Ever picked up a lease on a car in Europe?

You would never want to pickup a lease on anyone. Business is not done that way.

You can always lease a vehicle if you're going to be there 3 weeks or longer. Most are Renaults and the leases are picked up and turned in in France. I never thought the benefits and prices paid were that good, however. I'd first suggest shopping hard with regular rental car operations to see their prices.

Peugeot has a leasing program in the UK that goes out to just short of six months, but I agree with David, I think, in that what you're proposing is some kind if sublease or lease assignment which could have all sorts of problems.

I also agree with him that a rental is better than a lease.

One thing to consider is that credit cards will only cover the insurance for thirty to forty days depending on the card, so you'd have to swap out cars periodically. Another factor, hazy and I've forgotten why but still believe it, is that there has to be a dead period of some duration between rentals on the same card in the same area - - so what I do is swap cards with cars, which may be unnecessary.

About 10 years ago, we used Auto Europe's lease deal, which was offered in addition to their regular rental offers. Over 6 weeks in France, the lease was cheaper than renting, but I think it required a longer than 3 week timeframe for it to be available. The experience felt like all our other rentals, as we picked up the car, drove it on vacation, and dropped it off at the end, but legally it was a lease and I'm sure the company had different paperwork to process. We fortunately had no accidents or tickets to contend with so there weren't those issues that might have complicated things. It was a brand-new Peugeot with about 10 km on the odometer when we picked it up, and the Auto Europe rep gave us a quick "new car orientation," demonstrating how the dashboard controls worked, which actually was a different experience than renting, where the rental desk person just hands you the keys and a map and points to the lot where the car is parked. We picked up the car in Bordeaux and returned it in Paris and walked away . . . really easy.

We didn't assume someone else's lease, and I don't know that we'd consider that kind of arrangement. If it works for you, great, but I'd be worried you could be taking on someone else's problems, or setting yourself up for a legal/paperwork nightmare.

I agree that picking up someone else's lease may be tricky and end up leaving you responsible for hidden costs.

I've leased and rented in Europe. I always price both and decide which is the better deal for a given trip. If I had to give a rule of thumb, it would be a rental is the better option if you're getting an economy car (sub-compact with manual transmission) and a lease is the better option if you're looking for a bigger or nicer car. Rental prices go up quickly when you get away from the economy cars, lease rates are driven by resale value. If you need a seven-seat vehicle, as an example, a lease might be a much better deal.

The lease price include full collision damage waiver (CDW) insurance in the price. That's an added option on rentals. I have yet to damage a rental or leased car (but doesn't mean I go without insurance). I like the full CDW option American Express offers on some of their cards (I'm using a Costco card). For a one-time $25 (I think it's $35 in some states, other states don't allow it), you get full CDW for the entire rental (up to, I think, 40 days). It's a good enough deal that I'd check and see if it's an option for you.

We have leased two cars on two different trips. One was with Renult in Paris which was a brand new mini van. Worked out great for the 21 days we leased it for. We were traveling with our teenage kids at the time and wanted the extra room. We picked up in Paris and dropped off in Rome. It cost a little extra for that. The second time we rented through Peugeot. We picked up a brand new small compact car, I can't remember the numbers but it worked out wonderful because it was just my husband and I so two small carry on bags and two back packs fit perfect. We picked up and dropped off in Paris for a total of 17 days. I recommend leasing. I think it is cost effective if you lease for at least 17 days. It included all the insurance and the car is brand new.

The question is not about buy-back programs, which is what these short term tourist leases are. Those work fine.

Just a small note in case you haven't thought about it but several months of travel in Europe is more like a couple of months since you are limited to 90 days and that does not mean three months unless you include February. Or longer if you get the proper visa.

If the only reason you're renting a car is to avoid lugging bags from a train station to your accommodations, remember that you can take a taxi door to door. Also, depending on where you're going, you may not be able to drive up to your accommodations, but may have to park a ways away and walk with your luggage. Of course, you may have lots of other reasons for wanting a car.

2 weeks since the Original Post yet the author hasn't returned to the discussion. Any chance that the room is empty?

mschonekas - are you still there?

Hi, Nigel....thanks for checking. I am still alive and kicking! Thanks, all for the input.