
Europcar Reviews
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- Good vehicle quality
- Unexpected additional charges
- Long wait times for service
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Reviewed Sept. 6, 2026
ZERO STARS if I could. Absolutely horrible experience with Europcar/Fox. 13 people ahead of me, ONE employee working, and over an hour just to get my car. I paid for a specialty SUV advertised as a Range Rover, Audi, Land Rover, etc. and was handed a Toyota RAV4 with a huge burn in the carpet. Then the fuel door wouldn’t open—apparently a common problem judging by the damage and key marks around it—yet I was still charged for fuel. The garage staff were rude, disrespectful, and completely unprofessional. Management’s response? A $10 credit toward a future rental. After this experience, there is absolutely no chance I would ever rent from them again. Misleading advertising. Terrible customer service. Substandard vehicle. Questionable charges. Zero accountability. Do not rent from Europcar or Fox. Save yourself the headache.

Reviewed Sept. 3, 2026
We rented from Europcar in San Diego, which happened to be through Fox Rental Car. We had a terrible experience and were charged 3 times our quoted price. They required us to buy liability insurance even though we said our personal car insurance covers us in a rental car, and then they said we returned the car 2 days late and charged us for that. But, we did NOT return the car late, we returned it to the airport, to Fox/Europcar and even spoke to the car attendant about what to do with it (she was frazzled and the only one there moving lots of cars to make room for more cars coming in).
She told us to leave the keys in the car and leave it where it was, which is what we did. I never received a receipt from them for any of the charges until after I requested one, and even then it took them a week to send a receipt that wasn't even itemized. When I finally figured out what we were charged for, they were unwilling to refund anything even when I provided proof that we returned our car on time.
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Reviewed Sept. 3, 2026
We booked a rental in the United States for around 20 days through Europcar, selecting a **Jeep Compass CFAR or similar – Compact SUV**. At pickup, however, Europcar’s local partner FOX provided us with a **2024 Nissan Kicks S FWD**, a significantly smaller vehicle which, in our view, was not genuinely comparable to the reference vehicle used by Europcar for the category we had purchased. The experience at the pickup desk was already very negative: the employee was rude and unhelpful, focusing mainly on selling additional services. Among these, we were charged **USD 149.80 for Roadside Assistance**, despite roadside assistance already being included in the Europcar booking we had purchased and paid for.
The most serious issue, however, was the vehicle itself. During the trip, we encountered and documented **heavily worn and mismatched tires, deteriorated and ineffective windshield wipers, poor highway stability and inadequate air conditioning**. During heavy rain, we experienced serious visibility problems and felt the rear of the vehicle lose stability. **Our safety was at risk.** We repeatedly reported the situation to both FOX and Europcar, by email and by phone, from the very first days of the rental. Despite this, we did not receive any effective and timely solution. As a result, we had to reduce our driving speed, modify parts of our itinerary, give up some planned activities and spend a considerable amount of our vacation dealing with phone calls, emails and repeated attempts to obtain assistance.
A rental car should allow you to enjoy your trip, not become a constant source of concern. We subsequently prepared and sent FOX and Europcar a **detailed complaint dossier including photographs, videos, a chronology of our reports and a comparison between the vehicle booked and the one actually supplied**. FOX eventually recognised approximately **USD 230**, but expressly clarified that **USD 149.80 was simply the reimbursement of the Roadside Assistance charge that had been duplicated**. The actual compensation offered for all the problems, lost time and impact on our vacation was therefore only **USD 80 – just over 10% of the total rental cost**.
We then asked **Europcar Italy** to review the case directly, considering that we had purchased the service through Europcar and not directly from FOX. Their response was essentially that FOX had already handled the case and that Europcar would take no further action. This is probably the aspect that disappointed us the most: **we purchased the service from Europcar and expected Europcar to take full commercial responsibility for the experience sold through its own channel**, rather than simply referring us back to the decision of its local partner. We would never have complained about a normal travel inconvenience. In this case, however, we are talking about a vehicle substantially different from what we expected, issues that we considered significant from a safety perspective, repeated reports, lost time and concrete changes to our vacation plans.
After this experience, our trust in the Europcar brand has been **seriously damaged**. We are very unlikely to use Europcar again and equally unlikely to recommend it to friends, colleagues or for future group travel arrangements. An actual compensation of only USD 80 for everything that happened is, in our view, simply inadequate. Unfortunately, it's not possible to give less than one star.

