Long Term Car Rental/Lease in Germany

I have not done it. However, the Mercedes dealership in Munich probably does something like this. Their corresponding website is in German.

Yes, look at AutoEurope - car leasing Europe. It offer French cars (Peugeot, Citroen) for short lease periods (3 weeks to 6 months). Good prices, new cars, zero deductible insurance. Pick up locations are more limited than regular car rentals, but it’s a great option. We’ve done it several times, and it’s discussed often here if you do a search.

Peugeot and Citroen are two companies I have used for lease/repurchase cars. Although French companies, they offer pickup in the countries you are visiting: in Milan, Rome, Frankfurt and Munich. The insurance is good, the car is new and exactly what you ordered: no surprises particularly if you were looking for an automatic transmission vehicle.
Minimum rental is usually 17 to 19 consecutive days.

In many cases, it can be more expensive than a rental. It depends on your itinerary. If you are spending significant amounts of time in cities, and traveling by train between them, then local rentals may be the way to go. Auto Europe is a reseller for Peugeot and Citroen, plug in your itinerary to check prices and compare. Auto Europe also rents vehicles, and is favored by many on this Forum.

Ask Gemut.com -- I used them to book my rental car in September. Excellent service.

Others have mentioned it as well, but do you really need a car for 5 weeks? Germany has a great and very dense network of trains and buses that will take you almost everywhere and save you a bit of money.

I've rented from a number of companies over the years, the last few times with AutoEurope. Never for more than 4 weeks, one of them a lease out of EuroAirport.

The new Peugeot or Citroen deals are available through AutoEurope. From Munich, for example, 5 weeks in the summer, about US $1870 for a manual, about $2030 for an automatic: small car, GPS, road assistance, all insurance included. Drop-off back in Munich.

With these long term rentals or leases is there any issues crossing borders with one?

Would like to rent in Munich and drive through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia for 3-4 weeks

Also Gundersen, when you say all insurance included was that with collision etc? I see when you use autoeurope, at least the Canadian site, it seems to give you the base rate without collision or theft?

Tyler - Vignettes (road tax payments with a windshield sticker) may be needed in some countries and can usually be purchased at the first gas station you see in the new country - but you should check with your rental company before you go.

Tyler, under coverage options choose no deductible, under transmission type choose automatic (most all leases will be automatic). Includes built-in GPS, full insurance coverage and road assistance. There are certain restrictions regarding countries:-

Travel into the following countries is covered by insurance and for assistance: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus (limited to the geographical parts of Cyprus which are under control of the government of the Republic of Cyprus), Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Metropolitan France (including Corsica), Germany, Gibraltar, Greece (excluding Crete and Greek Islands), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy (including Sicily and Sardinia), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal (including Azores and Madeira), Romania, San Marino, Serbia (limited to the Republic of Montenegro and the geographical parts of Serbia which are under control of the government of the Republic of Serbia), Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (including Balearics and Canaries), Sweden, and Switzerland.Travel to any other country is at the lessee's risk and is not covered by the CITROEN insurance or roadside assistance.

Vignettes are required on motorways in Switzerland and Austria, not on secondary or city roads. The odd time I've driven in both countries without a vignette. It all depends on what you want to see, timeframe etc: depending on the route, you may have a more scenic drive, or you may run into busier, slower traffic.

is there a reason a lease beats a long rental? Seems to me they are the same thing ...

"is there a reason a lease beats a long rental" - Phred, yes. Apart from the contractual differences, which I won't get in to, a lease make much more sense costwise. At a certain point in time, between three or four weeks, you start to notice the difference. A Citroën lease in Germany or France, say, for a period of eight weeks, costs less than renting from one of the big boys, providing the same options are provided/taken. Far less.

Some people on this forum have cards which covers auto insurance in Europe, which must help with the cost of rental. I don't.
Even without taking out extra insurance, a company like Hertz is way over double over a long period.