Renting a car in Germany [What to look out for]
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- Опубліковано 17 лип 2024
- Learn the ins and outs of renting a car in Germany as a foreigner. We cover topics like the requirements, where to find the cheapest offers, what car rental insurance to get, and what to look out for in the handover and return of the cars.
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⏰ Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
00:50 - Requirements to rent a car
03:11 - Most popular car rental companies
04:25 - What to look out for during booking
06:22 - Car rental insurance
09:59 - What to look out for in the car handover
12:15 - Tips for the car return
12:58 - Our experience renting cars in Germany
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U guy's nailed it. I am a new comer here in Germany from a NON-EU country, and this was exactly what i am looking for. Sehr hilfreich. Danke 🙏
You always upload the right video at the right time😍😍😍
Thank you very much both of you! You guys make very useful videos 😊
Great and very informative video
Great information. I enjoyed this video. 😊❤
What a good timing!! I'm thinking on getting a rented one myself
Thanks! Great topic. Two things, ALWAYS check the car… cannot be overstated. For experience, I got a certificate from my home country supporting my years of experience and wrote to the companies to make a case. It has been well so far.
One hint for those that have less than one year in the German drivers license: apparently the short-term rentals like DB Flinkster does not apply this rule and you can drive right away, even booking the car for quite some time. Might be more expensive than regular renting, though you don’t have to pay for the fuel, it’s included.
Great video- I have rented to visit in Germany over the past 25+ years. Difference between USA vs Germany. In the US you an itinerary for 8 days, if you return the car earlier, will only be charged for the duration of the time you had the car. During my last visit to Germany, I had to leave after a day. The rental company Avi’s charged me for the entire duration of itinerary (9 days), and early drop off fee.
Great video!
One suggestion for a new video: types of car purchases. Here in Germany leasing options are more similar of what we call renting in Latinamerica but there is a bit more complicated with initial payments, some include insurance, others don’t, etc…
Anyone with less than one year on their German License, can together show the ADAC translation (or whichever translation they used for the license exchange in Fahrerlaubnisbehörde) along with German license to show 1+ years of experience. I have used this a lot of times until my German license was a year old.
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing and happy to hear that this worked for you! 😊
Same here, I am from Turkmenistan. I registered at Sharenow and stadteilauto companies where you can rent a car in hourly basis. At that time I had driver license for less than a year. When registering I provided them copy of my old driver license which was accepted.
Note that you can also get a document from the traffic office saying that your old driver license is replaced, which also may be accepted for 1+ experience.
Thanks Simple Germany! Another great video. What about long-term car rental? will you record a video for that?
There are some providers out there but their service is quite pricey. What do you have in mind when you say long term?
Great video. I was curious to know about “Miles” car rental. Don’t know about other cites but in Berlin it’s pretty popular.
Yes, it’s a different model for short term rides. For a weekend or longer rentals it can become quite expensive though.
Miles is a so-called car-sharing company, usually used for short-term rides within a city. It's currently available in 12 big cities in Germany. Their cars are typically used by people who don't own a car for shopping trips or for transporting large goods (they have vans).
Thanks for warning to check the car. Checking a car is time consuming, especially it is difficult at night. I take a picture of the car from all sides just in case. I hope when needed those photos will be helpful somehow.
So far I rented a car in hourly basis, maybe you could do video about it as well.
About my experience with hourly rating:
1. They are in more locations than daily rent cars. Very convenient!
2. You pay subscription price around 5-20 euros monthly
3. You can book time, but if you bring the car earlier you will still get charged. I dont know exactly but it is around half of the regular hourly price for the unused time.
4. If you cancel booking in less than 24 hours before booking start time then the same rule applies, they charge you. If cancel it +24 hours before booking starts then you dont pay fine.
5. If your booking time is 10:00 then you can open a car around 09:55 and use that time to check the car.
Thanks for sharing! Which service do you use for the hourly rental?
@@simplegermany I registered to ShareNow but never used it. Also there is a Stadtteilauto in my town which I use frequently because its stations are close to me. I guess there is company named Cambio in Dusseldorf which is partner of Stadtteilauto.
