Europcar

READ the fine print!!! The little car hire area was very busy - I get that and I waited patiently in line. I was told they gave me an upgrade - which I didnt really want as it meant higher fuel costs! Upon getting the car I walked around and video the outside and interior - as there was no condition report on the car -which made me worried due to… Read more

the scratches and stained seats. I was not told about the exorbitant fuel fee. The car was filled up - the day before and by the time I got to the airport there was only 1 bar short of a full tank. I took a photo of this. YET I was charged over $80 to fill it up - at over $4.70 per lt. WHAT in the world?? That is just plain ripping us off. I already had to pay extra to bring down the premium I would have had to pay if I had something happen to the car - over $5K excess!! Whos’ got that money just floating around? I rang up to complain about the fuel - but was told that it was their charges and was highlighted to say they told me… NOPE wasn’t told the amount. I WILL NOT use them again. Very angry over the whole ordeal - putting a sour note on my holiday.

We hired from europcar in Auckland on 19th March. We had a small stone chip. I called them straight away and asked if we should get it fixed. They said no. We returned the car on the 24th. I received an invoice on April 15th for (NZ) $4605.44. A full windscreen replacement. These guys are a total ripoff. Show details

Never ever hire a car through this company. Hired a car through them and they completely lied and said there was damage. The office never even provided a pre condition report because their system was down but had the audacity to say there was new damage on the return report. What's more laughable was the pathetic "evidence" photos of the… Read more

"damage". See attached.

Called them out on it and they didn't even bother to reply so seems to me that they try this all the time.

Hidden charges – We booked MG MG3 but then gave us KIA SPORTAGE without being asked. Forced me to top up more. The car was dirty upon pick up and inappropriate baby seat for my daughter. Show details

Very disappointing experience. On day 1, a “loss of tyre pressure” warning appeared and I had to refill the tyre every 2 days despite reporting it with photo evidence. I returned the car with MORE fuel than received (480km → 520km range), yet I was still wrongly charged $30 for fuel. My deposit has also not been refunded after 7 days. Unhelpful and unprofessional staff. I have photo evidence for everything. I do not recommend this location. Show details

1st Feb 2026 had a car booked through booking.Com for pickup in Darwin Downtown. Arrived ar 11am and the branch was closed. Phoned +61 8 8941 0300 to be connected to the Darwin Airport branch. Was told to go to the airport as the person at downtown was not available. I had to uber to the airport and they will reimburse. When I arrived there was no… Read more

one at the front desk and had to call a number on display for them to assist. The lady arrived, apologised and blamed booking.com for the mess.

She proceeded to confirm a $200 deposit and $300 insurance, which I agreed upon, but then wanted to charge an additional $277 for admin fees and the fact that I am now picking up a car at the airport and not downtown Darwin anymore.I refused to pay that and was then said if I want to cancel I need to take it up with booking.com

It was my first and would be my last experience with them. It left me scrambling to book another car but Avis and East Coast car rental sure made me feel welcome.

We were fined incorrectly by Brisbane council and we have evidence but Europcar does not care that the customer didn't do anything wrong. They charged us $55 for transferring the fine to our name without investigating as it was written in their fine prints (hidden among 1000 words) of their rental agreement that it will incurr an admin fee of $55… Read more

if we get a fine irrelevant if we are at fault.This is not fair and poor customer experience. Very disappointed with the company for not allowing the customer to get refunded if they are not at fault.

Very disappointing and uncomfortable experience. I asked about full cover insurance and was quoted around $80 per day, which I found excessive. I explained calmly that with Hertz, I have previously paid the excess-reduction fee for only the first 2–3 days, after which the rental continued with zero excess for the remainder of the booking without… Read more

further charges. Instead of explaining their policy professionally, the staff member became angry and dismissive, repeatedly saying, “We are Europcar, not other companies.”

The car had many scratches, yet I was told Europcar does not provide photos or written confirmation of vehicle condition. The car was also not clean, despite warnings about cleaning fees.

The staff member repeatedly called me “darling.” When I asked him to stop, he made an inappropriate comment about me not being born or raised in Australia that why I do not like to be called darling. This was offensive and unprofessional. Then I contacted my insurance company to check with them about this hire car company and I figured out he gave wrong info about the amount of the excess I need to pay if I evolve in any accident.

Lack of transparency, poor customer service, and unacceptable behaviour. I would not recommend this location.

BUYER BEWARE They have your credit card details, seems from all the reviews they have a policy of fallacious charges post contract. In my case they applied 3 x outrageous charges. 1: Abandoning vehicle. When the VW people mover was too high to go to designated underground return location, the office advised us to find a nearby street location,… Read more

obtain parking ticket, provide details of location. We did all this, found a parking spot which was closer than their designated carpark, dropped keys off with photos of parked car, address, 3-hour parking ticket (photos attached). Boom!!!!! Euro135 Abandonment Fee!! After returning keys, having followed their instructions, how is car abandoned???? 2: Cleaning Car: Euro125!! Have hired hundreds of cars - NEVER been charged for cleaning. Had the car for 3 days, was same condition as when we picked it up. 3: Out-of-hours drop off fee: Euro 35. Wow!! Drop off recorded as 10 am on a Wednesday, to an office with 2 staff.