Reviewed Sept. 2, 2026
Made my reservation online for one month rental. After I paid all in full the contract stated in first page to have a valid driver license non digital and a credit card. I made my reservation from America stating that I have an American address and arriving on a USA airline on Sept. 1 2026. When arrived in Milan I went to the office. The office were closed but 5 employees were in the office. When they open I presented my driver license and a credit card. The agent refused to give us the car because we didn’t have an international driver license. Agent was nasty and very disrespectful. Looked like he is already having a bad day.
I asked him for my money and he looked at me like I am asking for a plate of pasta. How they if I have more money to rent another car. So non European citizens beware. You have to have an international license when renting from Europcar. Other car rental doesn’t require international driver license. I went to all car rental at Milan airport and no one required international license. Give your business somewhere else. They keep your money for a 10 days making interest on it. Shame on you.

Reviewed Sept. 1, 2026
I planned a trip through Expedia that included an SUV from Europcar. Upon arrival at Sangster International/Montego Bay Jamaica I was informed that Europcar doesn’t accept/honor online booking. At least that’s what they said. I stepped out of line and attempted to book a vehicle elsewhere. It was a Saturday morning and the other agencies in the airport were out of vehicles. I got back into line for another long wait. My initial reservation was for a SUV because of my bad back and the poor road conditions. I ended up with a Toyota Yaris and paid $835 USD. The agent was rude and uncaring. I called Expedia and complained once I returned to the states. The matter was never resolved. They now tell me that they have no record of the complaint and that it’s been too long so there’s nothing they can do.
I called Expedia less than 1 week after my return. They did tell me that Europcar stated that my rental was honored and that the monies that I paid was for things such as insurance. $835 for insurance?! I emailed proof of a new contract, deposit and rental receipt. And they pretty much said “Oh well”. I have been robbed. I’m so disgusted. I will never use Expedia or Europcar again and will advise family and friends against them. I ended up with Europcar because my usual car rental agency (Alamo) wasn’t listed as a choice. I now have their business card. I would have preferred to give them my money and this wouldn’t have happened. Europcar Jamaica is the worst.

Reviewed Aug. 29, 2026
I made a big mistake allowing Europcar at Dublin Spencer Dock (the only downtown location) to put me in a position where I was virtually forced into an upgrade. Just know that Europcar employees are so INCENTIVIZED TO UPGRADE YOU SO THEY WILL LIE about almost anything to get you to sign. My "agent," Mary, was a highly skilled con artist and started my renting process by saying, "I'm giving you an upgrade." With almost any other rental company, that would mean no extra charge, but after waiting in line for about 45 minutes and going through a 15-20 minute process to rent the car, I was about to sign the rental agreement when I discovered that it was triple the amount of my booked rental rate.
When I said, "You told me that you were 'giving me' an upgrade and didn't say anything about additional charges," she said, "Oh, I'm sure I did." Then she said that because of the "misunderstanding" she could knock it down from 30 extra Euros per day to 20 and falsely claimed that the vehicle I was upgrading to was a "new" car many classes above the one I booked, was not a diesel (which I specifically asked), had GPS included and got 30% better mpg than what I had booked. All of those were flat out lies.
Nonetheless, since I was hesitant to start the process over, (my wife was waiting at our hotel for me to pick her up and drive to a location out of Dublin for the day) I reluctantly and stupidly signed. I later realized that I could have just said, "I'll take the upgrade for another 10 Euros a day and good old Mary probably would have agreed as she obviously had the power to charge whatever she could get. The reality was that I got a diesel VW that was the same size as the car I booked but an SUV version (worth about 10 Euros more per day if I had booked such a vehicle in advance), had 49,000 KM on it (far from "new," did not have GPS (just CarPlay which the one I booked also had).
Mary did not accompany me to the car as I saw some other agents do and, after looking over the car, I attempted to go back and renegotiate or get another car. But by that time, she was busy with another customer and a Europcar employee who was obviously there to deal with issues like mine stopped me from approaching her and said he could "help me." I told him of all of the lies and he came with me to the car, claiming and just restated different versions of her stories -- the diesel was much better and cheaper to drive (not true), it was "relatively" new, the CarPlay was exactly what I needed (probably true but not the upgrade mentioned) and the vehicle was a significant car class upgrade (total BS). He also said I would have to get back in line to start the process again. I just sucked it up and kicked myself for being duped. I'm writing this so maybe others will not do the same.
Reviewed Aug. 24, 2026
Horrible! Avoid at all costs. They forced upgrade by creating fake demand. Bait & switch.
Reviewed Aug. 21, 2026
I am (was) a repeat renter of Europcar… I am was a repeat renter of Europcar over the past 10 years. No more. I rented a car through Auto Europe for a 15 day rental (I usually rent for 21 days) for a CDG Europcar in February 2026. The Auto Europe voucher for the car was $810. I upgraded, which I have done before. That usually only costed a few hundred more. This time I was charged over $1,440 not including the gas charge at the end on top of the original Auto Europe charge. So my initial $810 charge turned into a $2300 rental for two weeks. This was three times the amount I ever paid for a three week rental. Through multiple card disputes, no human reply to multiple emails it took until today (late August) to clarify the actual charges. P.S. I was also a "preferred member"

