I'd check out autoeurope.com

In France I always use Autoeurope or Kemwel, but I take the basic rate where the insurance is carried by my Visa card. It is not clear that this rate is available for cars driven in Italy, as Italy has a mandatory CDW coverage through the rental agency itself that generally cannot be waived.

We also have used Autoeurope and Kemwell as agents, but the cars actually came from Europcar. Sixt is also good. There are hefty surcharges for taking a car from one country to another and leaving it there, let alone the insurance issue. Why not take the train from Provence to Italy, then get a another car?

AutoEurope or Kemwel (sister companies, so it doesn't really matter which one you use). Don't rent in one country and drop off on another - no matter what company you use, that will cost you a boodle.

AutoEurope and Kemwel will generally provide the car through Europcar (but not always). You will read complaints and praise regarding every single company if you do a search.

Thanks - there seems to be consensus on the companies to use.
We were planning to rent and return the car in France but take it into Italy for two weeks. I will investigate further. It's not worth it if there is a huge surcharge.
Someone mentioned leasing a car as an option since it is for 4 weeks. Thoughts?
We will definitely consider a train from Provence to Tuscany. We were thinking the drive would be really scenic.

A car lease is more expensive than a basic rental with Autoeurope or Kemwel. However, if you rent a car with no deductible, the price differential may be minimal.

Just plug-in the numbers and compare.

http://www.renaultusa.com/

http://www.autofrance.net/rates-reservations/

http://www.autoeurope.com/?utm_expid=661124-4

Note: if you rent a higher category car, many rental contracts forbid taking it into Italy.

<< It's not worth it if there is a huge surcharge.>>

It's not that there's a surcharge in the rental cost for taking it into Italy; it's that you can't waive the collision damage fee for the Italy part of your rental, whereas you can in France if you're covered on your cc. Also, Italy requires theft insurance, whereas France does not. So it's not rental "surcharges," per se, it's the insurance costs that go up for the Italy rental portion.

Just to be clear. A leased car can be taken to Italy with no problem in terms of insurance. The car is actually "owned" by the driver, so that it is no different than if a French resident took his own car to Italy.

We leased a car, but it was for more than 4 weeks. We drove all around europe, no problems.

I would also consider the time hassle of dropping off a car, getting the train and re hiring another car - all of which takes time, vs the extra insurance costs. Could be worth your while to keep the car, enjoy the freedom and pay a bit more for insurance.

Lots of food for thought. I have some investigating to do. Thanks everyone.

We have rented through autoeurope and we have leased when needing a car for 3 weeks or more. This "lease" is actually a buy/sell agreement which works well. Check pricing, but you may find that even though leasing costs more, it eliminates the worry and cost of insurance ($1,000,000 included in the pricing) and is truly hassle-free. You can drive it anywhere in Europe. You get a brand new car and even if you wreck it, it's a walk-away situation.

Just noticed that you're flying in and out of Marseille so I'm not sure you can pick up a lease car there. Check on their pickup points.

crckwc1 - where and how did you lease your car? Sounds like an interesting option.

I've done a number of leases through Peugot. They were all hassle free (though years ago I had to take the car to be inspected at a Peugot dealer in France after driving it X number of miles, and that would have been a challenge had I not spoken good French...but I don't think they require that anymore).

Francewithfive - We leased through Renault although Peugot is well recommended as well. We didn't have to have the car inspected when we leased.

The pickup location for a Renault buy/sell in Marseille is the Provence airport.

The other benefit of a lease is you get exactly the car you ordered. No chance of getting a tiny hatchback that fits 5 but has no room for luggage!

Peugeot, Renault and Citroen all have these lease/buy back plans. AutoEurope and EuropebyCar also broker them. A little work with Google will turn up the manufacturers sites.

To check out models that will likely be unfamiliar as it's been years since you could buy a French car in North America have a look at http://www.parkers.co.uk In most cases they also have multiple photos of the trunk or load space as well.

if you choose to rent, on my trip last year in Switz and Italy, I rented in Zurich, spent 2 weeks in Italy and dropped back Lausanne. My insurance coverage was good for Italy, even though I had rented in Switz.

