Huggy

if you choose to rent, on my trip last year in Switz and Italy, I rented in Zurich, spent 2 weeks in Italy and dropped back Lausanne. My insurance coverage was good for Italy, even though I had rented in Switz.

I of course verified with AmEx as I used that card to pay. There was no extra charge for the Italy portion. Please check with your rental and credit card company if you choose to do this to ensure coverage in your situation.

jpie

I want to chime in on doing a lease program. For the length of time that you will be there and with wanting to pick up and drop off in different places I think you will will love it. The two agencies we have used are:

http://www.ideamerge.com/

http://www.autofrance.net/ (this is the one we have used most recently and it was a bit cheaper)

We rented for six months and loved the program. We had a ding on the windshield of the car and they even sent a repair person to our house at the beach in Charente Maritime to repair the crack at no cost-it is really hassle free, so the full insurance is really worth it for something like this. Another nice thing is that you can have multiple drivers without additional costs. Here is the rule from the autofrance site for instance:

"Because the Peugeot model you will be driving is a tax-free car, there are certain restrictions imposed by the French Government. The contract holder, his/her spouse, children and parents may drive the car as long as they are over 18, have a valid driver's license and are not a resident of the European Union. An unrelated person may drive the car on the condition that one of the allowed drivers is in the car, and he/she is not a resident of the European Union."

And last but definitely not least as mentioned is that the model choice and features on the car are fully up to you. For instance we wanted something small but not stripped down and we wanted and got diesel, and we had a full panoramic sunroof, mp3 player plu in and CD player, upgraded engine size, and they even throw in a fully European map equipped GPS unit that your return to them when you are done. With a rental of a small car in Europe you basically get whatever minimally equipped car they happen to have. And because we were renting for 6 months-it was at around 15 euros a day-really an amazing deal. Although for a month your price will be much higher per day (probably the same as a rental price), I think with all the additional potential charges such as additional drivers, insurance, etc. you may have a much more positive experience than renting.

Here is a blog post that gives you more of the pros and cons:


http://europeforvisitors.com/europe/...ar_leasing.htm


Since we dual French US nationals we have been spending time in Europe for many years, but we only recently started leasing cars versus renting them, but now I will never do anything else. Even if the cost turns out to be the same, it has some distinctive advantages.

Michael

<i>We had a ding on the windshield of the car and they even sent a repair person to our house at the beach in Charente Maritime to repair the crack at no cost-it is really hassle free, so the full insurance is really worth it for something like this.</i>

Yes...but I had a problem with the turbo intake pipe on the car I leased. The part was not readily available because even though that year's model had come out 6 months prior, it turns out that some modifications were made that created a backlog on spare parts for what was modified. The repairs were on my time, and since we were traveling, we could not simply sit and wait (luckily the car still ran, but more noisily). We were going to Spain and we arranged for the part in San Sebastian (fortunately one of our traveling companion is a Spanish professor) but they did had not received it, so we made new arrangements for the repair in Barcelona ten days hence. The part did arrive. We left our friends in the hotel, as they were leaving for home from Barcelona and went to get the car repaired (one or two hours of work) on our way back to France. It turned out that it was first come first serve, and we came a little late to be in front of the line. The car would be ready at 5 p.m. Luckily there was another client who could translate for me and convince the repair shop to skip me to the front of the line.

The point of the story: If on the move, is it clear in case of an accident that would incapacitate the car that a replacement would be provided? If not, that is a distinct disadvantage over rentals if the renter is concerned about the worst that could happen, barring personal injury.

kwren

I know that I've seen the minimum age to drive a rental car in Europe to be 25. I'll be travelling with my 79 year old mom for 2 weeks in Provence and Cote d'Azur in April. Has anyone heard of a maximum age in a rental agreement?

Underhill

Some, but not all, companies do have upper-age limits.

StCirq

My dad had no trouble renting a car from AutoEurope when he was 80. My daughter had no problem renting one when she was 20.

But rules change, so check it out.

Sarastro

Through Autoeurope, it is possible to rent a car as young as 18 but there is a surcharge for those under 25 of 33€ per day. There is usually a maximum age on rentals but leases never have a max age restriction.

kwren

I saw lower age limits on all the rental sites I checked, but not one mentioned an upper limit. I guess that before I decide on a company, I'll call to be sure. Thanks.

Michael

Call autoeurope to see what the upper limit may be. I can assure you that 70 is not the upper limit.