Reviewed Aug. 19, 2026
We rented a car with Europcar through Expedia in August 2026. The rental was supposed to be at the Calgary airport but we found out after arriving that you needed to take a shuttle to the Routes car rental (so not at the airport). When we arrived at Routes we found out that in the small print if you went to BC, even for part of your trip, the unlimited mileage no longer applies and it would cost an additional $11 per day on top of that. The car itself was nice (small Ford Bronco for Nissan Sentra size). However, charging an additional daily fee plus additional mileage seemed a bit much given it was written in the fine print under "other" and not mileage. A lot of people were not happy with that. If that is how you make your fees I recommend being upfront about it. My advice is rent directly through the car rental agency and you will actually get an airport rental agency instead of off-site with additional fees.

Reviewed Aug. 18, 2026
First off, we had to wait 3 1/2 hours at Shannon Airport because Europcar didn’t have the prepaid car we reserved ready for us. Imagine just sitting in the airport with your family for over three hours on the first day of your vacation. While all other car companies were moving their customers into cars, Europcar didn’t seem to think not having a car available for over three hours was an inconvenience or breach of their contract. They told us to get some coffee while waiting.
Second, they are very creative with their insurance/protection upsell. Lots of extraneous line item charges that they don’t explain very well - likely intentionally to confuse customers. And they double charged the 8 day rental fee we already prepaid. My cost went from $500 to $1300 and they felt justified with this. The Europcar counter also does not respond to phone calls, and their customer service is useless; they only send emails thanking you for bringing concerns to their attention. And yes, I contacted my credit card company to investigate their services and upcharging. But what a pain when trying to enjoy the start of a vacation.

Reviewed Aug. 17, 2026
Scam company. Will charge you for extras and have someone else sign it and claim it was you. Will not return the stolen money.

Reviewed Aug. 10, 2026
It's been a few years since I rented a car from Europcar but I now remember why. I'm extremely disappointed with the lack of professionalism from the office in Madrid, Spain at T1 airport. We had a reservation (from August the 7, 2026 to August 14, 2026) for economy class car which would have been sufficient enough for the three of us plus the two large suitcases we had with us. Instead, we were greeted with a only one option of mini class (Fiat 500) and were told that car we reserved had been rented and there is no other options for us. We took the as our only option by smashing our daughter with suitcases in the back of the car and barely able to shut the trunk closed.
The next day we tried to exchange the car in Valladolid, Spain at the train station and they concurred with us, unfortunately they also had no car to rent out because of solar eclipse that was due in a couple of days. By having the car we were forced to change our original travel plan across Spain simply because someone didn't know how to hold a reservation which is the whole point of the reservation. Now, we are in the process of trying to be refunded for the mistake Europcar did and as expected we are being bounced around.
Reviewed Aug. 7, 2026
Rented a van for 18 days for a total of 1800$. Arrived at the airport in Munich and was told they don’t have the right vehicle and they only have a new Mercedes van for an extra 900$. I agreed to that and took the van with me. One day later I got an error message on the vehicle so I called Europcar and the lady told me to go find a Mercedes dealer and hopefully they can help me. I did that, lost half a day of the rental and they replaced a fuse on the van. One day later the same issue came up again and it turned the engine to emergency mode. It was Saturday and I wasn’t able to find another Mercedes dealer so I called Europcar. They told me they are looking for a replacement car but they will tow the van I had. They didn’t care that I had 7 family member with me. Some of them older than 60 years with medical conditions and they said they’re only responsible for the driver.
After 3 hours the company showed up who towed the van away and we were stranded there in the middle of nowhere. Another hour later I received a call from a lady that said she has another van at the airport Stuttgart which was about 1.5 hours drive away but she couldn’t promise me I would get that van. So I called the agency directly myself and they told me there is no way I would get that car. So after me calling back and forth between different Europcar numbers I was told I can go get the van. So I had to take a taxi to get to the airport. Luckily I was able to get the van and pick up the rest of my family that night but I effectively lost 1.5 days of my time dealing with that. The only offer Europcar made was a 50€ voucher towards my next rental. No apologies for the inconvenience. I had nothing.
Reviewed July 23, 2026
Don’t ever rent from this company. We reserved a car from Canada for Italy for 14 days. When we got at the counter they used the excuse about using a Canadian driver's licence to which was a lie since we inquired prior to leaving Canada. They gave our car away to someone else charging them more money. Then we were forced to go to Avis where driving licence wasn’t an issue but was charged 3 times more money. It is a shame that they take such advantage of tourists. This company is not reliable, rude, and overall a horrible car rental service. I will never rent a car from them.