I of course verified with AmEx as I used that card to pay. There was no extra charge for the Italy portion. Please check with your rental and credit card company if you choose to do this to ensure coverage in your situation.

I want to chime in on doing a lease program. For the length of time that you will be there and with wanting to pick up and drop off in different places I think you will will love it. The two agencies we have used are:

http://www.ideamerge.com/

http://www.autofrance.net/ (this is the one we have used most recently and it was a bit cheaper)

We rented for six months and loved the program. We had a ding on the windshield of the car and they even sent a repair person to our house at the beach in Charente Maritime to repair the crack at no cost-it is really hassle free, so the full insurance is really worth it for something like this. Another nice thing is that you can have multiple drivers without additional costs. Here is the rule from the autofrance site for instance:

"Because the Peugeot model you will be driving is a tax-free car, there are certain restrictions imposed by the French Government. The contract holder, his/her spouse, children and parents may drive the car as long as they are over 18, have a valid driver's license and are not a resident of the European Union. An unrelated person may drive the car on the condition that one of the allowed drivers is in the car, and he/she is not a resident of the European Union."

And last but definitely not least as mentioned is that the model choice and features on the car are fully up to you. For instance we wanted something small but not stripped down and we wanted and got diesel, and we had a full panoramic sunroof, mp3 player plu in and CD player, upgraded engine size, and they even throw in a fully European map equipped GPS unit that your return to them when you are done. With a rental of a small car in Europe you basically get whatever minimally equipped car they happen to have. And because we were renting for 6 months-it was at around 15 euros a day-really an amazing deal. Although for a month your price will be much higher per day (probably the same as a rental price), I think with all the additional potential charges such as additional drivers, insurance, etc. you may have a much more positive experience than renting.

Here is a blog post that gives you more of the pros and cons:


http://europeforvisitors.com/europe/articles/short_term_car_leasing.htm


Since we dual French US nationals we have been spending time in Europe for many years, but we only recently started leasing cars versus renting them, but now I will never do anything else. Even if the cost turns out to be the same, it has some distinctive advantages.

We had a ding on the windshield of the car and they even sent a repair person to our house at the beach in Charente Maritime to repair the crack at no cost-it is really hassle free, so the full insurance is really worth it for something like this.

Yes...but I had a problem with the turbo intake pipe on the car I leased. The part was not readily available because even though that year's model had come out 6 months prior, it turns out that some modifications were made that created a backlog on spare parts for what was modified. The repairs were on my time, and since we were traveling, we could not simply sit and wait (luckily the car still ran, but more noisily). We were going to Spain and we arranged for the part in San Sebastian (fortunately one of our traveling companion is a Spanish professor) but they did had not received it, so we made new arrangements for the repair in Barcelona ten days hence. The part did arrive. We left our friends in the hotel, as they were leaving for home from Barcelona and went to get the car repaired (one or two hours of work) on our way back to France. It turned out that it was first come first serve, and we came a little late to be in front of the line. The car would be ready at 5 p.m. Luckily there was another client who could translate for me and convince the repair shop to skip me to the front of the line.

The point of the story: If on the move, is it clear in case of an accident that would incapacitate the car that a replacement would be provided? If not, that is a distinct disadvantage over rentals if the renter is concerned about the worst that could happen, barring personal injury.

I know that I've seen the minimum age to drive a rental car in Europe to be 25. I'll be travelling with my 79 year old mom for 2 weeks in Provence and Cote d'Azur in April. Has anyone heard of a maximum age in a rental agreement?

Some, but not all, companies do have upper-age limits.

My dad had no trouble renting a car from AutoEurope when he was 80. My daughter had no problem renting one when she was 20.

But rules change, so check it out.

Through Autoeurope, it is possible to rent a car as young as 18 but there is a surcharge for those under 25 of 33€ per day. There is usually a maximum age on rentals but leases never have a max age restriction.

I saw lower age limits on all the rental sites I checked, but not one mentioned an upper limit. I guess that before I decide on a company, I'll call to be sure. Thanks.