So next month my wife and I will be taking a long awaited trip to Europe retracing my FIL’s WW2 campaign that I had mentioned here before. We will be there almost a month and while we are in Paris we will NOT be driving but after our Normandy excursion we will need a car to go through France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.

I have accounts with both Enterprise and Hertz and plan to use my Visa Signature credit card for the reservation.

As most of you know when making a reservation with a CC most of the time they say something like “… by using our card you can avoid paying for the Collision Damage Waiver…”

So my question is how valid is this kind of coverage in Europe? Has anyone had an accident where this type of coverage came into play and how did it turn out for you.

Thanks for any insight. It’s been 10 years since I rented a car over there.

I pondered this when I rented a stick shift Rover sedan in 2000 out of Gatwick for a week. I relied on the CC coverage and had nothing to claim anyway. Apparently Americans must drag the curbs on the left side in the UK, and the first thing inspected on return was both left side wheels. It was easy to drag left side wheels, but I didn't do it enough to raise an eyebrow.

Without current knowledge of your specific question, the advice common 26 years ago, was to buy it for peace of mind if nothing else. I don't remember how much the optional insurance was then, but the rental was $100 US per week.

I rent in Ireland a lot. I’ve never been in accident or made a claim so I can’t speak to how the CDW performs… but call up Visa and get their advice.

In Ireland, I need to show the rental car counter personnel a letter from the Visa insurance carrier that says I am covered and that letter needs to be less than 30 days old. They won’t automatically accept that My Visa card comes with that perk. You might want to carry such a letter, easily done online at the Visa site.

Might also check for needing a int'l DL?

Not sure if that's a requirement.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Might also check for needing a int'l DL?

Not sure if that's a requirement.

Not required last year in Germany, Austria, and Czech Republic. I’ve used European a few times. This last time it was a two week driving trip. I didn’t want ay hassle so I bought Europcar coverage on the car only. I’ve heard without coverage they hit your cc with the charge and it’s up to you to get paid by your card or personal insurance. IIRC it was around 400EU or less and I could have simply walked away if it got stolen or t-boned. I found it gave me piece of mind even though I never used it.

I would definitely discuss with your insurance and CC company before deciding.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Might also check for needing a int'l DL?

Not sure if that's a requirement.

I should have mentioned it but we always do. Never needed it yet...

Funny you should post such, as I was explaining my rental car experience in Europe from last year to friends the other night.

I picked-up my rental car from Hertz in Oxford (cheaper outside of London) to drive around the Cotswolds. I declined the coverages explaining my credit card I was using, Chase Sapphire Reserve card had solid rental car coverage. Returning the car just before the office closes, parked it right in front, hand over the keys to the office manger says 'we'll inspect it tomorrow and email you the invoice', fine. Next day, I'm in Normandy I get the invoice explaining they found some damage and assessing $400+ to my final bill; I'm on vacation I'll deal with this when I return.

Get back home and put a claim in with Chase thru their claimant Virginia Surety Co. Hertz UK claimed I returned the vehicle with a variety of scrapes on the left side but the images they provided didn't show anything as there was too much glare to show anything even with their measuring device laid next to for scale. I scanned all the docs I had and wrote up an affidavit stating my issue, within a week of submitting my claim, they agreed with me and reimbursed the amount that Hertz UK charged me.

I wouldn't say decline the coverage but, just make sure the credit card you're using has enough protections and you're ok with rolling the dice on any post-trip aggravation. Also, get your International Drivers Permit, it's simply a translation of your DL. The rental car company won't ask for it but, you better have one if have an interaction or incident involving the police.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

Might also check for needing a int'l DL?

Not sure if that's a requirement.

Don't know if this has changed, but when I lived / worked in Barcelona, my wife and I each had one, obtained through AAA.

It was not really a license. It was a passport size booklet that translated the information on a U.S. state-issued license into many languages. It had to be accompanied by the U.S. license.

My coworker rented a car in Canada and had it stolen out of the driveway of the AirBNB. Police said it had been happening a lot.

