Four in ten unhappy with breakdown help abroad: what to check when you get a replacement rental car

Your own car gives up on a motorway in France or Spain, the breakdown service tows it to a garage, and a few days later you are handed the keys to a rental car. For many Dutch drivers this summer, that last step took far longer than expected, and the replacement car turned out to be a rental like any other, with its own contract and its own risks. Here is what the new survey found, and what to check when the car finally arrives.

What the survey found

EenVandaag, the Dutch current affairs programme, asked its opinion panel about breakdowns in the past five years. Fieldwork ran from 28 August to 7 September 2026 and nearly 20,000 panel members took part. Of the 771 who had broken down abroad, 40% were not satisfied with the help they received. Among the more than 3,500 who broke down in the Netherlands, 94% were satisfied.

More than 300 unhappy respondents described what went wrong. Some waited four to six hours at the roadside. One counted 161 phone calls with the ANWB. After five days of being told "tomorrow", another was offered a rental car 600 kilometres away. A third paid 400 euros for a 120 kilometre taxi ride to collect a replacement car, and according to EenVandaag the ANWB reimburses a one-off 75 euros for that.

The ANWB said in writing that it takes the signals about waiting times and replacement transport seriously. Victor Geskes, director of the ANWB emergency centre, told EenVandaag that the club helps 130,000 people abroad each year and has 6,000 replacement cars available in the main holiday countries during the busiest weeks. His message to members was blunt: you have to adjust your expectations of help abroad.

A replacement car is not a given

Autobahn looked at the small print. The ANWB's basic Wegenwacht Europa Instap package includes no replacement car at all. Europa Standaard covers up to 21 days and Europa Compleet up to 35 days. In both cases the replacement usually applies only when your car cannot be repaired within 48 hours after the garage has diagnosed it, and with Standaard you often have to collect the car yourself. Univé allows up to 30 days, subject to availability, and Centraal Beheer up to five.

That 48 hour rule matters. Until the garage knows how long the repair will take, you may have no right to a car yet, which explains part of the waiting the panel described.

What changes when the rental car arrives

Once a rental company hands you the keys, you are a rental customer. The breakdown service may book and pay for the car, but the contract at the desk is often between you and the rental company. Autobahn points out that a foreign rental car usually needs a credit card for the deposit, so keep one with you even when the rental itself is covered. Our guide on how a rental car deposit hold works explains what gets blocked and when it is released.

After days of waiting, it is tempting to sign and drive. Take ten minutes first. Walk around the car, compare every mark with the damage report and make sure anything missing is added before you leave. Photograph the car from all sides, including the wheels, windscreen and interior. Our pick-up checklist walks you through it, and the article on checking the vehicle condition report shows what to look for on the form.

When you hand it back

The return is where damage claims start. Hand the car back during opening hours if you can, ask for a return report signed by staff and take a second set of photos. If a claim arrives weeks later, treat it as you would any rental claim: ask the company to show that the damage happened during your rental, with the photos, the reports and the repair costs. Tell your breakdown service as well, because it arranged the rental and may be able to help.

If your own car was damaged in an accident rather than a breakdown, the first steps are different. Read what to do after an accident with a rental car abroad for the hour after the crash and the paperwork that follows.