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Hey everyone,

I'm planning a 14-day trip to Germany later this summer and looking to lock in a rental car.
I’ll be flying into Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and picking up/dropping off the car right there at the airport.I’ve been checking rates, and Europcar is coming up with a pretty solid deal for a midsize car compared to the US-based agencies like Hertz or Avis.
However, I’ve never rented with them before since they aren’t really a thing over here in the States.Has anyone rented from the Europcar desk at FRA recently?

The "Automatics" Situation: I know manual transmissions are the norm over there, but I definitely need an automatic. If I book an automatic, how reliable are they at actually having one ready for me?

Any tips, hacks, or recent horror/success stories would be awesome. Thanks in advance for the help!

I did almost this exact same trip last summer, and you’re going to have an awesome time in Germany.
To answer your question, Europcar is totally legit and actually one of the biggest rental companies in Europe, so you can think of them just like the National or Enterprise of Europe. You really have nothing to worry about compared to Hertz or Avis.

Based on my experience at FRA, you will be completely fine with the automatics situation since you’re picking up at a massive hub. If you book an automatic, you will definitely get one, but just make sure your booking confirmation explicitly says "Automatic" or has an "A" in the car class code like IDAR. Don't just rely on "or similar" if the base class is a manual.

Also, just be prepared that even "midsize" cars in Germany are noticeably smaller than what we call midsize in the US, so if you have more than two large suitcases, it’s going to be a tight squeeze.As for the fleet itself, German rental cars are usually sweet, and Europcar keeps a very clean, low-mileage fleet. You can expect a lot of VWs, Skodas, or Audis, and they usually come with built-in navigation anyway, which is a nice bonus.

I rented from Europcar at FRA last fall and had a super smooth experience. As long as your reservation explicitly locks in an automatic, they will have one ready for you since the airport fleet is massive. Just definitely keep the European car sizes in mind—their "midsize" feels more like a compact to us, so pack light if you can. The cars themselves are great though, usually brand new and spotless. You're in good hands with them.

I rented from Europcar at FRA a while back and had a really good experience too. The rental garage there is massive, but everything is super organized and easy to navigate. I actually snapped a few quick pictures of their section while I was looking for my keys, just to give you an idea of what the setup looks like.As you can see, the fleet is packed with solid options—mostly brand-new German models like VWs, Audis, Mercedes, and Skodas. I ended up with a Volkswagen, and it was spotless inside and out. It handled the Autobahn like a dream. If you booked a midsize automatic, you’ll likely head right into this section. You're going to love driving over there!