Germany

This time we rented a car from Europcar, a well-established European car rental company. We picked up the car at Frankfurt Airport in Germany. The car was very new, and we didn’t encounter any forced insurance sales. Despite our not-so-great English, the counter staff was very patient with us and provided good service. We returned the car at a drop-off point in downtown Vienna. Since it was a Saturday and the rental company was closed, we followed the instructions for self-service return, parked the car in the designated spot, and dropped the keys in the box. The pick-up and return process went very smoothly.

Our flight arrived early at Terminal 1 of Frankfurt Airport, but the car pickup point was at Terminal 2. Germans are very strict; at Terminal 1, we were told we could only pick up the car at Terminal 2. It took some effort to find the pickup point at Terminal 2, which is located under McDonald's. We had to pick up the car at the exact time on the order because the car wasn't ready yet. We bought supplementary full insurance on the QEEQ website, but it didn't show up in the German order. Luckily, there were no accidents. Adding an additional driver costs an extra 50 euros, but the insurance must be purchased through them to be covered.

The store at Frankfurt T2 is very convenient, located just to the left of the exit.

No extra sales pitch, and the attitude was quite standard. However, I booked a VW Touran, but they didn't have it and gave me a KIA CARENS instead. She said the KIA is slightly larger than the Touran, which was true. The car was slightly bigger. But once on the road, I realized it was underpowered. We were three people, each with 2 large, 2 medium suitcases, and a backpack. On inclines, the car lacked power. On many mountain roads, we could only use 2nd or 3rd gear, with the slowest speed at 30km/h. Next time, if the rental company tries to give me a Korean car, I will refuse.

The lady didn't know the rule even though she was working there for 27 years as she claimed. The rule is if somebody has an Indian driving licence and they are travelling germany for short term (less than six months) they can hire a car with the same indian driving licence with out an IDP. I requested her and tried to explain her but she wouldn't listen, although i've hired a car so many times in germany & UK with the same licence. She made me go to the local police station and when they confirmed then she gave me the car. This whole process took 2 hours and i was so much depressed by all this.