Rental car company in France
 

We are looking to rent a car in Marseille/St. Remy area for a 4 week vacation that will take us into Italy (Tuscany) as well. We will return the car somewhere around Paris.
We are hoping to keep the same car but if the charges are too high for taking it out of France, we may rent one car in France and one in Italy.
We are flying into Marseille in June.
Which company do you recommend?

I'd check out autoeurope.com

In France I always use Autoeurope or Kemwel, but I take the basic rate where the insurance is carried by my Visa card. It is not clear that this rate is available for cars driven in Italy, as Italy has a mandatory CDW coverage through the rental agency itself that generally cannot be waived.

We also have used Autoeurope and Kemwell as agents, but the cars actually came from Europcar. Sixt is also good. There are hefty surcharges for taking a car from one country to another and leaving it there, let alone the insurance issue. Why not take the train from Provence to Italy, then get a another car?

AutoEurope or Kemwel (sister companies, so it doesn't really matter which one you use). Don't rent in one country and drop off on another - no matter what company you use, that will cost you a boodle.

AutoEurope and Kemwel will generally provide the car through Europcar (but not always). You will read complaints and praise regarding every single company if you do a search.

Thanks - there seems to be consensus on the companies to use.
We were planning to rent and return the car in France but take it into Italy for two weeks. I will investigate further. It's not worth it if there is a huge surcharge.
Someone mentioned leasing a car as an option since it is for 4 weeks. Thoughts?
We will definitely consider a train from Provence to Tuscany. We were thinking the drive would be really scenic.

A car lease is more expensive than a <u>basic</u> rental with Autoeurope or Kemwel. However, if you rent a car with no deductible, the price differential may be minimal.

Just plug-in the numbers and compare.

http://www.renaultusa.com/

http://www.autofrance.net/rates-reservations/

http://www.autoeurope.com/?utm_expid=661124-4

Note: if you rent a higher category car, many rental contracts forbid taking it into Italy.

<< It's not worth it if there is a huge surcharge.>>

It's not that there's a surcharge in the rental cost for taking it into Italy; it's that you can't waive the collision damage fee for the Italy part of your rental, whereas you can in France if you're covered on your cc. Also, Italy requires theft insurance, whereas France does not. So it's not rental "surcharges," per se, it's the insurance costs that go up for the Italy rental portion.

Just to be clear. A leased car can be taken to Italy with no problem in terms of insurance. The car is actually "owned" by the driver, so that it is no different than if a French resident took his own car to Italy.

We leased a car, but it was for more than 4 weeks. We drove all around europe, no problems.

I would also consider the time hassle of dropping off a car, getting the train and re hiring another car - all of which takes time, vs the extra insurance costs. Could be worth your while to keep the car, enjoy the freedom and pay a bit more for insurance.

Lots of food for thought. I have some investigating to do. Thanks everyone.

We have rented through autoeurope and we have leased when needing a car for 3 weeks or more. This "lease" is actually a buy/sell agreement which works well. Check pricing, but you may find that even though leasing costs more, it eliminates the worry and cost of insurance ($1,000,000 included in the pricing) and is truly hassle-free. You can drive it anywhere in Europe. You get a brand new car and even if you wreck it, it's a walk-away situation.

Just noticed that you're flying in and out of Marseille so I'm not sure you can pick up a lease car there. Check on their pickup points.

crckwc1 - where and how did you lease your car? Sounds like an interesting option.

I've done a number of leases through Peugot. They were all hassle free (though years ago I had to take the car to be inspected at a Peugot dealer in France after driving it X number of miles, and that would have been a challenge had I not spoken good French...but I don't think they require that anymore).

Francewithfive - We leased through Renault although Peugot is well recommended as well. We didn't have to have the car inspected when we leased.

The pickup location for a Renault buy/sell in Marseille is the Provence airport.

The other benefit of a lease is you get exactly the car you ordered. No chance of getting a tiny hatchback that fits 5 but has no room for luggage!

Peugeot, Renault and Citroen all have these lease/buy back plans. AutoEurope and EuropebyCar also broker them. A little work with Google will turn up the manufacturers sites.

To check out models that will likely be unfamiliar as it's been years since you could buy a French car in North America have a look at http://www.parkers.co.uk In most cases they also have multiple photos of the trunk or load space as well.