Reviewed July 19, 2026
After being forced to pay an additional €230 for extended insurance/coverage, due to having only a debit card for the deposit/hold, we were handed a car with 79.000 km mileage on it; fully shot suspension. Awful, unhelpful staff + terrible car + hidden fees (and dubious at that; ad hoc reduced from €360 to €230 midway) = avoid.
Reviewed July 11, 2026
When I arrived at the rental location the small hybrid I reserved was not available so I was bussed off site. There I was given keys to a large, dirty and damaged SUV. 3 days later, when turning off a one way street into a parking lot and driving about 10 km/hour, a tire came off the its rim. If it had happened anywhere else, to a less careful driver, in this county of narrow, twisty roads, high hedges and rock walls, there would have been mayhem and possibly loss of life. Europcar charged me to have the vehicle towed 80 km from the incident and 95 km from home. I then had to transport myself back. The ordeal took 8 hours. I was not compensated for my trauma, time, meals or fuel. It was an incredibly awful experience.

Reviewed July 9, 2026
Extremely disappointing experience. I rented a JEEP Avenger and during my rental the vehicle suffered a complete electronic failure. The dashboard, infotainment system, and all displays went completely black, making the car unsafe and unfit for use, especially as I was travelling to the airport. I tried calling customer service immediately, but the office was closed and no assistance was available. I was forced to arrange alternative transport at my own expense. Since then, I have sent multiple emails, including a formal complaint with photos and videos showing the fault. Weeks later, I have still not received a meaningful response or a refund.
Instead, I received an invoice for additional charges, which I have disputed, but that has also been ignored. What has disappointed me most is not only the fault with the vehicle but the complete lack of communication and customer service afterwards. Ignoring a customer's complaint while continuing to issue charges is unacceptable. I hope Europcar will finally investigate this matter and resolve it fairly, but based on my experience, I cannot recommend this company.

Reviewed July 6, 2026
I had a TERRIBLE overall experience with Europcar in Germany. I arrived at the pickup location in Trier, Germany (run by Michael **, according to the rental contract) on a very warm afternoon, 18 June 2026. I had reserved a "Standard Estate (Skoda Superb or similar)" car through Booking.com, had already paid $517 for the rental plus an additional $72 for insurance). I was expecting to pay an additional $127 or so on pickup for a one-way rental and an additional driver. On arrival, I was told that they did not have a Skoda available but they DID have a BYD for only a small upgrade fee. (Yes, the counter agent told me it was a BYD, a Chinese made car.) I asked for clarification and was shown a screen that seemed to indicate a total charge of approximately $1100. This was much more than expected, but it was hot, I was tired, and we needed to get on the road. So, foolishly, I signed on the signature pad which did NOT show the entire contract.
On going outside to get the car, I discovered that the car was, in fact, NOT a BYD but a BMW. Yes, a very nice car indeed. We drove the car about 950Km across Germany and dropped off the car in Dresden 5 days later, as contracted. There were NO damages to the car. I later discovered that Europcar charged my credit card an additional $1232.47 for the rental. There was no indication of the $517 already paid to Booking.com.
After pointing this out to booking.com (rentalcars.com), they ran me through their maze of forms and requests, each time (5x) assigning a different agent as the one who would see that I was taken care of. They claimed to be unable to help and were unwilling to assist further, even though it was clear that I was swindled. I take responsibility for not taking the time and scrutiny of the rental contract on acceptance of the vehicle. I am used to a culture where the service provider is truly trying to provide quality and honest service to their clients. This is not the case with Europcar and, it seems, with booking.com. Stay away!

Reviewed July 2, 2026
Thieves. Liars in Portugal. Run away. They double the contract price and overcharge hidden fees. So corrupt. Thieves. VERY BAD COMPANY. EVIL AGENTS AT ALL LEVELS OF EUROCAR EUROPE. PORTUGAL WORSE..

