: Thu Jul 11 16:04:21 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 19-Aug-85 23:11:35 EDT
References: <62800001@hpfclr.UUCP>  <>
Reply-To: mickey@cca-unix.UUCP (Mickey Levine)
Organization: Computer Corp. of America, Cambridge
Lines: 32
Summary: 

Although my trip was in the spring, I would like to point out some recent
things I have learned about renting a car in France: 1) Check your receipt
and 2) watch out for the hidden costs.

I rented a 'C' class car from Hertz in Roissy which was a 'free car/unlimited
mileage' for one week. I paid the upgrade from class 'A' to 'C' before leaving
the states. The car (an '85 Opel Kadett 1.3S) was a pleasure to drive, except
that it was only a 4-speed. Top speed I got out of it was 160KPH on the German
autobahn. As some previous articles stated, if you are a courteous (read not
NY, NJ, Boston or Quebec) driver, and understand that a passing lane is just
that, you should do fine. In my week of driving, I never saw a radar trap,
but we did get off the beaten track a little. Worst places to drive were
Paris and Metro, Holland (they speed like crazy) and Belgium. Best places
were Western Germany (along the Rhine) and Switzerland.

Sorry, I digressed: back to the rental. I finally received the VISA charge
for my free car: $183!!! About a week later (3 months after returning, I
got the receipt for the rental) and tried to interpert the numbers. First,
they added then subtracted the $69 upgrade so they could tax it. There was
also about a $40 charge that had no meaning at all. I also elected to take
CDW (a good idea), about $5 a day, and PAI (which I later found out is not
neccessary if you are insured in the US) again at about $5. So before taxes,
I had 69+40+60=$169 in charges. Then there is the 33.3% VAT tax. To top it
all off, there was at least one major addition error to the tune of $50.
I have sent a letter to Hertz USA to try to straighten out the charges.
Just double check.

					Have fun and safe driving,

					Mickey Levine
					decvax!cca!mickey