We plan a three week trip to France in October of 2010. We have investigated leasing rather than renting a car. The prices are about the same but the advantage to leasing is 0 deductible insurance, mult drivers and unlimited mileage. One negative we have read about is that the leased cars have a special license plate that lets thieves know you are not from the European Union. Has anyone a comment on which is better--renting or leasing or has anyone encountered problems with increased threat of theft in the leased vehicles?
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
695 posts
Les, we have leased a car from Renault Eurodrive,
we really like it. New car, as many drivers as you want,
full insurance coverage,and road assistance.
I have heard of the different color plate story, but
only if you had a leased car coming out of France
going into Spain, we had no problem at all and
would lease a car again.
Posted by
San Diego, CA, usa
43 posts
We leased a Peugeot in 2006 through Auto Europe and have one reserved for this spring. Having never rented a car in France, I cannot compare, but I paid less for the lease. Yes it did have a different color license plate, red in 06, but any theif worth his salt can spot a rental car without any special plate. That said, we had no problems with our lease for the seven weeks we spent in France, Germany, Austria and Belgium.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10605 posts
I leased a Peugeot through AutoEurope. It was all inclusive, including 0 deductible insurance as you mentioned. It did not allow unlimited drivers, but any driver related to the main driver was able to drive the car (e.g. my husband and sister could drive, my brother-in-law could not). The car was new, and I did not have to take it in for any servicing.
The license plate was different. Instead of the normal blue EU plate it was red, and was registered in France. It didn't matter - we had no problems. We had the car in Germany, France, Switzerland (Basel only) and the Netherlands. We picked the car up in Frankfurt (had to pay an extra charge for outside of France) and dropped off in Paris.
I had a very good experience with the lease and would not hesitate to do it again.
Edit - this lease was done in 2006.
Posted by
Everett, WA
1299 posts
We have leased twice and rented twice...go with leasing. It is a great value due to all the insurances being included. We have never had a problem with theft. However, we were always careful to never have anything that could be seen and might tempt someone to break in. I don't think your license will be a huge "thief magnet". Theft is random and you can be hit with a rental car as easily as a leased car. (They are easy to identify as well.)
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, USA
320 posts
Les:
We have done the Renault Eurodrive lease on two separate journeys. Both times it worked flawlessly. So simple - no hidden charges of any kind. You get a brand new vehicle. Yes, the car does have a different type of license plate - but you are not going to leave valuables in your car anyway. We never had a problem and we drove thousands of miles all over France and Italy. Have fun.
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
Another great thing about the Renault Eurodrive program is that it includes 24/7 roadside assistance. The red license plate is fun - when you spot another red license plate, you can give them a wave and maybe even have a chat. We've leased from Renault twice & won't hesitate to do it again.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
Whether a car is from the EU or not, whether it is a rental or not, matters very little to thieves. In Lucerne I watched as a bunch of young people with about 10 lbs of different car keys broke into a car with Lucerne plates to steal the shopping that had been left in the trunk. An indifferent policeman eventually arrived after I reported what I was seeing, but the miscreants had long since scarpered off.