Reviewed July 2, 2026
Do not rent from Europcar - specifically the Chur Switzerland Office. We had an absolutely horrible experience. We got a flat tire on a Saturday. There was no spare tire. No repair kit. Customer service closed. Roadside assistance number doesn't work for US phones. Totally stranded with all of our kids in the middle of nowhere. We found a local company and paid 250CHF out of pocket to patch the tire. When we returned the car Europcar told us to send an email. So we did and they responded by promising us a refund on the tire repair. We just had to send our banking details. So we did. Then they emailed and said actually no we aren't going to refund you. This is horrible customer service!
Go ahead and rent from this company if you want to be endangered by being stranded without help from them. And to top it all off they refuse to take responsibility for their actions. Not providing a car with either a spare tire or a repair kit and no reliable customer service contact information is dangerous. And going back on what they promised in writing is just bad business. This specifically happened the Chur location but the refund process was handled by their customer service division. Do not trust this company.
Reviewed June 23, 2026
I rented a car from Europcar in France and later encountered a damage charge that required insurance resolution. Customer service communication was slow, inconsistent, and difficult to work with. It required repeated follow-ups over a long period just to obtain basic documentation needed for the insurance claim. There was also a lack of clear photographic evidence of the vehicle condition at the time of rental and return, which made it difficult to verify how and when the reported damage occurred. Although Europcar eventually provided the required documents and the insurance claim was successfully reimbursed, the overall process was unnecessarily prolonged and frustrating due to poor communication and incomplete initial documentation.

Reviewed June 15, 2026
I was going through my bank statements today and found a random charge from Europcar for $645.92. I called immediately, and engaged in one of the most frustrating calls in my life. All the responder could tell me was that it was a cleaning fee. Later (literally an hour) she was able to tell me that she would need to process $250.00 from me to have the $645.92 returned to my account. It was the only option provided. When I asked to have some sort of explanation or summary of how the cleaning fee was assessed, or any details to support this type of fee, they could not provide anything other than 'I am sorry ma'am, this is all I know'. Later I was told there was a 'sensor glitch'. When I asked if I could get an email outlining the charges, I was also told that was not possible. I am beyond frustrated and will never use this agency again.
Reviewed June 15, 2026
I rented a vehicle from Europcar in Naples, Italy. When we arrived, they did not have size car I reserved with an automatic transmission. I was told, to get a vehicle with an automatic transmission, they would have to upgrade me. When I returned the car, they charged me 180 Euros for the upgrade that was their fault, not mine. When I called customer service to request a refund of the upgrade charge, they said they would not refund the charge because I signed the rental agreement. Not sure how I'm expected to pay for an upgrade when they couldn't provide the car type I reserved.

Reviewed June 6, 2026
These are disgusting liars and scammers! I booked a car for $137, and that was the "total price". At the counter, they refused to give me the car until I bought insurance for extra $230!! And, oh yes - "you can cancel reservation with a $91 penalty". Thank you very much! Car rental in Inverness. Jun 6, 2026 - Jun 16, 2026. Confirmation: #**.

Reviewed May 30, 2026
I would like to share my experience with Europcar and formally express my disappointment regarding two separate vehicle rentals that raised serious concerns about customer service, vehicle quality, and safety. My first experience took place in Italy. The customer service was poor from the beginning. Staff members were not welcoming or helpful, and when I raised concerns about the condition of the vehicle, I felt that my feedback was dismissed. The cars appeared old and poorly maintained, and the representatives showed little interest in assisting customers or finding reasonable solutions.
My second experience occurred in Mykonos, Greece, and was significantly more concerning. I was provided with a very old vehicle that had approximately 45,000 kilometers on it. While driving up a steep mountain road, the car suddenly lost power and was unable to continue climbing. This created a dangerous situation because I was near a cliff edge with other vehicles behind me, and the car began rolling backward due to the lack of engine power. To avoid an accident, I had to stop the vehicle, turn off the engine, restart it, wait several moments, and turn off the air conditioning so the car could generate enough power to continue the climb.
I immediately reported this serious safety issue to Europcar. Rather than addressing the concern appropriately or showing concern for the risk involved, I was simply told that I could return the vehicle and pay for a more expensive replacement. I found this response unacceptable, especially given that the issue involved vehicle performance and customer safety rather than a preference for a different car category.
Based on these experiences, I cannot recommend Europcar. The combination of outdated vehicles, poor customer service, lack of customer support, and inadequate response to a potentially dangerous mechanical issue has significantly affected my confidence in the company. I hope Europcar reviews these concerns seriously and takes steps to improve both its fleet quality and customer service standards. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response.
Warm regards,
Maria **
Reviewed May 16, 2026
Not sure where to start? This is a shady business, no clear policy outlines, do things in rush, so you sign a standard agreement. We were tourists from USA so not familiar with UK, especially London driving, parking signs etc. After car is returned, we start receiving fines ranging from $3.5 for parking violation to $90 for a tunnel passage payment.
Europcar sent admin fees of GBP 140, while the fine/penalties combined around GBP 100. I requested that this administrative fee is excessive and that they never forwarded the fines to me and I would have been happy to pay them directly. Despite requesting a waiver of complete or at least partial refund, they did not budge and in fact, threatened to forward the admin fees to solicitors and place us on their watch list. We ended up paying GBP 140 in admin fees and close to GBP 100 for fines. This is a company with predatory practices, high hidden charges/admin fees and the worst customer care experience I have had with any rental company, and that means a lot since I travel quite frequently. Will never give them my business again!

