[Shamegz]

Originally Posted by MoonShot

1) License Book: I have a book license (License book and not a card) - It has Roman letters but looks very "third world". Would that cause any problems while renting a car?
2) The online vs. at the airport: We land in Frankfurt at 8 PM and if we are unable to find a ride, it would be a panic situation at hand.
2.a) Would you advise booking online?
2.b) If yes, any website where one can get a good deal.
2.c) If no, given that this is the October fest season, any risk you see?
3) Car company: There are many rental car companies. The price difference between them is mindblowing. Any car company that is most cost-effective?
4) Beware: Anything to watch out for while renting cars in Germany? (Hidden costs etc)

Thank you for your guidance.

With my limited experience I can share that :
In online process of long term rentals , you select the car , price and duration; but the process of collecting car will be in one of the center where :
Your booking might change based on availability of models.
The Insurances component(additional) will be explained and prices will be discussed.
Documents will be verified.
Basic rules of renting/driving will be explained
The vehicle will be examined and documented

So, you can keep exploring option in various apps like :
Sixt, Miles, Sharenow, Europacar , Hertz, etc
and visit one of the center and confirm the choice.

There is car Rental comparision site like https://mietwagen.check24.de/ to get the best deal !

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by MoonShot

1) License Book: I have a book license (License book and not a card) - It has Roman letters but looks very "third world". Would that cause any problems while renting a car?

As long as it’s in English, you are good to go. I have travelled to Europe on many occasions and have booked my rental only through Sixt. They have really amazing new cars, but I have different experiences with their offices at different airports for accepting licenses. Like in Paris, they accepted my Saudi DL(it was 90% arabic), in Rome they didn’t accept Saudi DL but Dubai DL (60% arabic), in Frankfurt they didn’t accept both Saudi and Dubai DL and I was surprised when they accepted Indian DL (all English) there, only when I was going to another rental counter at the airport for another booking which would accept my any of the above licenses. Since I have 3 DL’s I have never bothered to take IDP ever.

2) The online vs. at the airport: We land in Frankfurt at 8 PM and if we are unable to find a ride, it would be a panic situation at hand.
2.a) Would you advise booking online?
2.b) If yes, any website where one can get a good deal.
2.c) If no, given that this is the October fest season, any risk you see?

Preferably Book online in advance (Indian thought process). At times I have booked through Rentalcars.com with free cancellation but then later have changed to Sixt from their website. Since they have the tie-up with my organisation for some discount offers. I don’t think there’s any issue if you don’t want to book online, all major European airports have number of rental cars outlet right at the exit, you can choose one as per your choice, options are unlimited and you can get a much better deal while being there and jumping from one rental outlet to other. Just keep an eye on the insurance, that can be a deal breaker.

3) Car company: There are many rental car companies. The price difference between them is mindblowing. Any car company that is most cost-effective?

Sixt for me has been the best choice to select the cars from their stable. They have upgraded me on all occasions without being asked or a penny more.

4) Beware: Anything to watch out for while renting cars in Germany? (Hidden costs etc)

Insurance, most important thing and clean the car a bit before handing it back, else there’s a minimal euro charge for that.


Cheers

[MoonShot]

Thank you Shamegz and NomadSK for your responses. They were immensely helpful and gave me the confidence to take a self-drive approach in Germany.

Happy to convey that I was able to successfully complete the journey and hope to write a detailed travelogue in the next few days.

In case someone goes through this thread at a later point in time, penning down some of my experiences here for quick reference.

Originally Posted by Shamegz

There is car Rental comparision site like https://mietwagen.check24.de/ to get the best deal !

This website was super helpful and gave good insights into the prices on offer.

Originally Posted by NomadSK

As long as it’s in English, you are good to go. I have travelled to Europe on many occasions and have booked my rental only through Sixt. They have really amazing new cars, but I have different experiences with their offices at different airports for accepting licenses. Like in Paris, they accepted my Saudi DL(it was 90% arabic), in Rome they didn’t accept Saudi DL but Dubai DL (60% arabic), in Frankfurt they didn’t accept both Saudi and Dubai DL and I was surprised when they accepted Indian DL (all English) there, only when I was going to another rental counter at the airport for another booking which would accept my any of the above licenses. Since I have 3 DL’s I have never bothered to take IDP ever.



Insurance, most important thing and clean the car a bit before handing it back, else there’s a minimal euro charge for that.

The input on using any license with English helped. No one batted an eyelid as I showed them my book license. Also, the idea of cleaning the car a bit was a very good one. The car before me had to pay some money - while I spent 5 minutes cleaning the car which helped me breeze through the return process.

__________________________________

Penning down my experience for posterity:

• I decided to make my Germany trip a self-drive one only 1 month before the trip

• There were multiple roadblocks that popped up quickly - For one, my license was a book license and for another, the online version of this license was showing as expired in Parivahan (They had not digitized it properly)

• Multiple visits to the RTO in HSR Layout, Bangalore didn't help. My efforts to convert the license to a card format or an application to get an IDP bore fruit

• I was very skeptical whether the Germans would accept my license given that it looked archaic and probably fudged

• However, I sent emails to all popular car rental companies, attaching my license and also posting a German translation of my mail (I sent it after I got limited initial responses but a German translation email got me a response from almost all rental companies.

• Avis was the only company that said OK to my license - They have a pretty relaxed policy (Of the license to be in English) and that helped me. This led me to explore comparison websites like the one Shamegz suggested focusing only on Avis as a rental company.

• I rented a Seat Leon or similar and ended up with a Skoda Kamiq.

• Using YouTube and some websites, I did a crash course in German road signs and etiquette

• The process at the airport was fairly straightforward and the return was even better. I drove the car within speed limits and returned the car with a full tank of petrol and some quick cleaning.

Driving on Autobahn was an amazing experience and I would surely be back in Germany renting a faster car next time.

Thank you once again for your guidance and will get back to this thread with the link to my travelogue when I post it.