The AMEX insurance is the very best deal out there.

Once you have bought your car and need to find fuel, the French government have an excellent website for finding the cheapest fuel in your town, depertment etc: http://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr

*department

DIESEL. Not even a close call in France - way less expensive.

I wouldn't call it way less expensive. You can see for yourself, here: http://www.zagaz.com/stats_departeme...t=1&ordre=rien

It used to be a lot cheaper.

It is about 25 centimes cheaper per liter than the cheapest gasoline according to that site (1.36€ vs. 1.60€). It used to cost less but so did gasoline and the price of gasoline and diesel used to be closer. If I remember correctly, diesel was a couple of centimes more expensive at one point.

However, I am not sure that it amounts to the $200 in the lease differential if one uses the car predominantly for local driving, settling down in one area of France or another. For example, I am picking up a car in Brive and returning it in Limoges, using it to drive just in the Dordogne for 24 days. The mileage will be too low to make up the original differential in the lease cost.