Reviewed May 11, 2026
Booked a rental through Expedia. Total for four days $96.55. Picked up the car at an off airport location. Attendant told me there are MANDATORY FEES but offered NO BREAKDOWN. Final amount $313.79. Unconscionable. BUYER BEWARE. Bait and switch in action.
Reviewed May 1, 2026
Rented a car at Las Americas airport in Dominican Republic from Europcar. I told them I wanted only liability insurance at $10 a day. The car was full of gas. After keeping the car for 32 days I returned it full of gas. They charged me $720 for comprehensive insurance that I declined. They charged me for a tank of gas. They took the gas off but refused to budge on the insurance. I asked for a manager and was told one was not on site. I contested this to American Express. When the bill came to American Express the gas was added back on. American Express was no help. Cancel the $895 dollar a year card and get a better card at no fee. Never never rent a car from Europcar and don’t expect American Express to help you. I have been with American Express for 43 years. No mas.
Reviewed April 29, 2026
Very dissatisfied with car pickup at Heathrow. Bait and switch type experience. Aggressive upselling and inconsistent price offers. Will not use Europcar again.

Reviewed April 27, 2026
Reserved a Car from Heathrow, in London last Mar 25, we picked the car up on 30 May; at pick up the car was too small, so we were able to get a larger car. The Agent said it would be additional $818.00 at time of drop off. We returned the car on 17 Jun, full of fuel. We paid the additional $818. Jump to Aug 4, they tried to charge me $1602.00. Europcar claimed there was a Clerical Error with the 3rd Party (Priceline). Navy Fed agreed with me that the charge was Fraudulent and reverse the charges, however it's been 8 Months and this still isn't resolved. I've wrote and called Europcar to resolve the issue but the ONLY response I get is "you owe us £634.77". I have tried reasoning with them and offered to pay the difference. I initially paid $647.41 when I reserved the car, then I paid $818 at drop off. I am will to pay the $137.00 difference to get the total $1,602. I feel harassed.

