Road trip in Germany | Is it better to drive your own or rental car?

If you decide to go on a road trip in Germany, then you need to think about how you will organise the trip, what type of transport you’ll drive. The best solution is to rent a car.

Firstly, a significant advantage is that you don’t have to face the wear and tear of your own car. Who knows what roads await you? Secondly, you can choose absolutely any car in the rental fleet, even the one you have been dreaming about for a long time. It’s like renting supercars in the fairy-tale emirates just by googling luxury rent a car Dubai. In Germany, you can also rent such legends as Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari and Lamborghini. Of course, supercars are not very convenient to travel with a bunch of luggage, but once in a lifetime a ride along the main roads of Germany is definitely worth it!

Thirdly, even if in the worst case scenario you get into an accident, the rental provider itself will deal with the car body repair, and not you personally. All expenses will be covered by insurance.

So, car rental is much better than traveling on your own iron horse. But what other nuances should be considered when renting a car in Germany?

What do you need for renting

  • Driver’s age. In different rental companies it may differ: 18, 21 or 25 years. Theoretically, you can rent a car from the age of 18, but if you are under 25, then be prepared for the fact that the rental company may charge an additional fee “for a young driver” of about 10-18 euros per day. When booking a car via the Internet, all these nuances must be indicated in the “Terms and Conditions” section. The maximum rental age is usually 75 years.
  • The minimum driving experience is 1 year for compact and economy class cars, for medium-sized and higher class cars – from 3 years.
  • Driver’s license. Usually, the terms and conditions state that, in addition to a regular driving license, it is necessary to have an International Driving Permit (IDP) for those who are not EU citizens. But in practice, most of the time, the usual national driver’s license with the last name and first name, duplicated in Latin letters, is enough.
  • Credit card for deposit blocking. The card must be registered, in the name of the main driver in the contract, with an embossed (raised) name and surname on the card. The card should not have the inscription Debet. 

Before booking, be sure to carefully read the “Terms and Conditions” section on the website, it describes in detail all the requirements, deposit amounts and franchise.

Please, note: When searching for a car and comparing prices, keep in mind that many sites on the Internet show prices without compulsory insurance. If you book such a car, then at checkout you will have to pay extra for compulsory insurance, the amount of which is usually commensurate with the amount of car rental without insurance.

Important nuances when renting a car in Germany

What you should pay attention to:

  1. Departure outside Germany. Most distributors require you to warn about leaving the country, sometimes a border crossing fee is set. Usually the amount depends on the rental period, but not more than 50 euros. The surcharge is taken due to the fact that standard insurance applies only to Germany, and the rental company may also incur overhead costs if something happens to the car abroad. 

Some of the travellers prefer to save money and not report the fact of leaving the country, because there are no borders inside the Schengen zone, and if everything is in order with the car, the rental company will not know about leaving the country. But in the event of an accident or breakdown of the car, problems can arise. Also, the distributor can find out about the fact of leaving Germany on a fine for speeding from another country. In general, to pay or not to pay is up to you. 

  1. Often, car rental companies set a daily mileage limit of 250 or 300 km. Then, after you return the car, they check the total mileage, and for excess they charge an additional fee of approximately 0.20 – 0.40 euros (depending on the rental company) for each additional kilometre. The mileage per day is calculated as the total mileage for the entire time divided by the number of days.

Germany is huge and very beautiful, so don’t waste your time: rent a car, fill up a full tank and enjoy the beauties!

Follow:
Share:

5 Comments

  1. March 24, 2024 / 7:54 pm

    I just checked your list of Blog Commenting Sites and found it unique. I’ll surely return to you for more tips and sites that help me. Thanks…….,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Sabbir recently posted…Mobil 1 VS Motul 300VMy Profile

  2. March 25, 2024 / 5:00 pm

    Very helpful! thank you for the Blog Commenting Sites list, it is very helpful, I was searching for some valuable links. Good work, and keep sharing your research and knowledge……. Thank you again……..
    Sabbir recently posted…GPS TRACKER FOR VEHICLEMy Profile

  3. May 5, 2024 / 12:57 pm

    Great Post! This post is very helpful. Thanks for sharing such an amazing post.

  4. May 20, 2024 / 7:11 am

    Very nice post ..Your article is good.

  5. August 9, 2024 / 8:57 am

    Great tips for renting a car in Germany! Renting allows you to enjoy a variety of vehicles and avoid wear and tear on your own car, plus handling issues like accidents is much simpler. Just remember to check the rental terms carefully! Also Booking a car is a common task. People should know how to choose the best black car service.
    Voyage Limousine recently posted…Ultimate Choosing the Best Black Car Service in PhiladelphiaMy Profile

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from Family Fever

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading