Renting a car in France for 8 day trip through Dordogne/Lot region. Avis has a deal on a car phone...free week's rental (have to pay $25 shipping charge) with $.99 per minute incoming, $1.75 per minute outgoing charges. Any thoughts on the need for a car phone under these circumstances?

My thoughts on having a cell phone in a car are the same whether you are in the US, UK or France. I think it is almost criminal in this day and age not to have a cell phone with you in a car in case of an emergency.<BR><BR>In general, once you are going to be in a single country for a week or more, it is usually much more ecnomical to buy a cell phone with a prepaid plan. French rates are pretty high for this but the rate per call is far less than what you quoted. In France, you pay something like 50 Euro cents for calls within metropolitan France per minute timed by the second after the first thiry seconds, something like 1 Euro to call the US or the UK but receiving calls is always free.<BR><BR>If you want to be reachable 24/7 and want to make a few calls to confirm dinner reservations etc. and want the security of having a phone in your car, you should look into buying one. Otherwise, the rental might be okay.

Thanks. Anyone know how to go about purchasing a car phone in France? We'll be entering the country through Toulouse and picking up a car there.

Neil - It'll be a piece of cake.....no matter where you enter, you're certain to be near even a "medium" sized city, in which you can find any number of dealers of cellphones. One thing to watch for is whether or not you get an "unlocked" phone...<BR>Locked phones only work on the cell network of the provider, while those that are "unlocked" (tho more expensive) can later be used on any provider/country's network with the simple purchase of a SIM card.<BR>It's kind of like trying to find a walkman stereo or camera when you first enter the USA in NYC. Almost anyone could direct you to a dealer and then its just a matter of deciding which type of phone you want.<BR>Best wishes.

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i was also thinking the same as well andsaw this site:<BR>http://www.callphone.com/accueil.asp?lang=en<BR><BR>anyone have any experience using this company?

I too, strongly recommend the purchase of a phone with a pre-paid plan as a much better deal than renting one that comes FedEx'd to you before you depart. I think you will save money over the Avis plan. But it might cost you some time to go buy it (might take up to an hour, might take more).<BR><BR>If you are flying through Paris, you might be able to buy one right in the Paris airport. Otherwise, I do recommend that you will need to look in the bigger cities. I have just returned from a week in Normandy and Brittany - - and in a handful of smaller towns - - Paimpol, Treguier (maybe doesn't count - - it was a Sunday), St. Malo, Arromanches, Honfleur and Etretat - - there were NO phone stores that jumped out at me (I wasn't explicitly looking for one). I think there was quite a surfeit of such stores just a few years ago, and I wonder if the "industry" has contracted a bit.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

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