We are travelling to Europe in June and spending 2 months on our trip. We plan to lease a car as we have been advised this is better than car rental. Any comments?
Also my husband is 6%26#39;5%26quot; and so we need a car with plenty of head room. Can anyone suggest a make and model that may suit us please.
Cheers
Melanie
|||
Hi Melanie
My wife and I go to Europe every 1-2 years for 8 - 10 weeks at a time and always lease. The firt 2 trips we leased a Renault Laguna then a Peugeot 406, then a Peugeot 307 SW 4 times, most recently last year. We typically drive 10,000+km each trip. The 307SW has been superseeded by the 308SW late 2008. It has a heap of headroom, takes 4-5 passengers with ease and has ood luggage space. Yet, it still feels like a small-midsize car.
We always get the diesel for fuel economy and torque.
There is no insurance excess, so the inevitable scratches are a non event. We have had one mechanical problem, a blown aircon compressor. We visited a Peugeot dealer late afternoon, they immediately ordered the part, we took the car in at 10am following morning and by midday were on our way. All under warranty of course.
I have lloked at the relative prices between ordering in NZ and Oz and although NZ is cheaper, I believe that the Oz prices are still less than a rental for anything over 4 weeks, especially if you get the earlybird offer of 7 free days.
|||
Whenever I have checked, the cost of lease has been more than the cost of booking direct with a hire car company in France. There is also the disadvantage that leased cars have special silver-on-red numberplates which shout that the driver is a tourist from outside Europe.
Before you commit to a lease, check out costs with at least one of
www.europcar.fr
www.hertz.fr
www.avis.fr
|||
We have rented and leased - last year we had a lease car for 11 weeks, did it through Global Cars in Australia and leased a Citroen C4 which we had had as a rental the previous year and liked very much.We like Citroens, find they have plenty of room and the diesel ones are extremely economical, we got over 1200kms to a tank from the C4.
Leasing was cheaper for us - we have previously rented through Nova. There are several brokers you can check prices with
www.skycars.com
www.novacarhire.com and there are several others mentioned on this forum. Some of the other leasing sites are www.globalcars.com.au, www.driveaway.com.au etc.
|||
I have an unconfirmed theory that leasing vs renting may be related to what country you come from.
|||
I think you may be on to something Lynn.
One of the aspects of renting, giving it a sharp advantage over leasing in certain scenarios, is the CDW coverage offered by most, if not all, US bank cards. Do bank cards from other countries offer CDW coverage to those using their credit cards for car rentals?
|||
As far as I know, leasing isn%26#39;t generally an option for EU residents, because the savings derive from the buyer/leaser not being required to pay VAT.
|||
There are 2 different to lease costs vs. rental costs. One of them as Lynn points out is the degree of insurance that is included in using a credit card to pay for a rental vehicle or that may be automatically included in travel insurance. However, this may still leave you with eith the first $3,000 or everything after the first $3,000. The other aspect is the actual lease price and this varies significantly between NZ, Australia and USA.
The red silver plates denote that the vehicle is registered tax free but this doesn%26#39;t just signify a tourist. Non EU embassy vehicles also come into this category, as do foreign workers for international organisations, especially noticable around Geneva. I%26#39;ve driven 70-80,000 km around Europe with red/silver plates, parking on streets and public car parks without any hint of a problem. Don%26#39;t the likes of Hertz/Avis still advertise there vehicles with a logo on the back window?
I think the key to Melanie%26#39;s request related to her 6%26#39;5%26quot; husband wanting a vehicle with good headroom. I don%26#39;t believe any rental agencies guarantee a specific model, especially not the 3rd party booking agencies and there are significant differences between vehicles within a group.
I would suggest that your husband test sits a Peugeot 308SW, a Renault Grand Scenic and a C$ Grand Picasso. And of course, compare the cost with rental
|||
I am 6%26#39;4 and drive an ordinary Renault Scenic (not the Grande Scenic)
It is high enough that even when I am driving in the %26quot;sit up and beg position%26quot; (I do this occasionally on long trips) I could still fit in wearing an Akubra.
My 10 year old diesel is averaging over 50mpg, and I believe the new ones are even less thirsty.
Maximum rental period is 60 from most companies, so your 2 months may or may not be possible with a rental car. I have never leased, my brother did once but it was a 9 seater. It worked out cheaper than hiring a 9 seater, but I dont know if ordinary cars work out cheaper - I think you will just have to get a bucket load of quotes.
Simon
http://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/
|||
Glad to see the Akubra is now living in France too! Aussie bunnies take over the world.
|||
Thanks for all the advice.
We tried all the cars suggested and the Citroen won in the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment