I have read with great interest the various comments on rental vs. lease on this site. To date we have rented twice in France (once from Kemwell ((national)) and once from Avis). Both rentals were more than satisfactory. In fact, at Nice we were upgraded to a van with automatic transmission at no extra charge.

We are now planning to spend 25 days touring from Montpellier to Normandy in the spring. So far my research has shown a lease to cost about $300 more than a rental (I use AMEX to cover my insurance from dollar one at a cost of 24.95 per rental period). The idea of a new car is very attractive, but it seems a bit pricey. The difference is even greater when diesel is included. (Rentals will not guarantee a diesel, but if one is available it can be had at no extra cost).
All advice would be most welcome -- I will look forward to reading comments from all.

Very important to make sure it's an apples-apples comparison. Insurance is important, also <i>taxes.</i> Make sure you're comparing the same vehicle type, too.

In a couple of &quot;leases&quot; we did (they're actually &quot;buy-back&quot; plans) the initial cost looked higher than comparable rentals, but at the end of the day the lease was significantly cheaper.

It's a much better deal if you're dropping off in another country than pickup - the Renault/Peugeot drop charges are a fraction of the other firms'.

You do realize that with the leases (we've used AutoFrance several times with great success) that full insurance is covered from day one also and it is totally included, and no paperwork or waiting for reimbursement if you do have a wreck?

We've usually done a Peugeot diesel -- most recently the 307. But that was for a couple months and going from Nice through Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, all over Italy, Austria, France, and Slovenia. Staying in France it's doubtful the extra cost of the diesel lease will make up for the savings in the fuel. We barely saved on it with all our driving!

Thank you for your input so far. I am comparing apples to apples. My figures represent total cost and I am also considering insurance (the AMEX plan is excellent coverage and is primary). I still wonder at the cost difference that would make a buy-back attractive (as I wrote earlier, rental is $300 less including the insurance add on. There is also the posibility of upgrading to diesel at no extra charge).

Hi IM,

&gt;I use AMEX to cover my insurance from dollar one at a cost of 24.95 per rental period.&lt;

Please tell us more about this.

I can only find the &quot;decline the CDW&quot; insurance.

ira:

I believe imwaiting is referring to AMEX's program whereby you can sign up and then pay $24.95 for any car rental and be covered for the full insurance. I'd have to check the fine print again, as it's been some time since I signed up, but I've been using it for the past year or two.

I have the same impression as imwaiting, and the reason for that is that the insurance and all the paperwork costs are put up front on the basic 17 day lease. Subsequent to that one pays a daily rate which is considerably cheaper than rental. On the other hand, there is the knowledge that everything is covered except the time spent in one place if repairs are necessary. It would be interesting to have two reports: one for a three week lease, and the other for a three week rental of the same category car.

I am surprised. The lease is often 30% lower for 25 days. Have Autoeurope do a comparison for you.

Michael there is some argument about that &quot;time spent if repairs are necessary&quot;. With AutoFrance/Sodexa they will supply you with a rental car if your lease vehicle gets stranded. Of course, I've never figured out how you catch up with your lease car again unless you go back to get it.

And as a person who recently went through a 6 month period waiting for the nearly $6000 credit card charges to be cleared by the credit card company who covered the wrecked car, there's something to be said for an insurance that doesn't come with the stipulation that you must pay for it and then settle with your credit card company.

Patrick, all I'm saying that you may be in circumstances where time is a factor and a loaner that allows you to visit the local area might not be that useful. We should be aware of all the pluses and minuses, and the one minus of the lease is that it is your car with all that it implies when it comes to repairs.

Ira: Call the customer service number on the back of your AMEX card and ask them to sign you up for the rental insurance program. As St Cirq wrote, once you have signed up AMEX charges you $24.95 each time you charge a car rental on your card. For this extra amount you get complete coverage from dollar one and your amex insurance is your PRIMARY insurance, thus there is no charge against your own policy. The rental period is limited to 46 days (I think). If you wish to avoid the 24.95 charge for a one or two day rental you can either cancel the plan or use a Visa or MC card instead of your amex.

I hope this answers your question.

After that last statement I'm trying to figure out the advantage of doing that AM EX thing. My Visa pays from dollar one also and similarly becomes the primary insurer, and there is NO fee for doing it. If I'm renting five or six cars a year, why would I want to pay $24.95 each time when Visa does that for nothing? Am I missing something here?

I rented from SIXT for 21 days prepaid
that included insurance plus, I used my visa card's insurance program and paid 6 Euro per day for 100% bumper to bumper
coverage extra and still had to leave a
600 Euro deposit from my card! Everything went great, not a scratch on the car but took 24 days to reverse the charge on the card for the deposit. Sixt rent a car gave us a great deal you
should look at their site SIXT.com. Also
they upgraded us from the cheapest class
( ford ka ) to a brand new loaded VW bug for free.

Just a note to add that in the 25 January edition of the <i>Wall Street Journal,</i> the travel columnist wrote that Renault Eurodrive (www.renaultusa.com) will be offering up to US$120 discounts on 17+ day leases, for bookings made between 15 Feb and 29 March, &quot;for pickup any time in 2005.&quot; Nothing regarding this on the website yet, but worth putting in a tickler to consult after the middle of February.

Thank you GARDYLOO. I have copied your msg and will check with renault eurodrive in Feb.