Kiruna Car Hire

Cons: First, the computer system was down the night we picked up the car so we only got a simple paper form with basic information. Had we received the full contract and details that night maybe the next issue could have been handled better... The battery died the first morning we were there. Apparently this happens frequently there with rental cars in the cold, but they neglected to both tell us that when we picked up the car and provide the phone number for roadside assistance in the event this happened. When we called Budget/Avis to tell them that the battery was dead the agent was extremely unhelpful. She told us she couldn't pick us up or do anything to help and we should "find a nice Swedish man at the camp (not even where we were staying but a place down the road) to help you with the car." When I pushed further because this was an unacceptable answer, she told me she had to go because she now had customers at the desk (apparently forgetting I'm her customer too, but since they already had our credit card maybe they just don't care...). I eventually got a number for roadside assistance from her (which is supposedly in the paperwork they couldn't print the night before), and they were able to send us a local service company to take care of the car. The local company, Assistance Karen, was extremely helpful and recommended we take the car out for frequent long drives to keep it warm. It was a little inconvenient but we did that the rest of the trip and didn't have any more issues. The car drove great in the snow. The bottom line is if you're renting a car here be prepared by getting the number for a local tow company (Assistance Karen in Kiruna has 24/7 service and were very quick and friendly).