My wife and I are going to take a two week auto tour of the south of France this fall. I'd like to rent a 3 series diesel and have made a reservation with Avis for same, but I know there is no guarantee I will get a BMW and I don't want to end up with a Renault or Citroen "equivalent". Does anyone have any advice on renting 3 series bimmers in France?

 

You're absolutely correct in thinking that there is no guarantee. I have used Avis and Herts numerous times across Europe to rent "nicer" cars, and there are two possible things that you can do: (1) As far as possible, try to book with and pick up form an airport location - they seem to be more likely to have the car you want, especially at the larger airports. (2) Try to contact the renting station from which you are going to make your pickup in advance and politely ask if there is any way you can register a preference for the car you want - explain that you're going to have the car for x days or x weeks and would really like to have xxxx. They usually oblige.

Also, certain airports/locations are more likely to have the wider range of options for you - usually larger business destinations like Paris CDG, Frankfurt, etc. For the south of France, I would hazard a guess that Nice airport would be a good bet, as it is a gateway to the French Riviera.

And finally, when you go up to the desk to collect the paperwork and keys, ask again nicely for the car you want (before they start putting together the paperwork, obviously).

Some combination of the above should give you a pretty good chance of getting what you want. As always with these things, it's not going to be 100%. Dunno if anyone has any other pointers or suggestions.

MacSid

 

MacSid, great advice. We are arriving at de Gaulle, so that should help. I intend to call Avis and see if they can put a note or something about our preference on the resrvation, but I will also try to call them at the pick-up station as you suggest. Thanks.