Car Hire in Nice, France?

Moyglish

Hi guys,

I'm looking to hire a car whilst on holidays in Nice, France, this is my first time hiring a car in France however, so I'm not too au fait with the car hire companies available in France.

Could anyone please recommend any reputable (and reasonable) car hire companies - or car hire websites that trawl through various companies to get the best quote that we could pick up and drop off again at Nice Airport?

Many Thanks

coylemj

What you get quoted and what you end up paying can be very different. I have used Hertz and Europcar in French airports (never hired from Nice) and both were very satisfactory in that they didn't give me the hard sell for extras at the airport so what I was quoted on the website at the time of booking was what I ended up paying and not a cent more. The cars were in excellent shape as well.

Hiring from the small guys can appear to be more attractive but there are plenty of horror stories of people being stung for dents and dinges afterwards, or they were given the hard sell and forced to buy insurance extras at the airport.

Can't remember if they supplied the breathalysers but you can buy them in Halfords, they're alongside the batteries at the checkout.

jt_dublin

Hi,

You could try http://www.arguscarhire.co.uk. I use them for most of my European car-hire.

Take a look at this post for some more information that I recently posted about them.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=89452426

Best of luck,
JT.

shrapnel222

www.travelsupermarket.com is also a good comparison website for car hire in france.

Happicamper

Any luck booking a car. I am also looking for one. One guy told us not to bother with the access to drive slow!! I'm looking at access but then its saying you are liable for the first 1000e.

Mr. Nice

Hi Guys. Local expert here. Depending on where you're staying, and for how long, there's no major need for a car whilst staying in Nice.
Parking is relatively expensive/difficult and public transport is very good. Day trips to Monaco, Italy and along the coast are easy by bus or train. Also, the city has a "Velo Bleu" system which is like Dublin Bikes.
If you're staying close to the coast, you can do without the hassle and expense of a car. Enjoy the sun and sea, have a few drinks and relax is a better policy.
Feel free to PM for more detailed advice.

Happicamper

Thanks Mr Nice, we are staying up in St Raphael area and will have three young kids so feel we need a car.

whitebriar

Try sixt.
Also try www.arguscarhire.com and use nce the code for the airport as your pick up.
Seen them there for around 20 a day depending on dates
We're there now and booked one for tomorrow.
very handy for daytrips to Antibes or monoco.
Busses or tram is fine for nice city though and the train up to Cannes or Monoco is cheap.You can get a multi stop day pass and explore.

Mr. Nice

@whitebriar, you should consider a day trip up to the ski areas while there's still snow on the mountains...
And the "Train des Pignes"/Chemin de Fer de Provence is back up and running again. The mediaeval town of Entrevaux is on that train line and is well worth a visit.

Moyglish

Thanks guys, got sorted with Golf (or similar) from Sixt - working out at about €16.50 per day so pretty happy with that.

There'll be one person with limited mobility and who isn't gone on public transport so we needed the car. We'll be staying outside of Nice so we should be ok with parking and we don't have to pay for parking where we are staying.

Would love some suggestions or recommendations of places to go see and what to do over there. We'll be there for 2 weeks so with the car gives us a good chance to travel and sight see - any places worth a visit?

Thinking of heading to Grasse for a day - any other day trips / sights worth a visit?

thanks for all the replies

Mr. Nice

Hi Moyglish. I work in the tourism business on the riviera. I don't want to break any rules, so if you want a link to our website and my contact details, just drop me a PM.

Moyglish

Sure thing, will do Mr. Nice, thanks!

ollaetta

Sorry for taking the thread slightly off topic but I was checking similar car hire options for another French airport and noticed something odd.

The price in dollars on, for example, Avis.com works out a lot cheaper than the Avis.ie euro price. I checked two other companies and found the same. Have to say it's strange that US customers would be getting better deals than European residents on rentals in Europe.

Haven't tried it yet but I wonder if there is any reason why I couldn't use the .com site to book the cheaper rate in dollars?

keithclancy

ollaetta wrote: »

Sorry for taking the thread slightly off topic but I was checking similar car hire options for another French airport and noticed something odd.

The price in dollars on, for example, Avis.com works out a lot cheaper than the Avis.ie euro price. I checked two other companies and found the same. Have to say it's strange that US customers would be getting better deals than European residents on rentals in Europe.

