"Lease" a Car or Minivan in Europe

cont'd from p.1: Car? train? Motorhome?

Short-term car leasing-- mais oui!
If your trip is over 17 days, and you are not a resident of the European Union, short-term "leasing" from a French car-maker-- either Renault or Peugeot-- may be your best transportation bet.

•price
•complete, no-hassles insurance coverage
•fast and easy pickup/dropoff
•pickup in one city, dropoff in another one

The logic behind these car "leases" is brilliantly simple:

When my family-- which includes three boys-- enjoyed five weeks in Europe, we did it with Rene the Renault, below. On another trip we had the terrific and unique Kangoo

Each had many conveniences, and was a dream to drive. But the most stellar feature was probably the most boring talking-point: insurance coverage. Most rental companies wouldn't insure a vehicle on the car-ferry to Greece-- Renault would. Also, we were covered in Italy with no extra collision damage insurance charges.

Got you covered! Completely!
Best of all: our insurance "deductible" -- i.e., the amount we would pay for repairs, before the insurance kicked in-- was zero.

	Rene, side view: note the airplane-style fold-down trays!

Driving in European towns is an exercise in tight turns and the day did come when, sadly, Rene was dented. Given the cost of the merest scratch nowadays, with ordinary insurance coverage I would certainly have had to pay a hefty "deductible".

With short-term leasing however-- no problem! In fact, the dropoff procedures for the car didn't even include inspection for scratches or dents.

service, service, service
Customers enjoy a brand new vehicle that can be picked up at one location and dropped off at another. Renault's dropoff/pickup is free anywhere in France; you can also choose cities in seven countries, for a reasonable charge.

Another plus is that customers are supplied with a contact number you can call virtually anytime. I was able to call at 10 p.m. on Saturday night, and change the time of my dropoff on Sunday morning.

As for the dropoff procedure itself: The Renault person met us right at the curb at the airport: no parking the car; no line-up. He was gracious even though I was late due to heavy traffic, and even though I'd misplaced all my car documents. (Found 'em later, in my camera case. No comment.) He also helped us with our luggage. Now, that's service.

models and sizes
Renting the Espace minivan made sense for our trip: we covered a lot of ground, and certainly spent more waking hours in the van than in any lodgings. So we splurged on the vehicle and scrimped on accommodation. Moreover, the van was a mobile cupboard: we never lugged luggage to our lodgings and back; we simply took out what stuff we needed overnight. We toted around plenty of cereal, milk, fruit, bread, and other snacks too.

On another trip, the nifty Kangoo met all our needs, and I longed to import it.

For those with an eye on the budget: Renault usually has a monthly special for a particular model.