GiGiGi

We will be renting a car as we depart Paris and then drive south through Burgundy, Annecy and then to Bellagio in Italy then to Venice and then North to Bavaria. We will depart from Munich.
We know we will have to pay a drop charge, but we are wondering if there are any tips for this particular situation. Will it be less expensive to drop the car in Venice for three days since it will not be needed and then pick up another for the trip north or will the extra drop charge likely wipe out any savings? I know these are questions that only the rental agency can answer for sure, but I know the experienced travelers on this site may have some good suggestions.
Thank you for any help you may be able to offer.

StCirq

<<I know these are questions that only the rental agency can answer for sure>>

Correct. So that's what you need to do.

GiGiGi

You are, of course, correct,. I probably should have been more clear about wanting suggestions or tips regarding logistics of such a rental. For instance, I received a good suggestion to park the car in Maestre instead of Venice while we are there as there would be a good savings

Alec

If you rent for a minimum of 14 days, you are entitled to use lease-buyback program with Renault (Eurodrive) or Peugeot (Open Europe). You can sign up through Auto Europe or direct with maker's representatives. They allow cross-border drop-off, including Munich, at much smaller supplement than normal rentals, and the overall cost is very favourable compared to a normal car rental wthout hefty drop-off charge.
http://www.renaultusa.com/
http://www.peugeot-openeurope.com/ht...e/default.aspx

Michael

<i>If you rent for a minimum of 14 days</i>

I believe that it is a 19 day minimum.

The lease/buy back program has also pick-up and drop-off fees if the respective locations are outside France. I recall paying $175 extra for picking up a car in Munich.

Gardyloo

There isn't any minimum rental period on the buy-back programs; they just charge you the minimum price, which is what you'd pay for a 21 day (Renault) period. I believe Peugeot's is shorter now - 16 days?

Renault has a US$200 drop charge for Munich.

The "lease" programs are often attractive for less than the minimum (charge) period; you have to look at all factors, especially insurance and "add ons" in order to make a correct comparison.

One thing about the buy-backs is that you always get a brand new car, with complete roadside and emergency assistance.

lovisa

You really need a car only to drive around Burgundy and Annecy and drive around Bavaria. I don't think you need it for the Bellagio portion of your trip.

As an alternative, you could rent a car in Paris, see Burgundy and Annecy, and return the car on the French side of the Geneva Airport, a short distance from Annecy. From the GVA Airport, you could take a train to Milan (time 3:40) and continue from Milan to Bellagio either by train to Como, and then Ferry or bus, or train to Varenna, walk to ferry, and then on to Bellagio.

You could take the some transportation links back to Milan to catch a train to Venice.

From Venice you could take a train to Rosenheim, Germany, and rent a car there for the Bavaria portion of your trip, or take the train to Innsbruck, and transfer to a different train to Garmisch to rent a car there.

The above would allow you to return a French rental car and German rental car in the same country in which they were rented, and avoid having a car sit around in Bellagio or Venice.

Nunofilfreitas

There is a 50% discount on pick up and drop off fees out of France on ttcar.com. It is a 14 days minimum rental on Citroen, Peugeot and DS only. 21 days for Renault cars. You can take these cars on the ferry, too.