Haven't tried it yet but I wonder if there is any reason why I couldn't use the .com site to book the cheaper rate in dollars?

Their not, if you book with the US website the CDW isn't included.

When you get to the airport you get absolutely a$$raped in extra insurance costs.

Made the mistake myself once, booked through a US website and the insurance when I turned up was the same price as the rental cost.

PippaChic

I always use Ann Hamill in Mullingar for car hire anywhere in Europe. She will always try to get you the cheapest quote, though it's cheaper if you book around December/January before the holiday. Her quotes include collision damage waiver (she will warn you not to buy extra insurance when you collect your car).

She is straight-talking and no nonsense.

Thankfully I never had problems abroad, but my work colleague (who highly recommended her) did.<mod snip>

keithclancy

PippaChic wrote: »

I always use Ann Hamill in Mullingar for car hire anywhere in Europe. She will always try to get you the cheapest quote, though it's cheaper if you book around December/January before the holiday. Her quotes include collision damage waiver (she will warn you not to buy extra insurance when you collect your car).

She is straight-talking and no nonsense.

Thankfully I never had problems abroad, but my work colleague (who highly recommended her) did. <mod snip>

Her phone number is <mod snip>.

Ehhhh .... Could you not have given out the business website rather than her mobile number

http://www.hamills.com/

ollaetta

keithclancy wrote: »

Their not, if you book with the US website the CDW isn't included.

When you get to the airport you get absolutely a$$raped in extra insurance costs.

Made the mistake myself once, booked through a US website and the insurance when I turned up was the same price as the rental cost.

Thanks. It's good to know the reason so I'm glad I asked.

roundymac

I rented with Hertz at Nice airport a few years ago, found them excellent. Watch out for the taxis at the airport though, pure rip off merchants.

shrapnel222

roundymac wrote: »

I rented with Hertz at Nice airport a few years ago, found them excellent. Watch out for the taxis at the airport though, pure rip off merchants.

not just at the airport. Taxis in Nice are extortionate!!

Zascar

Hi OP, I'm also going to be in Nice for a week in June, and I did the same holiday a few years ago also. I booked with Hertz before and they are excellent but not always the cheapest. In the research I've done in the last few days the best quotes came from http://www.autoeurope.ie

People have said before that you can pay online and then get stung for taxes at the desk etc. I really don't want this happening. How can you avoid this?

Another tip I got was to use http://www.carhireexcess.ie/ and you can insure the excess on your car hire for about €20 a week.

Mr Nice I'd appreciate some advice I'll drop you a pm

Mr. Nice

For anybody who just needs transport from the airport to their accommodation, the bus is the best option for getting into the town.
For anybody travelling further afield, I recommend www.friend-in-france.com (I have no affiliation but know that they are reliable and good value).
A car is not necessary in Nice, and traffic and parking during summer can be a pain in the arse.

coylemj

Zascar wrote: »

In the research I've done in the last few days the best quotes came from http://www.autoeurope.ie

People have said before that you can pay online and then get stung for taxes at the desk etc. I really don't want this happening. How can you avoid this?

Can you not see the contradiction in those two statements? The reason you get stung for extras is precisely because you fall for the 'best' quote.

I've booked in the past few years with Europcar (Corsica) and Hertz (Rennes) and on both occasions I got no hard sell in the airport, they photocopied my passport and driving licence, swiped my credit card and handed me the keys.

My attitude is this: I've paid for my flights long ago and (usually) paid in advance for the accommodation so I really do not want any hassle with car hire when I arrive, that's why I book with the big boys knowing I'm not going to have my first day ruined by getting stung for hidden extras.

The lower the quote you get online, the more likely it is that you'll be forced to take 'optional' insurance in the airport or (extreme case) they will screw you over with a charge for accidental damage a couple of weeks after you get home.

Zascar

Ok fair enough - point taken.

Well anyway I was just booking my flight with Ryanair and in the car hire bit, through Hertz I got a "Fiat 500 or similar" for €115 for 8 days. That's a cracking price even if they do add on a few bits, so I just went with it. Massively cheaper than anyone else. I'll probably not get a fiat 500, more likely a Chevrolet Spark but that will do me fine!