Europcar
Verified2,111 reviews
- Yes
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- No, I received a worse vehicle
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- No, I received a better vehicle
I booked and fully paid for 6 days rental with myself and my wife as drivers. We arrived at Cairns airport and were “upgraded” to a new Haval which was defective. We returned the car and were given a replacement car. The day after returning the car, I received a bunch of extra charges for an extra driver (myself) and extra random charges. Nobody… Read more
will discuss any of this. I will NEVER rent from these people again. Rude and dismissive customer “service” and dishonest billing practices.
My experience rates a minus 5 at best! When an issue arose with the vehicle I hired, meaning assistance was required, no effort at all was made by Eurocar to come up with a solution that considered my best interests as the customer - The experience left me in no doubt at all that Europcar run on the premise that the customer's best interests sit… Read more
low on their list of priorities, and so what if things are made more difficult for the customer! I reported the issue with the 2023 Subaru Forrester (i.e. when using the lock button on the remote, some doors locked, others didn't, which always meant that some doors remained unlocked - fortunately, although I hadn't originally realised this, no thefts had occurred when I had possessions in the vehicle). I became really sick and tired of having to check all locks every time before leaving the vehicle unattended, so I deemed it easier to just lock all 4 doors manually, and this is still the case. To set the scene, while the Europcar vehicle hire desk is in the terminal, the Europcar vehicles are located the furthest of any of the companies vehicles from the terminal, so beware if you have to tow large bags to collect your Europcar hire vehicle. I felt they should have provided a water bottle and a cut lunch to ensure vehicle hirers make the journey safely when carrying luggage on a hot summer day in the NorthernTerritory. Now in my my 75th year on the planet, and thankfully still relatively fit, I nevertheless was very glad the one way walk carrying luggage was over by the time I reached the location to collect the hired vehicle after my long flight from Brisbane. The initial procedure specified by Europcar for swapping out the vehicle (after I had already put up with the fault for 5 days) was to send a toe truck to collect the vehicle. This would mean that I would have to go and collect the replacement vehicle out in the back blocks of the hire vehicles location - meaning a stop at the terminal along the way to collect keys - not sure how they expected me to get there with no vehicle! I asked that they simply bring the exchange vehicle to me, and collect the problem vehicle to be taken for repair, so that another poor unsuspecting customer does not end up with this problem on his or her hands i.e. a Subaru Forrester with a faulty door locking mechanism. Europcar staff specified the alternate procedure required for me to exchange the vehicle was for me to drive the vehicle to their lot. NOTE - The call ended up at one hour long with a lot of time on hold because of numerous switches through to multiple different call centre staff!!!!! Necessary steps for the return procedure outlined by Europcar - 1. Fill tank with fuel 2. Wash vehicle so that I would not be hit with a cleaning fee for the faulty vehicle 3. Park in the distant Europcar section 4. Walk back to Eurocar in the terminal to return keys, etc. (a fair hike on a hot day in the Northern Territory - also rain predicted). 5. Collect replacement vehicle keys 6. Another long hike back to collect the replacement vehicle at the furtherest end of all vehicles in the hire car lot. 7. Continue my holiday with family in Darwin after all the time wasted thanks to Europcar's complete lack of any real customer assistance. 8. Catch up on outings already planned but postponed due to Europcar's inability to supply a trouble free vehicle. 9. Wash the replacement vehicle so that I would not be hit with a second cleaning fee 10. Fill the tank of the exchange vehicle before catching my return flight to Brisbane 11. An additional problem also existed. Irrespective of whether I used the remote to lock the vehicle or manually locked all 4 doors, as I walked away from the vehicle with the remote in my hand, doors unlocked. To prevent this from occurring, I had to take a hike across the sizeable car park area to the unit block, up 3 levels (6 x 7 step half flights of stairs plus landings), leave the remote in the unit, then back down to the car and manually lock all doors again. This is not something that any customer should have to experience. In my case, because I had already wasted so much of my holiday time, I decided to put up with the faulty vehicle rather than waste the remaining time I had to catch up with my family in Darwin.
Very disappointing experience. On day 1, a “loss of tyre pressure” warning appeared and I had to refill the tyre every 2 days despite reporting it with photo evidence. I returned the car with MORE fuel than received (480km → 520km range), yet I was still wrongly charged $30 for fuel. My deposit has also not been refunded after 7 days. Unhelpful and unprofessional staff. I have photo evidence for everything. I do not recommend this location. Show details
Reviews with attachments
Hidden charges – We booked MG MG3 but then gave us KIA SPORTAGE without being asked. Forced me to top up more. The car was dirty upon pick up and inappropriate baby seat for my daughter. Show details
1st Feb 2026 had a car booked through booking.Com for pickup in Darwin Downtown. Arrived ar 11am and the branch was closed. Phoned +61 8 8941 0300 to be connected to the Darwin Airport branch. Was told to go to the airport as the person at downtown was not available. I had to uber to the airport and they will reimburse. When I arrived there was no… Read more
one at the front desk and had to call a number on display for them to assist. The lady arrived, apologised and blamed booking.com for the mess.
