Read this - For longer trips, some car manufacturers (Peugeot, Renault and Citroën) offer the « buy back » option which could be less expensive than a traditional car rental. This option is only available for a minimum of 17 days.

Has anyone done this? Experience?

My husband and I will be in France this summer for over a month travelling all around...

I have done this. Experience? What do you mean. It's a 17 day lease. You can book this through AutoEurope/Kemwell. It was fine.

We have done it twice and would do it again. You basically own a new car for your vacation. No hassles, no strings.

It depends on what you are renting and what coverage you feel you need. I currently have a June contract with Autoeurope for a 26 day rental which will cost me $519. You can't get a lease for that price. I did not get the smallest car available, but it is a sub-compact standard shift car. My credit card will carry the CDW with no deductible, but if I damage the car I have to pay for it with my credit card and then ask to be reimbursed. I'm willing to live with that, others are not.

Good deal !
New car of your model choice---full road coverage---what is not to like?

I've done it twice and had no complaints. I think the longer you lease the more you save. Some times your credit card won't cover insurance on a rental that is longer than a month. Depends on the credit card. With the lease, you get full coverage and roadside assistance, a brand new car. The only thing you can't chose is the color. We used Auto Europe for our lease with Peugeot, 7 weeks one time and 8 weeks the other. You will pay a premium if you pickup or drop off anywhere other than France.

I should add, is that the big savings is that you're not paying the value Added Tax (VAT) which I believe is around 17%.

If there is as VAT on a rental, it's included in the price, and if cost is the issue, a rental as I described it is cheaper, even if the days are doubled since the lease starts at $1200 for the first 17 days.

I've had repair problems twice with a lease, and in neither case was it a particularly good experience with lots of time wasted--I missed seeing the Bayeux tapestry on that trip because of one problem.

We did the Peugeot buy back program for two months and would definitely do it again. Great car, no problems.

We have leased twice, for eight and nine weeks. We had no problems. However, for periods of less than five or six weeks, we found it cheaper to hire a car. One of the advantages of leasing is that you will actually get the car you request, not a similar size car in another make. We always get a diesel manual, and believe it can be more difficult to hire an automatic. Sometimes one is not available even if requested. [ This is with hiring as opposed to leasing ]. Just repeating what I have read. As Dgassa mentioned, there is a surcharge for picking up and dropping off outside France.

Thanks for all the replies. I hadn't heard of the buy back program before yesterday - it is certainly a great option for longer stays...

Another question - (don't want to assume anything....) - is the GPS in the buy-back car programs in English??

Ours GPS in our lease car was English.

Leasing is not necessarily a bad idea, but it is an expensive one. There is a lot to consider: age of driver, duration of lease/rental, insurance among others but overall, the most cost effective option is to rent a car at the basic rate and either (a) use an American Express card, opting for the complete, primary insurance coverage (usually $25 per rental) or (b) use another third party insurance company such as Insurance 4 carhire (which may not be available for those from N America).

Insurance coverage gave leases an edge until the third party insurance options became not only very affordable, but they offer complete primary coverage meaning you walk away in the event of any problem; which is not the case with free credit card coverage, such as that available from Visa or MC.

I have leased a couple of times in the past but more recently have not found them to be as attractive as they once were.

We have leased from Renault every year for the past 13 years. Our experience with Renault has been extremely good.
The GPS has the option of different languages and you can get the English manual in the internet, the car's manual, too.
We have driven extensively and fully insured, in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Austria.
Two times, different trips, we have had a window broken by thieves, once in Belgium, once in France. In Belgium we were loaned a car while they fixed ours, in France, they rented a car for us while repairing our car. Once, in Italy, motor had a funny sound and we got a replacement car from Paris. They rented a car for us until the replacement arrived.
We usually travel for six weeks and price-wise, it's the best option for us.
Hope this helps.