Reviewed March 28, 2026
Using a rental car from Europcar in Barcelona was one of the most stressful and unenjoyable days of my life. To begin with, when I reserved the car I paid a higher price to get a Europcar Comfort Plus package which was supposed to provide us with an electric vehicle that had a range up to 410 km. However, upon arrival at the Barcelona Poblenou-Sant Marti office the young man said that in order to get an electric vehicle with a high range we needed to pay 20 EUR more. We told him where we were going and that it was a 140 km drive one-way and he assured us multiple times that we would not have to charge the vehicle.
Once on the road, I noticed the battery was only 80% charged and according to how many kilometers remained on the battery we certainly would need to charge the car in order to make it back to Barcelona. We also had to be back at the office before 7 pm because at this office we could not drop the cars and keys off after hours. We had no place to park the car at our hotel so we were locked into the 7 pm return. We decided to drive to our destination and worry about recharging the vehicle on our way back. This should have been no problem except that the first eight, yes, eight, charging we stations we tried there were issues. Some were broken, some were only for Teslas and some required an app that we did not have. It was a nightmare as were found ourselves running out of charge and time.
Along the way we tried multiple times to call Europcar for help but only got a phone tree. When we called the emergency number the man who we spoke to just rudely asked if we needed a tow truck and if we didn’t he couldn’t help us. We felt completely unsupported by Europcar. Thankfully, people all along our way had tried to help us and finally, when we were down to 5% charge, we found a charger at a hotel that worked. By this time it was already 7 pm – and we had given ourselves three hours for what we expected to be an hour and half drive back to Barcelona. The only helpful thing the tow truck driver mentioned was that we might be able to return the car to the airport, which is what we eventually did since we had no place to park the car otherwise. For this we were charged another 15 EUR.
When we returned the car the three people at the desk were very understanding and nice and even said to us “driving an electric car in Spain is very stressful because Spain is not set up for it.” This is NOT what the young man at the beginning of our journey said. He did not in any way indicate that we may have trouble finding some place to charge the car, in fact, he said many times we did not have to worry about charging it at all. This did not prepare us for what we encountered. Had we been given fair warning we would have planned our day much differently.
I hold Europcar responsible for not giving us all of the information we needed to drive an electric car in a country we were not familiar with. When I reached out to Europcar with this story and asking for a 35 EUR refund for the extra charges we thought they should be responsible for they only emailed me a copy of the contract I signed and said that I authorized these charges.
Reviewed March 23, 2026
On Feb 23, I reserved a car and the total came to USD 585.45. When I arrived to pick up the car, I was asked to provide the credit card used to make the reservation. I told the attendant that I had used a virtual credit card. She said that she would have to refund the virtual card and charge me the same amount on a physical card. Afterwards, I realized that I had been overcharged. The final amount I was charged after returning the car is USD 833.99. While we still had the car, I tried calling customer service but they said that since we still had the car, they couldn't help until there was a final invoice. When I returned the car, they said they couldn't help because I had to contact customer service via email. I emailed the email address that they sent me and the email bounced back. I filled out the contact form on their website a week ago and have not heard anything since.
Reviewed March 22, 2026
CLASSIC BAIT AND SWITCH! My rental through Europcar was fully prepaid via a voucher issued by the rental agent, AutoEurope. When I arrived at my destination in Rome, Europcar failed to provide the contracted vehicle. The car I was first assigned did not have the requested GPS. When I inquired, the desk agent dismissively told me to "just use your phone," which was not an acceptable solution due to international roaming charges. After insisting on a car with GPS, I was directed to a second vehicle. This car was in appalling condition, with pages of pre-existing damage, including a detached bumper and a smashed passenger door.
I refused to accept a severely damaged and unsafe car, the desk agent tore up the original rental agreement and said he would upgrade me to a better vehicle. The agent never discussed that there would be an additional charge for the upgrade. I only accepted this upgrade because the two prior vehicles Europcar attempted to provide were either not as contracted (no GPS) or were unsafe to drive. When I returned home, I saw that my credit card was charged an additional $763.87 - almost as much as the original prepaid voucher. I argued that this charge was entirely unjustified as it resulted from Europcar's failure to fulfill the original booking. They have refused to even consider accommodating my request for a refund.
Reviewed March 12, 2026
Terrible company. Had to wait hours to get a car I prepaid for. Missed my speaking event and to add they charged me fees for nothing. This company is trash and never again will I use them. I rented out of ATL. I am mad.
Reviewed Feb. 14, 2026
I rented in Central America both Mexico and Panama who is managed by Europcar Mexico. In the past I had good service and honesty from Europcar in Europe. This is not the case now however, I can testify that you will face phony come-ons, low prices, refusals to accept your valid insurance and lies, etc. when you rent with Europcar in Central America. I believe that Europcar Mexico may be to blame, They have been getting away with these tactics for a while now. They advertise low prices and third party insurance that will not be accepted. Plan to pay about triple or more whatever the rental fee advertised on many platforms is. And don't be fooled by unrealistic come-ons like $1/ day rentals.
In addition, they will charge an extra day for a few extra hours past any 24 hour period, regardless of when you pick cup and return the vehicle. So, if your plane is late, and you have made a reservation online expecting to work this out at the airport rental counter, don't trust it. First of all they commonly advertise an on airport rental counter, but my experience was there was none. I was not even met when the plane got there late. Luckily, one of the people at the satellite office of another car company that was at the Airport, called the rental company in town 6 miles away and they were still open so I was picked up and taken to the downtown office with 10 mins. to closing time.
The person in charge did not speak English and the communication was difficult, but the outcome was that the reservation was no good and I could not get the car with it. I was stuck after hours in a strange city in and industrial area. I requested that a new reservation be made and I would cancel the old one. But, to my later surprise, a new reservation was not made, just the old one modified, which resulted in an extra days rental charged on a "new" reservation (same as the old one) at 3 times the advertised price. Any attempt to get them to honor their mistake has not been successful.