She proceeded to confirm a $200 deposit and $300 insurance, which I agreed upon, but then wanted to charge an additional $277 for admin fees and the fact that I am now picking up a car at the airport and not downtown Darwin anymore.I refused to pay that and was then said if I want to cancel I need to take it up with booking.com
It was my first and would be my last experience with them. It left me scrambling to book another car but Avis and East Coast car rental sure made me feel welcome.
We were fined incorrectly by Brisbane council and we have evidence but Europcar does not care that the customer didn't do anything wrong. They charged us $55 for transferring the fine to our name without investigating as it was written in their fine prints (hidden among 1000 words) of their rental agreement that it will incurr an admin fee of $55… Read more
if we get a fine irrelevant if we are at fault.This is not fair and poor customer experience. Very disappointed with the company for not allowing the customer to get refunded if they are not at fault.
Very disappointing and uncomfortable experience. I asked about full cover insurance and was quoted around $80 per day, which I found excessive. I explained calmly that with Hertz, I have previously paid the excess-reduction fee for only the first 2–3 days, after which the rental continued with zero excess for the remainder of the booking without… Read more
further charges. Instead of explaining their policy professionally, the staff member became angry and dismissive, repeatedly saying, “We are Europcar, not other companies.”
The car had many scratches, yet I was told Europcar does not provide photos or written confirmation of vehicle condition. The car was also not clean, despite warnings about cleaning fees.
The staff member repeatedly called me “darling.” When I asked him to stop, he made an inappropriate comment about me not being born or raised in Australia that why I do not like to be called darling. This was offensive and unprofessional. Then I contacted my insurance company to check with them about this hire car company and I figured out he gave wrong info about the amount of the excess I need to pay if I evolve in any accident.
Lack of transparency, poor customer service, and unacceptable behaviour. I would not recommend this location.
- +1
BUYER BEWARE They have your credit card details, seems from all the reviews they have a policy of fallacious charges post contract. In my case they applied 3 x outrageous charges. 1: Abandoning vehicle. When the VW people mover was too high to go to designated underground return location, the office advised us to find a nearby street location,… Read more
obtain parking ticket, provide details of location. We did all this, found a parking spot which was closer than their designated carpark, dropped keys off with photos of parked car, address, 3-hour parking ticket (photos attached). Boom!!!!! Euro135 Abandonment Fee!! After returning keys, having followed their instructions, how is car abandoned???? 2: Cleaning Car: Euro125!! Have hired hundreds of cars - NEVER been charged for cleaning. Had the car for 3 days, was same condition as when we picked it up. 3: Out-of-hours drop off fee: Euro 35. Wow!! Drop off recorded as 10 am on a Wednesday, to an office with 2 staff.
Car did not have any maps or navigation built in and would not reliably connect to phones so there was almost no on board navigation. We got a flat back tyre and found that both back tyres were illegal (see photos) Show details
I want to share my experience to warn other customers about potential issues in Europcar’s damage claims process. After returning a rental vehicle, Europcar notified me that I was liable for tyre damage. I asked for evidence, and they relied on the tyre pressure monitoring (TPMS) alert and a post-return inspection of the tyre as sufficient to hold… Read more
me responsible. I argued this was insufficient, as customers cannot reasonably inspect the inner walls of tyres. If Europcar wants to make claims for tyres, they should take pre- and post-rental photos to fairly attribute liability. (A photo marking the alleged tyre damage in pink was provided by Europcar.)
I escalated to their IDR team, who initially stated: “After a full review of your claim, our final decision is that the charge will stand and no further dispute will be entertained. This matter is now closed within Europcar.” I was issued an invoice but asked them to hold off on payment as I had escalated the matter to AFIA as a neutral third party.
A few days later, Europcar HQ retracted their claim and confirmed I was not liable. However, to this day they have not explained why I was initially deemed responsible or what led to the reversal, despite my requests.
I have serious concerns about the logic of their claims process. Photos of the alleged tyre damage were taken more than 24 hours after the vehicle was returned, and no inspection was conducted with me at the time of return, even though their policy states it should be. There was no evidence that the tyre was not damaged prior to my use, nor any mechanical report showing that the TPMS warning resulted from this alleged damage.
