Leasing a car

Today I was talking to an Aussie couple, they had driven from Florence, and were handing their car in in Basel, after 3000Km. I asked them was it not expensive to do a one-way rental, they said no, they had leased the car and there wasn't a surcharge for dropping off a leased car in another country. I don't know how long they had the car for or what they paid.

I find it hard to imagine the these are true leases:
- If you own the car you need to register it and that needs residency
- Ditto for insurance
- Then there is VAT, if you are not resident, then you are exporting the car so VAT should apply at the border crossings.

I've leased in Amsterdam and dropped in Rome, if that's what you're asking. I didn't exchange it. The idea with a lease is that you buy a car with a prearranged deal to sell it back. The companies that do it, Peugot and Renault, are French. If you pick up and drop in France, there's no charge. If one end is in France, you don't pay extra for that pick up or drop off. There is a charge if you pick up and/or drop off outside of France. I found, even with those charges, it was a good deal.

My general rule is that rentals start cheap and get expensive quickly as you go from basic to premium cars. If you need a bigger/nicer car, leasing can be a really good deal. In my case I had five passengers, each with a carry on, and rented a seven passenger car. When I've only needed a compact car, renting has worked out to be better.

I found the same thing as Brad when I leased a car 10 years ago. As explained, you keep the one car for your entire lease period. I had to pay an extra charge to pick the car up in Frankfurt. I returned it in Paris, so there was no extra charge for that.

About as long as I have been reading guidebooks (40+ years), I've seen recommendations that travelers lease rather than rent if they need a car for a longer period (21+ days, I think it was). Part of the cost savings comes from the much, much lower insurance costs. The daily rate for insurance charged by car-rental companies is extortionate.

It's good to know that this can be a cost-effective transportation option even if your trip doesn't start and end in the same country. Now I just need to learn to use a stick shift or acquire some traveling companions!

we have leased a car in europe twice now, and intend to do it again next year. there are cost benefits and other advantages. the last time we did not even have to pay for dropping it off in another country. there are particular conditions for leasing. but has been good for us.

I leased a car in France a number of years ago; I think it was through Renault. And it was an automatic. It was for 20+ days, and I remember it was a substantial savings over a rental. However, when I've checked more recently, that wasn't the case for that kind of time frame.