> I wouldn't write off the idea of a car.  Although Europeans rarely travel
> great distances by car, the roads are good through most of Europe, and
> except in a few cities, driving really isn't that much of a chore.

If you don't mind driving then there is a superb hire deal available
throughout Europe.

There are special "hire" offers by the major French car makers. These are an
utter bargain. You effectively "buy" a  brand new car tailored to your
requirements (within limits) and sell it back at a prearranged price at the
end of your trip. This is a tax swindle arranged by the French government to
assist tourism etc and no doubt their car makers. The cost for other than
short periods is LESS than comparable rentals. You get full insurance cover
(NO excesses) and there are NO hidden costs. Car hire companies hide costs
all over* . Proper insurance can vastly increase a hire bill and there are
still excesses. You can pick up and return at many centres. Extra cost in
some cases but still  reasonable. If I know then what I know now I would
have Chunnelled our car into the UK and returned it in London. We started
with it in Paris.

Peugeot Eurolease, Renault Eurodrive (or have I got those backwards) and I
think Citroen as well.

We were EXTREMELY happy with the deal that we got from Peugeot. We had a
manual diesel Peugeot 306 Skywagon for 4 weeks in Europe mainland. Full
glass roof allowed superb views in city and country. Passengers were much
better off. A nice car - not super powerful being diesel but well up to the
task of touring at full legal speeds with 4 people and too much luggage. 100
mph/160 kph on autobahns without apparent effort (we mainly sat at 130/140k
on autobahns) and let the Mercs sail past at 220+.

The 4 week hire above cost us less than 2 weeks in UK and than 2 weeks in US
afair.

I'll happily buy a 306 diesel skywagon once they get old an cheap here :-)


        Russell McMahon

Britain - can't remember.
USA was "(remember the) _ _ _ _ _ " car hire.
I consider that they effectively ripped us off in two major ways.
No doubt their opinion would vary.

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