Car did not have any maps or navigation built in and would not reliably connect to phones so there was almost no on board navigation. We got a flat back tyre and found that both back tyres were illegal (see photos) Show details

I want to share my experience to warn other customers about potential issues in Europcar’s damage claims process. After returning a rental vehicle, Europcar notified me that I was liable for tyre damage. I asked for evidence, and they relied on the tyre pressure monitoring (TPMS) alert and a post-return inspection of the tyre as sufficient to hold… Read more

me responsible. I argued this was insufficient, as customers cannot reasonably inspect the inner walls of tyres. If Europcar wants to make claims for tyres, they should take pre- and post-rental photos to fairly attribute liability. (A photo marking the alleged tyre damage in pink was provided by Europcar.)

I escalated to their IDR team, who initially stated: “After a full review of your claim, our final decision is that the charge will stand and no further dispute will be entertained. This matter is now closed within Europcar.” I was issued an invoice but asked them to hold off on payment as I had escalated the matter to AFIA as a neutral third party.

A few days later, Europcar HQ retracted their claim and confirmed I was not liable. However, to this day they have not explained why I was initially deemed responsible or what led to the reversal, despite my requests.

I have serious concerns about the logic of their claims process. Photos of the alleged tyre damage were taken more than 24 hours after the vehicle was returned, and no inspection was conducted with me at the time of return, even though their policy states it should be. There was no evidence that the tyre was not damaged prior to my use, nor any mechanical report showing that the TPMS warning resulted from this alleged damage.

It is not right for customers to be at the mercy of Europcar’s claims department, constantly going back and forth while they decide liability. Using a neutral third party such as AFIA is helpful in providing oversight and ensuring fairness.

This experience caused significant stress and required considerable time and effort to resolve. Based on my experience, I would caution customers to be careful when using Europcar’s services and to engage a neutral third party like AFIA if a claim is made against you to ensure fairness.

Prepaid 6 months in advance for a Merc GLC class of vehicle to be pick up from their Heathrow airport location, prior to arriving I was receiving messages confirming my booking so assume it was ok. When I arrived they didn't have any of that class let alone any of the brands that they show on the website. Then pressured me into a higher spec… Read more

vehicle at a higher cost !!. Had the vehicle for 3 weeks and returned it a day early to Manchester airport, there was a small 1mm diameter nail in a tyre with 6mm of tread, no loss of pressure. Their contractor deemed it unrepairable and they invoiced me over $300 for a replacement tyre. I won't be using any Europcar locations again, never had this problem with Avis or Budget.

I was charged over $2,500 by Europcar Australia for a windscreen replacement due to a minor stone chip incurred during my rental. Based on photographs taken at return, the damage appeared small and likely repairable. The replacement was not carried out until three weeks later, raising questions about whether the vehicle remained in use and… Read more

whether further damage occurred in that time. The supporting invoice provided was undated, and no technical assessment was shared to justify that replacement was necessary over repair.

My requests for clarification were dismissed, and the dispute was closed without addressing these concerns. I believe the handling of this matter lacked transparency and proportionality.

We had a terrible experience with Europcar, and I wouldn’t use or recommend them. Our car broke down, and we were forced to hire a rental car through our roadside assistance, RACQ. and we had no say it was Europcar for the rental during the period. We were promised a washed and clean car to pick up from Darwin Airport, but when we arrived, it was… Read more

disgustingly dirty. It looked like the car had been driven off-road, with red dirt all over it. When we returned to the Europcar desk at the airport to complain, the attendant had already left for the day. It was only 1 pm. We took photos of the car’s condition before leaving the parking lot. We were advised that the rental car return was to be at the Darwin office on Mitchell Street, in the carpark above a shopping centre. However, when we returned the car at 1:45 pm, the office was closed. We couldn’t complain about the car’s condition because the office wasn’t open. The next day, Europcar did an inspection of the car at 10 am, which was 20 hours later. The inspector accused us of a lot of damage to the rental vehicle, Including a supposedly chipped windscreen which was not there when we returned the car the previous day, we had photos of the other damage and sent them back for proof. Europcar Rental then charged us for a new windscreen costing $1328.47, minus our damage excess of $590. We had to pay the balance of $650. My husband called the Europcar call centre, but the agent was unhelpful and told him to check his rental agreement. We would not hire again from a rental car company we would rather walk or ride a push bike as there is no come back Absolutely disgusting of Europcar

Returned car and was later informed they found a small chip in the windscreen on the passenger side. It was around 7mm so no big deal but they later charged me over $1000 for the repair! Absolute thieves. Will NEVER rent from them again.