Also, just to note that renting a car in Germany, you're not able to choose what specific car you want to drive. It's defined as the same vehicle class, so whatever picture of the car model you see on the website, ot is not necessarily that you get the same car, but the same class. In other countries, ypu might be able to choose what exact car model you want to rent.
Very true - thanks for adding this info 😊
There may also restrictions about which cars you can take where. Back when I rented a car in Germany to go to Poland on a business trip, there was a specific information, that cars from Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen are not allowed to be taken there. So I had to get a Renault...
That was back in 2017, not sure if that is still the case.
Thanks for the informative video, excellent structure. 😊
Can you confirm if the Radio Tax has changed since today(July 01)?
No there have been no changes to the radio tax. The price remains 18,36 euros per month. There might be an increase next year.
You’re confusing this with something else. You’re referring to the change introduced from the TKModG
Hello Ladies, just wanted to drop you "Thanks"
Quick question, for the child seat. Is it 1050mm or 1500mm? Thanks in advance
It’s 1500mm so 1,50 m 😉
I booked a VW T-Roq from Sixt
and once I got an upgrade to Mercedes e class and the other time an Audi Q2
Waiting to get a BMW the next time😂
P.S. the VW was not available hence I got Lucky
Also I was able to use my German license before one year experience
It seems Sixt accepts ‘younger’ licenses since you are the second person saying so 😊 good to know!
I also book with SIXT and got upgraded or downgraded sometimes. Another reason i choose SIXT is because of some of the issues raised in the video, especially on checking for damage before drive, SIXT does this in a different way they have the damages already showing in their app and this makes it easy to confirm. Then on return you get to see your damages to the car once they have inspected it, this may take 1 - 2 days. Also they take new drivers so don't be scared while booking for new drivers.
With SIXT sth i would give as a tip for my case is booking early or going with a flex pricing this helps alot because the price hikes can be crazy at times. Their app is also a good addition to the process. Returning the car is also easy and the keybox drop off is automated, you get a notification via mail once you drop off the car, showing the time and your Receipt too.
If someone from family member gets driving license recently, is there anything i have to do with the insurance company that this person can drive my car?
Yes, double check whether your car insurance limits who can drive your car. You can usually define that during your purchase. For us for example, only Jen and I are allowed to drive our car, but my dad's car anyone is allowed to drive.
@@simplegermany thank you 😊
I got my German Drivers license in October last year but I was able to rent from Sixt in May. So? One year I doubt.
Where you able to just swap your license or did you have to take practical lessons and do the theoretical and practical exams?
@@simplegermany I gave in my original license before I even wrote my theory exams. So I did everything completely just as Germany does for new license applicants/ approvals
Oh interesting. I was not able to rent a car during my first year. It seems most rental companies don't follow the same rules 😅
@@simplegermany it’s possible. Also I heard that since I had an old license which showed that I have driven for more than 5 years in my home country, automatically I do not have probation of two years in Germany. I don’t know how true but yes I think I agree 80%. This was not stated in my license though.
@@simplegermanyit is possible, but firstly you have to transfer it into International Driving License. (only 6 first months in Germany)
Long story short - NEVER RENT A CAR IN GERMANY!
We would disagree - rent one when you need one and just be educated on how to go about it 😉
@@simplegermany i already did. But I found out a muchhh better solution. I would buy a cheap running car (something like an old VW Polo, Opel Corsa,..) including TÜV for less than 1k. I won't care abt miles limit, beat the hell out of it, not worrying abt scratches or my friends scratching the seats! Use it for a month or 2, then just list it and resell it. Money back!! Maximum loss would be 200-300 euros. Which is wayyyy less than renting a car, anddd hassle free!! Only note is to have ADAC membership just in case something goes wrong. Most of us do have it, even for bicycle road assistance, it's like 50Euros per year. Now how about that? 🤣
Great video- I have rented to visit in Germany over the past 25+ years. Difference between USA vs Germany. In the US you an itinerary for 8 days, if you return the car earlier, will only be charged for the duration of the time you had the car. During my last visit to Germany, I had to leave after a day. The rental company Avi’s charged me for the entire duration of itinerary (9 days), and early drop off fee.