From the sound of it, it was a major PITA dealing with the whole foreign country claim and it went on for weeks after he was back.

As others have stated in a roundabout way. There is no such thing as an International Drivers License. It is just a translation of your current license into several other languages. I used to see them all the time as gray tri folded papers. Haven't seen one in years ( I work a tourist area with lots of Europeans). They just hand me their license from wherever they are from. I'm sure you can do the same. Last time I was in Italy (2013) I didn't bother with one.

We travel to Europe at around twice a year and almost always rent a car as we are interested in rural aspects of countries and out of the way places.

I always rent with Enterprise and always get full coverage.

It’s an added expense, but it’s saved my ass several times, salvaging an expensive vacation.


1. T-boned in Dijon.
Oh, you have full coverage, no problem we take care of the rest.

2. Blowout in Sicily, no problem, have a nice flight.

3. Drywall screw in Provence. No charge.

4. Car was keyed (could have been a long scrape from a door) in Tivoli, no problem, no charge.

Never had a problem when I had full coverage.
Which is mandatory in certain areas of Italy.

The Dijon accident would have precluded us from our Switzerland leg of our trip and was a life saver.

By insuring with the rental agency, it negates a lot of time and anxiety.

Make sure you are familiar with European signage.

Get the smallest car you are comfortable with and ask for a non electric vehicle… especially in Portugal.

Depends where you are traveling.

I digress.

Get the insurance

And enjoy :^)

Oh, and get the International drivers license.

People will say “no such thing”

You will need it if you have to interact with local police or gendarmes.
I have been asked for it, but only when renting a car in Sicily at the Catania Airport.
Also required for the accident in Dijon.

Renting in France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Rome I wasn’t asked for one.

quote:

Originally posted by BillyBonesNY:
Oh, and get the International drivers license...

The permit was easy to get at my local AAA.

https://www.acg.aaa.com/travel...-driving-permit.html

I'm following this thread as in October I'll be renting thru Avis at LHR to get out to the rural area north of London.

I have rented with Hertz and Europcar. I have, thank goodness, never had a claim, but I always take the coverage overseas. It costs more, but if you rely on your own insurance, or VISA's, you are probably going to have a hassle, and likely foot the bill until you are reimbursed.

I have driven in quite a few countries in Europe and never needed anything other than my USA DL.


.

quote:

Originally posted by TigerDore:

I have driven in quite a few countries in Europe and never needed anything other than my USA DL.


.

Same here, including riding motorcycles in the UK, France and Romania.

I have one whole day of experience, will probably never do it again. My story is not really that relevant to the topic at hand, but I want to tell it anyway. I paid for every additional insurance Sixt rentals offered on a BMW M5. Driving on the super narrow side streets in Munich full of parallel parked cars on both sides of the road made me nervous as shit, felt like just inches to spare.

Listening to the twin turbos and the throaty exhaust of 540 horsepower sing at 158 MPH on the autobahn is an experience I will never ever forget. Cruised over 100 mph for a couple of hours, burned thru a couple of tanks of gas in one afternoon. Damn that was fun!

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
So next month my wife and I will be taking a long awaited trip to Europe retracing my FIL’s WW2 campaign that I had mentioned here before. We will be there almost a month and while we are in Paris we will NOT be driving but after our Normandy excursion we will need a car to go through France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.

I have accounts with both Enterprise and Hertz and plan to use my Visa Signature credit card for the reservation.

As most of you know when making a reservation with a CC most of the time they say something like “… by using our card you can avoid paying for the Collision Damage Waiver…”

So my question is how valid is this kind of coverage in Europe? Has anyone had an accident where this type of coverage came into play and how did it turn out for you.

Thanks for any insight. It’s been 10 years since I rented a car over there.

This doesn’t answer your question but I was an army MP in Germany and just know that the Germans will absolutely go out of their way to blame the American in an accident. I can’t tell you how many times I saw them try to put the American driver at fault for getting rear ended or hit when it was pretty clear what happened. Also watch out for speed cameras, they are everywhere