Reviewed Feb. 14, 2026
Whatever you do, STAY AWAY FROM EUROPCAR. I rental a vehicle through Expedia, which I paid $191.09 CDN for the vehicle. When I arrived at the counter, the employee working there took my booking confirmation and told me I had only two cars to choose from, (MIND YOU, both of these options ended up being classified as upgrades, even though I was told from the employee that Expedia would cover the difference.). Then I paid for the insurance, being from a different continent, it felt right getting insurance, however I ended up paying a higher amount because of this 'upgraded' vehicle. THEN the part they don't talk to you about, the 19% PR Station Charge. What is it you ask? Well, I didn't know either until 1 week after I dropped off my rental. It is a mandatory charge of 19% which they bill you on anything you get, the vehicle, insurance, extra fuel, fees.
When I tried to reach out while I had the rental, they hung up on me 3 times while I was on hold, very classy move there. Upon dropping of my car, I received the day after. I was charged for 15 liters of fuel, which mind you I filled up at the gas station which THE EMPLOYEE told me to fill up at, so another 28 GBP was charged on top of the 19% fee and 20% tax. I've tried to talk with Expedia and europcar to get this settled but I've basically been told to kick sand and I won't be getting a dime back. So in total, my original $191.07 CDN I paid, ended up costing me an ADDITIONAL $1,261.07 Canadian plus another 85.46 GBP for the deposit, let's just call it $1,400 to be safe. So thank you Europcar, and Simon, thank you for not explaining anything clearly and I hope whatever commission you made off 'upgrading' me was worth it to you.

Reviewed Feb. 4, 2026
I rented a car in January at the Paris airport for 2 days and they charged me a $400 deposit. When I got back to Canada after 5 days, I followed up my deposit. Agent told me they wouldn't give it back until I paid 402 euro because I was smoking inside the car. I said, "How can I smoke inside when I’ve never smoke." Then He said, he would talk to his manager first. When he got back to me, he said he would only charge you 200 euro because I didn't clean the car. Fellow Canadian please don’t ever rent a car in this company. They’re lots of hidden charges. You imagine they’ll charge you 200 euro because you didn’t clean their car. They are scammers. Never again!

Reviewed Feb. 3, 2026
Fraudulent charges from the car rental. Rent elsewhere. After declining insurance, they ask you to initial the screen to decline - which actually tricks you into signing up for it. The comp said it was because we did not provide the required paperwork which they did not request. Don't book Europcar in Puerto Rico!

Reviewed Feb. 2, 2026
CONSUMER BEWARE! I rented a car at DWF airport and within minutes of leaving the airport, the seatbelt sensor kept beeping. I immediately called the roadside service number to report it. She asked if I could turn around and go back to the airport to exchange. I explained that my daughter and grandson were in the hospital and I did not have time to turn around. She stated she made a note and that I need to see the manager for a credit upon return. I returned the car a week later on 01/18/26 (listened to that annoying beeping for an entire week) and the gentleman that checked my car in apologized because he was told that issue had been fixed. He directed me to the manager, Scott for a credit.
I met with Scott and he said I would have a $50 credit on my card and I will receive an email. Never received email so I called the next day, spoke to Maria who actually said, I will be receiving a $100 credit and I will see it in 2-5 days. I called Europcar today, 02/02/26, spoke to Brian and he said there are no notes and I can't get a credit. I can't do business with a company that does not have integrity!
Reviewed Jan. 11, 2026
I don't normally leave negative reviews, but this company deserves it. I had the same negative experience as many of other customers with unintentional up selling and overcharges. I initially made a reservation for a car rental on Travelocity at Europcar, before traveling to England for 6 days. I paid in full before arriving at the pick-up location. When talking to the cashier I was told the car I reserved wasn't available and they could "upgrade" me to a different car for a "small" upcharge. After being shown what the new price was, I specifically asked if the amount I had already paid would be applied to the final invoice and was told a definite YES.
When returning the car and looking at the final invoice, I again asked that different agent if my prepaid amount will be applied and was told yes again. Once I returned to the U.S. and got the email with the final invoice, the prepaid amount was nowhere to be seen. I contact Europcar directly and even send a return email with both paid receipts asking for a refund of the initial amount paid through Travelocity. I was then told to contact Travelocity and of course was then directed back to Europcar from there, since they were the ones that received both payments. After many, many emails back and forth with Europcar, I have yet to receive any kind of refund. This company is so deceptive it's unbelievable and would NOT recommend them.
Europcar Company Information
- Company Name:
- Europcar
- Website:
- www.europcar.com




