a bit disappointing

Extremely dissatisfied. I didn't get any car, and the rental company didn't refund me, they just took my rental fee. I only had a scanned electronic version of the translation document. I called the store's customer service to ask, and they said it would be fine to rent a car. However, when I got to the counter, the staff said the original document was necessary. Even after showing them the customer service call records, they said it didn't matter who I spoke with, they wouldn't let me get the car. Then I called the rental company customer service, who said they couldn't do anything, neither resolve the issue nor refund me. So the money was wasted, the store didn't give me the car, and the rental company took the money without any refund. I've rented cars in Europe many times, even in situations where I didn't have the original documents or a credit card, and never had a problem. Even if I couldn't rent the car, I could still negotiate a refund afterwards. This time was truly terrible, I don't even want to give one star. The rental company is really awful! I advise everyone to choose local rental platforms when renting cars in Europe. Even if you can't get the car, you can get a refund, and stay away from Alamo. The customer service and the counter staff work together to scam people.

The actual car was a new model Kia, which is significantly larger than the Qashqai. It was a diesel vehicle with good performance and features, but not very convenient for city driving. Initially, the rental company recommended a BMW, but it would have cost an additional 25 euros per day, so I turned it down. They also suggested pre-purchasing a full tank of fuel, claiming it would save the hassle of refueling when returning the car. In reality, the tank was only a little more than half full when I picked up the car, so pre-purchasing a full tank would not have been cost-effective. I avoided this pitfall. Overall, the service attitude and the car pickup process were straightforward and smooth. Regarding additional insurance, we showed them the contract that clearly outlined the terms. That English explanation was quite important. After reviewing it, they briefly explained that in the event of a claim, we would need to pay upfront and that concluded our discussion.

Renting a car was quite convenient, but there were some language barriers since English is not widely spoken here.

No car exchange allowed, given a manual transmission which is very difficult to drive, and they wouldn't change it. Even offering money didn't work.

Like: I dealt with Christian (might've been Kristian). He answered all my questions and ensured I was up and running efficiently. Would definitely use again. Thanks