Europcar Reviews 3,892

We had a Sat Nav failure (interface was stuck in German language and no menu option that we found could alter it). The Sat Nav re-routed us on our airport return and we nearly missed the flight as a result. Car was returned without re-filling (we'd used 60%). The charge from Europcar was 164 Euros. Completely abusive but they hide behind their small print. I am disgusted.

They modified my booking without permission which more than doubled the cost of the rental. I was clear with them but, they just did it anyway adding insurance I did not want to a prepaid booking which also let them charge an additional local fee on top of that. Super shady which is too bad as they used to be my preferred car rental agency. Thier corporate team will do nothing because the local team has falsified paperwork so they claim thier hands are tied.

Update: I can appreciate the limitations, however, the google reviews show a clear trend of deceptive and predatory extra charge practices and it should be investigated and addressed if it truly is in conflict with how you want customers treated. Regardless the extra $350 you got from me on a 1 week rental is the last I will ever spend with Euro car.

Rented a small car in Willemstad, Curacao through Expedia for 4 days for a expected $180 price. I went to pick up my car and they said they would not let me take with car without adding $20/day 3rd party ins. So I had to pay an extra $80. I have never had this happen before. very frustrating and disappointing. I think I will avoid Europcar going forward.

Don't rent a car from this company they give you old cars I had a battery blow up with this car I had the gas gauge was not good and I filled it up and then they charge me I had the car stole twice they did not give me any refund no conversation don't use this car this this company is bad bad for all our American us friends don't use them

Without a doubt, the worst customer service I have ever received.
Long waiting times on vehicle collection which was not ready when they did finally get to us.
We had a flat tyre during our rental and there was no spare or repair kit! Any help we required following up on this was not there. They simply didn’t care.
This took about 10 hours out of our day to resolve. When dropping the car off at Gatwick, the indifferent service was bordering on comical. Other customers who were there at the time were also finding the experience the same.
We have since used another rental service which was far better and as frequent travellers we will avoid Europcar. I would advise anyone to do the same.

Fraudulent operators. Hired on Tenerife, returned car to be told by operative all 100% ok. A week later had two charges taken from my bank account totalling 125 euros. An invoice arrived several days later showing a 'cross border penalty'. We were on an island, never left it! They sent a 'telemetry report ' showing the car went to Gran Canaria at four (?!) different occasions on one day. The bank account showed one of the two payments was chip n pin implying my physical presence...I was back in the UK by the time the charges came through. Europcar refused to back down. Fraudsters

Pre-paid rent (through AutoEurope) for an entire week but car was not available when I came to pick it up 3 hours after the registered pick-up time. Arrogant and blunt attitude by employees, who gave me no option but to accept a 40% price increase to take another car. The car I got started showing alarms and messages to bring it in for repair after 30 min. Very poor overall experience.

I had great customer service when collecting my car from Stansted airport. He was quick, efficient and helpful when checking in, and went above and beyond, bringing the car to the door and taking my case for me. It was late, raining, and after a long day of travelling, his bright conversation and smile were just the tonic I needed.
Returning the car was straightforward, but signage for the office was very poor.

They gave me a good price when booking. I cannot finish check in as "something went wrong" and send me an email that I can just finish at the counter.
When on location, they told me that because I wanted price in usd they assumed i am American nationality. This is some kindergarten level view of the world.
And because of that, the price didn't include mandatory AC insurance in europe.
On top of that insurance, they charged me "assistance fee".
So price rose from 20usd per day on booking to 50euro per day.

Rented a car in South Africa initially for a month then decided before the rental to extend to 6 weeks. I called Europcar customer service because I was told a could not amend the rental agreement, however the customer services confirmed I could just extend the rental at the desk in South Africa. This waa not the case. I had to return the car after a month driving back to Port Elizabeth a distance of 200 kilometers to change the car for the additional 2 weeks. The Europcar desk said I could return the car before the end of the rental by 2 days without penalty to change the car but in fact this was not honoured so I lost 4 days changing the rental. Just to make matters worse since I had to make an agreement for the additional 2 weeks at the desk they charged £600 for 2 weeks when I had paid £450 for the first 4 weeks. I was not advised and was left feeling being scammed. I wrote a complaint to Europcar head office in Paris but have had no response. In hire cars at least 5 times a year but will not be using Europcar in the future

The worst company I have ever dealt with. I been waiting for my deposit for over two months and it seems like I can't get an answer.

