We will be flying into and staying in Paris for a few days in mid-September and then plan to head south by train, rent a car at a location south of Paris, and then return it to a different location on our way back to Paris. Do car rental companies make this easy and can it be done without a lot of extra car rental cost?
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
If you're staying in France and the rental outfit has an outlet in the locations that you need, there won't be ANY extra cost. What else most people don't know is that you can change your mind and drop it somewhere else and it still makes no difference in the cost (assuming that the rental duration is the same). Somebody's probably going to disagree with the previous paragraph, but I do it maybe one in every six or seven rentals and nobody even blinks. Look at the logic - - they'd rent you a car from A to either B, C, or D for the same price, so who cares where it winds up?
Posted by
Columbia, MO, USA
249 posts
What Ed said. I just did this 10 days ago. Picked up at Orly, dropped at CDG 22 days later; leased through AutoFrance. Total time in the two places-6 minutes maybe-especially easy at CDG. I'd GoogledMapped the route from Verdun, arrival time c. 4pm; no surprises on the route/signage and inside long enough to sign my name. Amazing!
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10602 posts
Lease rules are not necessarily the same as rental rules. I am not disputing what Ed is saying at all. I am just pointing out that leasing is different than renting. I have done both.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
I have no experience in leasing. Don't try to transfer what I said from one operation to the other.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10625 posts
We've leased several times, picking up one place but returning it elsewhere. The only difference is when you lease, the company which handles leasing for all the companies, TT, has very few outlets compared to rental locations. Yes, no problem returning cars to a different location.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10602 posts
The OP is asking about renting, not leasing.
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
There is no extra cost for rental cars returned in the same country as where the rental originated. I rent from AutoEurope or Kemwel. You can check their rates online. However, I finalize my rentals by phone.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
'There is no extra cost for rental cars returned in the same country as where the rental originated.' Not always so. I didn't address it since we were discussing France. It's not a perfect blanket statement, however. In Italy they stick it to you every once in a while, it's not a huge chunk of change, but I've seen just under a hundred bucks when it made no sense at all.
Posted by
OP
Toledo, OH, USA
18 posts
Thanks so much everyone. You have saved me from a lot of arguing with my husband over this issue!