Car rental gas or diesel

1. Diesel. Manual transmission is best for fuel economy and performance.
2. Insurance: search this website and check out RS "France" guidebook for excellent information.

Diesel is generally cheaper in Europe than it is here. As for insurance, your credit card company is likely to be more helpful if you need it.

As the former owner of a diesel car, carry a glove in a plastic bag to use when refueling. Diesel is oilier, smelly,and the odor tends to cling to everything. "your credit card company is likely to be more helpful if you need it." Several prior postings suggests that the credit card company is not very helpful and that you should not rely on the insurance provided by VISA or Mastercard. There has been a positive posting about American Express but I think you pay extra for the AE coverage.

Thanks everyone. Your suggestions are most helpful. Bill

Whenever I get a diesel in France I'm really happy, since not only is diesel cheaper, mileage is much better. As to insurance, I've never taken the CDW offered by the car agency and always relied on my credit card (either VISA or MC). I've been lucky so far. There's a lot of info on this site about it, including a post I started about a month ago (http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/90855/auto-rental-collision-damage-waiver.html). Decide what you're comfortable with.

Diesel at the pumps is much less expensive in France. Since years ago when diesel was unpleasant it has improved a lot, and the cars put out much less soot and smoke, and most filling stations throughout Europe offer plastic gloves for diesel users (usually on top of the trash cans or next to the paper towels or on the ceiling pillar) although I do keep one or two in the glove box in case I don't see one when I arrive at the pump. I speak as a driver of a relatively recent model diesel car who drives all around Western and Central Europe as well as every day in the UK.

Definitely a Diesel. Great mileage and nice to drive. I once had to use my credit card to pay for a superficial scratch on a bumper (the car rental place in Germany charged me for a brand new bumper). My credit card insurance paid about 60% of the bill.

DIESEL! And opt for the GPS! I never used this before, and didn't know how much LESS STRESS I would have from knowing that when we needed to drive through a tiny village... which unmarked series of streets (frankly the width of hall ways) we needed to take to get through to continue our route.

Diesel and GPS. The colored dot on the gas cap will be the same as the handle of the pump. Green does NOT mean diesel like it does in the States. An expensive lesson but a funny story.

Diesel always gets better gas mileage, costs less and is accessible at all gas stations, unlike here in the States. However, now some rental agencies, like Avis, are charging extra for its diesel cars. When I rent a car, I have it for several weeks and put many km on it, so it's worth the extra for me. Previous trips I would use the credit card for insurance. However, the coverage has changed and I now purchase trip insurance from Travel Guard which completely covers the rental car; i.e., loss of use, tires, etc.