It is not right for customers to be at the mercy of Europcar’s claims department, constantly going back and forth while they decide liability. Using a neutral third party such as AFIA is helpful in providing oversight and ensuring fairness.
This experience caused significant stress and required considerable time and effort to resolve. Based on my experience, I would caution customers to be careful when using Europcar’s services and to engage a neutral third party like AFIA if a claim is made against you to ensure fairness.
Prepaid 6 months in advance for a Merc GLC class of vehicle to be pick up from their Heathrow airport location, prior to arriving I was receiving messages confirming my booking so assume it was ok. When I arrived they didn't have any of that class let alone any of the brands that they show on the website. Then pressured me into a higher spec… Read more
vehicle at a higher cost !!. Had the vehicle for 3 weeks and returned it a day early to Manchester airport, there was a small 1mm diameter nail in a tyre with 6mm of tread, no loss of pressure. Their contractor deemed it unrepairable and they invoiced me over $300 for a replacement tyre. I won't be using any Europcar locations again, never had this problem with Avis or Budget.
I was charged over $2,500 by Europcar Australia for a windscreen replacement due to a minor stone chip incurred during my rental. Based on photographs taken at return, the damage appeared small and likely repairable. The replacement was not carried out until three weeks later, raising questions about whether the vehicle remained in use and… Read more
whether further damage occurred in that time. The supporting invoice provided was undated, and no technical assessment was shared to justify that replacement was necessary over repair.
My requests for clarification were dismissed, and the dispute was closed without addressing these concerns. I believe the handling of this matter lacked transparency and proportionality.
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We had a terrible experience with Europcar, and I wouldn’t use or recommend them. Our car broke down, and we were forced to hire a rental car through our roadside assistance, RACQ. and we had no say it was Europcar for the rental during the period. We were promised a washed and clean car to pick up from Darwin Airport, but when we arrived, it was… Read more
disgustingly dirty. It looked like the car had been driven off-road, with red dirt all over it. When we returned to the Europcar desk at the airport to complain, the attendant had already left for the day. It was only 1 pm. We took photos of the car’s condition before leaving the parking lot. We were advised that the rental car return was to be at the Darwin office on Mitchell Street, in the carpark above a shopping centre. However, when we returned the car at 1:45 pm, the office was closed. We couldn’t complain about the car’s condition because the office wasn’t open. The next day, Europcar did an inspection of the car at 10 am, which was 20 hours later. The inspector accused us of a lot of damage to the rental vehicle, Including a supposedly chipped windscreen which was not there when we returned the car the previous day, we had photos of the other damage and sent them back for proof. Europcar Rental then charged us for a new windscreen costing $1328.47, minus our damage excess of $590. We had to pay the balance of $650. My husband called the Europcar call centre, but the agent was unhelpful and told him to check his rental agreement. We would not hire again from a rental car company we would rather walk or ride a push bike as there is no come back Absolutely disgusting of Europcar
Returned car and was later informed they found a small chip in the windscreen on the passenger side. It was around 7mm so no big deal but they later charged me over $1000 for the repair! Absolute thieves. Will NEVER rent from them again.
- +1
I am extremely disappointed with Europcar, Glasgow, Scotland .My partner and I booked a vehicle through a travel agent about 2 months before we left on our trip to Ireland/Scotland. On the day we were due to fly from Belfast to Glasgow our flight was delayed and it was likely that the Europcar agency would be closed before we could reach it after… Read more
landing. Consequently we rang Europcar head office and were assured they the Glasgow staff would be aware of any flight delays and would remain open to attend us. As it was the flight arrived in Galway about 15 minutes before the agency was scheduled to close and we hurried to their office arriving about 5 minutes before closing. To say the agent was not welcoming is an understatement. The vehicle we had booked was not available. Our travel agent had booked a 4 door, automatic sedan. In fact, we were quoted on a Vauxhall Astra (see attached). The only vehicles available were a 2 door hatch or an Audi Q2 SUV. We declined the hatch. We are an older couple and getting luggage into and out of a 2 door car was unacceptable. We were offered the Audi at a figure of £20 per day. Again we declined. We were at an impasse when the agent proffered the Audi at £10 additional per day. It had been a long day and we were already late to check into our accommodation. We