Terrible experience.
The pick up instructions were wrong, the first car they brought out had a bumper falling off, they finally brought another one, absolutely filthy and the tinted film on the windows was peeling off. Took forever.
When I complained I got this message from them…
“Europcar does not compensate for stress, time lost, upset or inconvenience caused”.
Draw your own conclusions

I did a relocation between Darwin and Alice Springs via Transfercar. Sure, the cost was low, but this is where it ends. I felt the communication was not the best after the hire car company accepted the rental. I also found the fact that I would have been charged almost $100 for picking up a relocation 45 minutes earlier was totally not acceptable. Furthermore the additional charge for an additional driver is completely nonsense. Again, this car was hire for a relocation. Hence the length of the hire is restricted. I ended up driving the entire 1600 or km's by myself. A Subaru Outback which was virtually brand new. If I was the owner of the hire company I would protect my assets better! To make things worse, the rain between Darwin and Alice Springs was that bad, the highway was closed 4 hours! after we drove through Katherine. Not a single call, text or email to see if we are ok!! From a safety point this is not ok. What would have happened if the highway would have been closed earlier and we had no chance to drive either way? I think either the hire company or transfercar should have shown more interest in their customers. Now, finally the drop off of the car at the ASP airport was completely out of line. While I was entering the airport hall, every single car hire company who operates from the terminal was present, but Europcar.....I called the number on the desk as I thought a relocation trip is different to a hire, however no one answered the call. I couldn't leave a message either. Until now I have never received any email regarding the trip. I received back the bond, but nothing else. I find this rather strange. So, all in all the trip brought me from A to B cheaper than flying, but I think the entire experience could have been handled better on both sides, the broker and operator. I would do a relocation again, but now I am smarter.

At Malaga airport we were persuaded by the Europcar representative that an upgrade he suggested would cost ‘a little more’. In the moment of signing and initialling in numerous places one misses the detail. The upgrade cost almost 3X the original car hire cost. On top of that there was a premium for picking the car up within the airport - this was never disclosed upon booking. The overriding experience was that we were ripped off and the Customer Care desk hid behind the signed contract and never tried to establish the truth from their agent in Malaga (name is known) which suggests there may be some incentive to bamboozle people into upgrades

We rented from Atlanta airport end February/early March, 2026. Our car was not ready at the time it was supposed to be. Then they were supposed to call or text us when it was ready. That didn't happen either.
We were basically forced to get the insurance--because doom & gloom scenarios were presented to us--which made my husband very nervous. The insurance was more than the car itself. BEYOND RIDICULOUS. That was over $250 we were NOT planning on spending before our vacation. Just all bad.

Do not use under any circumstances.

First time in hiring a car and this was an awful experience from begining to end. Customer service both in store and telephone is more than poor.

Firstly the website would not allow me to edit the hire days and despite me emailing/phoning multiple times, this was not rectified, I therefore ended up paying for an unnecessary extra day.
Upon returning the car they said an extra cleaning charge (£45) would be added, due to 'extra' cleaning required.

As can be seen by the below paragraphs in their own terms and conditions, this is not applicable. I truly believe they will try and use any excuse or reason to get it to cost more than it should have. Utterly immoral company.

As per your terms and conditions, clause 9.3.2.1 states that 'valet charge a reasonable valet charge will apply where the level of cleaning required to return the Vehicle to a rentable condition will take longer for our staff to complete than our standard ‘ready-for- rent’ clean (e.g., where you or a passenger has smoked or used e-cigarettes in the Vehicle during the Hire Period)'.
Evidentially this is not applicable.

Furthermore, it states: 'specialist cleaning specialist cleaning charges will apply if the Vehicle is returned to us in a condition that is beyond our in-house valeting skills and we have no alternative but to incur the cost of expert third party cleaners to return it to a rentable standard.'
From the photos provided, it's quite obvious that this is not applicable either.

Lousy cars, lousy service, lousy customer service.

DON'T EVER RENT FROM FROM THIS COMPANY.

Rude, dishonest and disrespectful. Don’t even bother with rneting a car with them. Most appalling experience with their branch at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands due to their stupid credit card policy.

Do not trust. I rented a vehicle with lots of scratches and marks prior to driving away. I took timestamped photos before i got in the vehicle. The rental agent acknowledged that there was "One mark" before handing over the keys, they said to make note of anything else before leaving if I see something. I found at least 8 areas on pre inspection. When I returned the car the guy was quick to point out that I had caused all the other scuffs and scratches. I showed him the photos that I took prior to driving away at the time of pick up. He soon backed down and appeared disappointed that I had proof. He then found one small mark on the bumper. I didn't notice it at the time of pick up due to the amount of road salt on the bumper. It was only visible after I washed the car before returning it. I will never rent from them again. They try to upsell everything and were not happy that my credit card included collision. They tried everything to sell me extra insurance which would have voided my credit card protection. They tried to charge me 15 pounds a day for GPS which is already built in to a vehicle. They tried to charge me for a "Vehicle upgrade" which I got for free because they didn't have my vehicle to start off with. Now I have to deal with them claiming vehicle damage. I just hope they don't try lying to the insurance company, as I have pre rental photos.

Very disappointing experience with Europcar Manila. I booked an airport pick up but had to wait and be driven about 20 minutes to an off site parking location. Staff tried to force additional insurance despite me already having coverage. The first car did not start and smelled strongly of cigarette smoke; the replacement was old, had poor air conditioning in very hot weather, and also smelled of smoke (masked with perfume). It took almost two hours to finally get the car. Not what I paid for and not acceptable for the price.