I am extremely disappointed with Europcar, Glasgow, Scotland .My partner and I booked a vehicle through a travel agent about 2 months before we left on our trip to Ireland/Scotland. On the day we were due to fly from Belfast to Glasgow our flight was delayed and it was likely that the Europcar agency would be closed before we could reach it after… Read more

landing. Consequently we rang Europcar head office and were assured they the Glasgow staff would be aware of any flight delays and would remain open to attend us. As it was the flight arrived in Galway about 15 minutes before the agency was scheduled to close and we hurried to their office arriving about 5 minutes before closing. To say the agent was not welcoming is an understatement. The vehicle we had booked was not available. Our travel agent had booked a 4 door, automatic sedan. In fact, we were quoted on a Vauxhall Astra (see attached). The only vehicles available were a 2 door hatch or an Audi Q2 SUV. We declined the hatch. We are an older couple and getting luggage into and out of a 2 door car was unacceptable. We were offered the Audi at a figure of £20 per day. Again we declined. We were at an impasse when the agent proffered the Audi at £10 additional per day. It had been a long day and we were already late to check into our accommodation. We reluctantly accepted. We checked the vehicle and noted a few blemishes which were photographed. One question is how our original type of vehicle was not available. It seems to us that there was never any intention to provide the vehicle hired. Next day while driving in torrential rain we struck a kerb and destroyed a tyre. Having paid for Roadside Assistance we attempted to ring Europcar displayed number about 8 times to receive a recorded message “calls to this number are blocked”. We decided to change the tyre ourselves but were dismayed to find no spare had been provided. IT IS INCONCEIVABLE THAT, KNOWING THAT WE WOULD BE DRIVING IN REMOTE AREAS IN SCOTLAND NO SPARE OR EMERGENCY TYRE WAS PROVIDED. On investigation we also found that there was no vehicle manual. The vehicle was unfamiliar to us and we had difficulty operating many of its functions. Eventually we arranged through the company for a recovery vehicle which took us to our accommodation about 2 hours away. Next morning a different tow company ADJ Stevenson Recovery Ltd. arrived to, on their instructions, take us back two hours to a Europcar affiliated tyre franchise. On our objections we were taken to ADJ Strvenson’s Speen Bridgerepair depot ONLY 2 hours away. We had to pay for the replacement tyre. We have no adverse remarks about the two tow companies. After 18 or so days we returned the vehicle to Glasgow airport full of fuel and undamaged. We complained about the upgraded vehicle and sought advice about the cost of the tyre. We were told to take it up with HQ. 1. We suspect that this was a manipulated upgrade, with no intention to provide the vehicle reserved months in advance. 2. The non provision of a spare tyre cost us two days of our holiday. 3. The company has a new tyre that we have not been compensated for: £115. We received an email from Europcar dated 03/07/2025. We were dismayed to discover not only had the company withheld £216 from our deposit for an unwanted upgrade but also £130 for what is described as a Premium Location Surcharge. No where in any literature, contract or verbal advice was this outrageous fee mentioned. Other charges, though excessive, were expected. I would actively review negatively against Europcar. I certainly would not hire from this company again.

Really dissapointed experience, 5 days after returning the car, I was charged 400 dollars, they were charging 30 dollars extra more per day and full of charges like premium location, don’t use that rental, you will be charged extra for out of nowhere expenses, they made it up.

Despite the payment of excess fees after paid, CLA Trading failed to take appropriate action to repair the third party’s vehicle. As a result, I received a legal notice indicating that a judgment has been issued against my name due to your inaction. Show details

I booked and fully paid for 6 days rental with myself and my wife as drivers. We arrived at Cairns airport and were “upgraded” to a new Haval which was defective. We returned the car and were given a replacement car. The day after returning the car,… Read more

I received a bunch of extra charges for an extra driver (myself) and extra random charges. Nobody will discuss any of this. I will NEVER rent from these people again. Rude and dismissive customer “service” and dishonest billing practices.

I have returned the car 30 mins before it is due back 8am. Sydney Pullman Hotel branch claimed they never have the return, despite a drop box for keys and the box was full of keys. I dropped off 7.24am and took photo evidence. Sent this to a rude… Read more

email from the branch staff asking for overdue rental payment. This is unexpected after many happy rentals and I will never use them again. I would much prefer to offer zero star. I always taken photos at return, and this time it has been handy. They dont care about how you feel, and if I dont hear from them, I will speak to my bank on the deposit plus Fair Trading NSW for advice next steps.

Had the worst experience with Europe car at Brisbane Airport. We waited over an hour in the line to see a service agent to pick up our car. It was already a late night and with 2 young kids. They would not waive the $40 fee for the additional driver and would not transfer the name over to the other person. The fact there was not an apologies I would definitely be going with another company. Show details