reluctantly accepted. We checked the vehicle and noted a few blemishes which were photographed. One question is how our original type of vehicle was not available. It seems to us that there was never any intention to provide the vehicle hired. Next day while driving in torrential rain we struck a kerb and destroyed a tyre. Having paid for Roadside Assistance we attempted to ring Europcar displayed number about 8 times to receive a recorded message “calls to this number are blocked”. We decided to change the tyre ourselves but were dismayed to find no spare had been provided. IT IS INCONCEIVABLE THAT, KNOWING THAT WE WOULD BE DRIVING IN REMOTE AREAS IN SCOTLAND NO SPARE OR EMERGENCY TYRE WAS PROVIDED. On investigation we also found that there was no vehicle manual. The vehicle was unfamiliar to us and we had difficulty operating many of its functions. Eventually we arranged through the company for a recovery vehicle which took us to our accommodation about 2 hours away. Next morning a different tow company ADJ Stevenson Recovery Ltd. arrived to, on their instructions, take us back two hours to a Europcar affiliated tyre franchise. On our objections we were taken to ADJ Strvenson’s Speen Bridgerepair depot ONLY 2 hours away. We had to pay for the replacement tyre. We have no adverse remarks about the two tow companies. After 18 or so days we returned the vehicle to Glasgow airport full of fuel and undamaged. We complained about the upgraded vehicle and sought advice about the cost of the tyre. We were told to take it up with HQ. 1. We suspect that this was a manipulated upgrade, with no intention to provide the vehicle reserved months in advance. 2. The non provision of a spare tyre cost us two days of our holiday. 3. The company has a new tyre that we have not been compensated for: £115. We received an email from Europcar dated 03/07/2025. We were dismayed to discover not only had the company withheld £216 from our deposit for an unwanted upgrade but also £130 for what is described as a Premium Location Surcharge. No where in any literature, contract or verbal advice was this outrageous fee mentioned. Other charges, though excessive, were expected. I would actively review negatively against Europcar. I certainly would not hire from this company again.
Really dissapointed experience, 5 days after returning the car, I was charged 400 dollars, they were charging 30 dollars extra more per day and full of charges like premium location, don’t use that rental, you will be charged extra for out of nowhere expenses, they made it up.
Despite the payment of excess fees after paid, CLA Trading failed to take appropriate action to repair the third party’s vehicle. As a result, I received a legal notice indicating that a judgment has been issued against my name due to your inaction. Show details
I will never rent from Europcar again. They charged me $1800 in damages for these tiny scratches/dents that I missed in my inspection of the car because it was pitch black dark when I picked the car up. I did take photographs of the damage when I saw it in the daylight but was told this was out of the “one hour grace period” from rental to take… Read more
pics and no damage to wheel arches (no matter how small) counts as fair wear and tear. I should mention that this car had other scratches that were on my contract and had already got nearly 100k on the clock, so definitely not new. I know I could/should have looked harder when I picked up but I still feel taken advantage of and ripped off.
Latest follow-ups
Rented new car, on first day oil light came on, phoned company, they told me to buy oil and bring them a receipt. Did everything they asked, when I handed in receipt they said they couldn’t refund & gave me an email address, 2 weeks later, 3 emails… Read more
and still no reply. Audi A5 requires expensive oil , they just ripped me off & don’t even have the courtesy to reply. All the staff I have dealt with have been arrogant. Stay away from Europcar
Follow-up · Still haven’t received refund from Europcar! Received an email 3weeks ago, requesting bank details, I replied immediately & still waiting… I have since emailed and requested an update, but had no reply and matter is still unresolved. Terrible customer service and will not use the company again in future nor recommend Europcar as a rental car option to anyone. Customer service is awful
Me and my brother booked from booking.com for car rent in Sydney. They deduct my brothers balance from his bank but when we reached to pick up for the car one of the staff of europcar told us that we need physical card and he denied to give us. Then… Read more
we return back to our place and my brother asked for refund now they are making accuse to refund the amount and it was around Aud $1000 for 4 days and when we go to sixt rental they are so welcoming and they gave us their car saying that customer trust is important for them and they take details from phone. Such a poor service that europcar is proving to us. Such a shame. Still my brother is following up but they are denied to give the money back.
Follow-up · They never provide any alternative offered. The policy is confusing and it’s says if it’s not been taken it can be refunded. He uses debit card to pay.
