Autobahn quality in old E Germany?

[Cossie]

I have rented a few cars in Germany over the years. My first piece of advice would be to make multiple bookings with different rental car companies. Several times I have booked a particular class and ended up with the most boring or slowest car in the class. Status doesn't even help. Booked a vehicle at Europacar as Prem Exec. and was given a BMW 520D. Went across to Avis and walked out with a Audi Q5 S line, and it was a 30% cheaper. I now ask the counter person what they have, smile nicely, and generally get something I want to drive.

Once outside the Berlin Ring Road it is quick drive south - plenty of places to hit the speed limiter (generally 250kmh). In the right vehicle you can get to Dresden in just over an hour. Some nice winding roads in the hills north of Dresden and south towards the border (but have speed limits :-(). Make sure you visit the VW factory in Dresden (Transparent Factory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Halfway between Dresden and Leipzig is Colditz - great place to visit - WWII POW camp and now a hostel and museum (Colditz Castle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Also note you can't take German manufactured cars into Eastern Europe - you have to rent a nissan/toyota etc.

Have fun!

FlashKiwi

If you are going to be down that way and into cars, it's worth a visit to the old Trabant factory in Zwickau, now the August Horch Museum. It's not just Trabbis, as it is where Audi was first established.

Also if you get caught speeding (on the smaller roads there are lots of cameras), depending on the rental company, you may have to pay a sizeable fee for them giving your details to the local authorities. The fines aren't very big, my last one was 30 Euro, but it probably tripled with the bank fees and rental company fees and the local authority wouldn't take a credit card payment. Incidentally, the place I was snapped was just on the outskirts of Dresden.

 

[jukebox333]

*snip*

Also if you get caught speeding (on the smaller roads there are lots of cameras), depending on the rental company, you may have to pay a sizeable fee for them giving your details to the local authorities. The fines aren't very big, my last one was 30 Euro, but it probably tripled with the bank fees and rental company fees and the local authority wouldn't take a credit card payment. Incidentally, the place I was snapped was just on the outskirts of Dresden.

*cough* Yes, I'd forgotten about that part... *cough*

I got flashed by a fixed speed camera on the edge of small town on a back road near Frankfurt on my first afternoon...

I was charged 25 Euros automatically on my credit card about 45 days after I came home - but that was just Avis' fee to pass on my details to the local police. The fine, if it was issued, never arrived in Australia, and remains unpaid...

 

[Cossie]

*cough* Yes, I'd forgotten about that part... *cough*

I got flashed by a fixed speed camera on the edge of small town on a back road near Frankfurt on my first afternoon...

I was charged 25 Euros automatically on my credit card about 45 days after I came home - but that was just Avis' fee to pass on my details to the local police. The fine, if it was issued, never arrived in Australia, and remains unpaid...

You were lucky! It cost me more in bank fees than the fine.

 

[JohnM]

*cough* Yes, I'd forgotten about that part... *cough*

I got flashed by a fixed speed camera on the edge of small town on a back road near Frankfurt on my first afternoon...

I was charged 25 Euros automatically on my credit card about 45 days after I came home - but that was just Avis' fee to pass on my details to the local police. The fine, if it was issued, never arrived in Australia, and remains unpaid...

I've never been pinged for speeding overseas, except for being pulled over in the US and issued with a caution. However, I've had occasions where a parking infringement has been issued, which I've ignored, but a charge of about $30 has appeared from Avis for providing my details to the parking authority. One authority in Sicily actually sent me a snail-mailed letter of the infringement and fine - in Italian, of course! Pfft! - did they really expect me to pay. What bumbling bureaucrats!

 

[marki]

I have rented a few cars in Germany over the years. My first piece of advice would be to make multiple bookings with different rental car companies. Several times I have booked a particular class and ended up with the most boring or slowest car in the class. Status doesn't even help. Booked a vehicle at Europacar as Prem Exec. and was given a BMW 520D. Went across to Avis and walked out with a Audi Q5 S line, and it was a 30% cheaper. I now ask the counter person what they have, smile nicely, and generally get something I want to drive.

Once outside the Berlin Ring Road it is quick drive south - plenty of places to hit the speed limiter (generally 250kmh). In the right vehicle you can get to Dresden in just over an hour. Some........

Also note you can't take German manufactured cars into Eastern Europe - you have to rent a nissan/toyota etc.

Have fun!



FlashKiwi

I have taken lower class Benz and WV into EE. Oh from my own experience bar 1 Avis have been cheaper and do better on upgrades.


Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly