Leasing car in France

i have done it in the past but not this last trip as we weren't staying over 21 days so it wasn't an option. Their price includes all the insurance and all drivers but essentially it felt the same as a rental through any of the other agencies. We currently have a Peugot which is a nice comfortable car with bells and whistles...unfortunately the car manual is only in French so figuring out some of the features (ie the gps system, head lights, cruise control etc) has been a hunt and peck learning experience but we work on that a bit before we drive away.

Depending on your itinerary, you may be able to save some money by not hiring a car the entire time of your trip. Many people visit France to see Paris and other great cities. A car is more a hassle than anything else while in Paris, and if you group all your Paris time together you can pick up your car afterwards. Again depending on your itinerary, it can be efficient to use France's great trains to get from region to region, then auto to explore. So you might rent several cars in several parts of France. We have traveled this way and found it very agreeable. Of course if the whole point of your trip is to tour by auto, you won't wont to do that. It's just something to consider.

I agree with Adam partly. A car in Paris (or Paris in the middle) isn't that efficient. Put Paris first or last and use only one car rental the rest of the time. You can't use a car in Paris, the metro (or even walking) is much faster. Plus, the price of parking is as much as the daily car rental. France isn't that big, you can drive it top to bottom (Calais to Perpignan) in one mean day. A bunch of short-term car rentals cost more than one long-term one. What irks me is paying for two modes of transportation on the same day. On most days, a car (if you already have it) will beat the train hotel-to-hotel. As for leasing, I've never found it to be the better deal, but revist the idea every once in a while.

I've leased from Renault Eurodrive three times in the past several years and I've always had a good experience. Maybe prices have changed, but I always found lease/buyback to be less expensive than an equivalent long-term rental. When you're comparing prices, you have to make sure you're looking at equivalent insurance coverage. When you compare coverages, don't forget to compare the "exclusions" too.

Thank you all for important advise on car leasing. I will not be using a car during my 5 day stay in Paris. Thanks again.