Had booked a specific model vehicle on the Europcar website - guaranteed model Europcar had NOT had this model of car on fleet for the 6 months prior to my rental No attempt to get a similar vehicle, no replacement vehicle strategy Branch manager… Read more
did not have a plan or response to the issue - alternative vehicles were NOT in the same category No attempt to communicate despite my contact with reservations prior to the booking, after failed rental attempt no apology no response. Senior managers show no better customer service
Follow-up · As a follow up, I was offered a replacement vehicle but not of the same vehicle group as booked (7-seats) I was offered some 5 seat smaller vehicles which did not meet the requirements of my family. Post this experience I did not get any vehicle from Europcar, their service was beyond terrible. It was 2 days before Christmas so supply of suitable… Read more
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Positive reviews
I was in a really horrible situation I booked at budget only to be told that because I’m local I had to pay $1000 bond so I really crushed that I wouldn’t be able to see my mum and go to cemetery to visit my dads grave so I called Sherene from europcar in Mackay this beautiful lady went above and beyond to help me get a car as by Friday morning there was nothing around so thank you again ❤️ Show details
Nobody seems to read bad ratings so this may be the cure. DO NOT EVER, EVER HIRE A CAR FROM EUROPCAR UK OR EUROPCAR AUSTRALIA. I have hired 2 cars in the last five years, both from Europcar. The first one was in Australia and they tried to rip us off over pre-existing damage. Luckily my partner was smart enough to take photos. Their claim was… Read more
dropped. Believing that lightning doesn't strike twice I hired a car from them in the UK. I was so wrong. Without so much as a nod from the return inspection employee they tried to charge us for petrol when the car had a full tank on return. This after that same employee directed us to the nearest petrol station to fill it up prior to the final return. I had to compile a brief containing downloads, screen captures and bank statements to prove our case, and the fee again was dropped. It took ages for the refund to come through. Fishes rot from the head down and it is evident that their reputation means nothing to them. Don't take my word for it, look at their satisfaction ratings. I know this rating will boost their ratings but it's worth it if these rip-off merchants can't hurt any more honest people.
Hired a car from Eurocar Adelaide city Aldi Q3, great car, received outstanding service from Dylan, nothing was too much trouble, Dylan is a great asset to Europcar and I will be using them again. Robin Murphy Saratoga NSW Show details
Negative reviews
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! They do not disclose hidden fees and also charged GST on top of my upgrade fee......somthing that is illegal in Australia! I originally booked and paid online only to be stug additonal fees once I returned the vehicle. This amounted to hundreds of dollars more that my original online booking amount. DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY! Show details
Avoid this company if you value basic customer service. I cancelled a booking with Europcar (Reservation 1199187173) last week and am still waiting for a refund. Their own terms state refunds are processed within 1–3 business days. That timeframe has now passed and the refund has still not been issued. I have contacted customer service and… Read more
received no meaningful resolution. The delay is unreasonable and completely inconsistent with their stated policy.
I am now forced to consider initiating a chargeback with my credit card provider simply to recover my own money.
Very disappointing experience. If a company cannot process a straightforward refund within its own stated timeframe, it raises serious concerns about how they treat customers once they already have your money.
Whatever you do not hire a car from Europcar. I booked a Europcar rental for a trip in Italy. I booked the car many months in advance , giving my credit card number as security. Later I wrote to Europcar to cancel BUT never got a reply, and I booked a car with another local company who looked after me much better than Europcar did. They did not… Read more
require my credit card details unlike Europcar who took advantage of my credit card. They waited until the end of the booking to tell me that there is a no show fee of 99 Euro, that's $179 AUD. Not a small amount considering that I am semi retired and live only on my savings. My experience with Europcar really spoiled my holiday in Italy. I contacted Europcar Australia who did nothing And lodged cases with Australian consumer agencies but it took so long they have closed the case before I could prove they did me wrong . I was charged a large amount of money for absolutely nothing in return. Europcar could have contacted me at the time of the apparent 'no show', instead they chose to just bill me at the end of the rentals period. So they had my contact details, but there is no money in that is there? I hope that others will stay away and choose some one who cares more about customers. This will certainly be the last time I ever use Europcar. No doubt they do not care, but there are plenty other rental options out there and I will never choose Europcar ever again.
Recent reviews
I have returned the car 30 mins before it is due back 8am. Sydney Pullman Hotel branch claimed they never have the return, despite a drop box for keys and the box was full of keys. I dropped off 7.24am and took photo evidence. Sent this to a rude email from the branch staff asking for overdue rental payment. This is unexpected after many happy… Read more
rentals and I will never use them again. I would much prefer to offer zero star. I always taken photos at return, and this time it has been handy. They dont care about how you feel, and if I dont hear from them, I will speak to my bank on the deposit plus Fair Trading NSW for advice next steps.
Had the worst experience with Europe car at Brisbane Airport. We waited over an hour in the line to see a service agent to pick up our car. It was already a late night and with 2 young kids. They would not waive the $40 fee for the additional driver and would not transfer the name over to the other person. The fact there was not an apologies I would definitely be going with another company. Show details
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Although upgraded to Europcar complaints section 2 weeks ago, I have not had any communication from… Read more