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IDP? Airbnb? Car Rental Compay in France?

WoohooJen

10+ Posts
OK, I know this is a lot of questions, but Help!

1. What car rental company do you trust in France? We will train from Barcelona to Narbonne - or near abouts. We want to rent a car there to drive to our Airbnb near Bergerac. We will have the car for about a month and return it to Marsaille airport when we fly to Florence. Avis says they are "sold out" for April 5, 2023. Really??? So do you trust Sixt? or Enterprise? or someone else?

2. Do we or don't we need an International Driving Permit for France and Italy? If not, then do we need a translation of our Georgia licenses in both languages??? Is it an issue of - you need it if you get stopped, but otherwise who will know? Do we need it to rent the car in either country?

3. We have read several blogs and a book by people who travel a lot or full time in Europe and they all had strong reasons to use Airbnb for bookings. But I just read at least one thread where some of you good folks had bad experiences with Airbnb. We have booked and were planning to continue booking with Airbnb exclusively. Please weigh in! If not them, who??? Southern France, Tuscany, Southern England, Scotland.

Thank you!!!
 
1. It's often recommended to search www.autoeurope.com , which is a broker for booking several companies. For about a month in France you can look at the short-term leases offered by the French auto manufacturers. On the Auto Europe toolbar, they show under Car Leasing Europe in the top menu bar. Their advantages, even if the first quoted price looks higher than a rental, include that you get the exact car model you choose and it includes zero deductible insurance and no fee for an additional driver of the same family (but double-check on all this). For a regular rental, in addition to Auto Europe, where the booking generally needs to be prepaid, you might look at www.autoslash.com ; they look into rates with discount codes for payment at the time of the rental.

2. The official word is that the IDP is needed, but it's very seldom asked for at the rental counter. Once in a while there are reports of problems when drivers are stopped without it. It's good for peace of mind if it isn't too much hassle for you to get it.
 
Hi WoohooJen and welcome here!
About AirBnB :
We use AirBnB exclusively for accommodations in cities. I've gotten used to, and appreciate, their format, and all-in-all have had good experiences with the site and the listings we have chosen. That doesn't mean that there aren't other good options for vacation rentals, and that the AirBnB experience is flawless - but like other things that are connected to each one's preferences while traveling, sometimes it's good to stay with a service you have become familiar with.
The main advantage is also the flip side of the disadvantage. On the one hand, you can be sure that the reviews are of verified users, and not fake. On the other hand, because of the personal connection that is sometimes formed with the host, guests might be inclined to not leave negative remarks. This will probably not happen over major issues - if they arise - but rather over the minor ones, which just might be significant for other users of the accommodation.
So, like everything else you research for a trip, take time and read all the reviews of the listing of the past few years. Usually somewhere there someone has left a "minor" negative remark that just might be important for you. It might be noise at night/early morning, no elevator (should have been, and usually is, mentioned by the host), not enough essentials in the kitchen, etc. One aspect that was problematic but seems to have improved, is the description of a "double bed". Make sure, if this is important to you, that it is indeed a true double bed, and not only two mattresses joined together with a sheet over them.

And of course learn how to "read" the accommodation. In this respect, some hosts have little appreciation of the value of good and comprehensive photos of their listing. If, for example, you don't see a photo of some aspect of the place that is important for you, or can't quite comprehend the inner layout, then either contact the host with specific questions, or just don't choose that listing.
Also, check how much practical info the host adds in the text. If there's a lot of useful details, that's a good sign that the host knows what is valuable to a tourist. A lot of "fluff" - not a good sign. Go over all the amenities included.

Another thing that has become controversial about AirBnB is of course their becoming a behemoth that has even changed the character of neighborhoods in major tourist cities. While that is true, I don't see much benefit in boycotting them. It is unfortunate that governments are not always doing enough to protect their citizens from big business, and the pressure for change should be focused there. In my case, I prefer to choose a host on AirBnB that at least meets you personally.
 
If you are going to need a car for more than 21 days, there is a far better option than renting a car in France.
And that is Leasing. This year (our first trip to Europe of more than 21 days) we leased a car through TT Car Leasing. Here's why it is so good versus rental:
  1. You get a brand new car...absolutely brand new, maybe 10km on it!
  2. You get the exact car you requested. You choose the car you want from a fairly substantial list of French vehicles offered. (Choice of colour is only option not available, but that is also the case with rentals)
  3. All cars come with GPS
  4. No charge for additional driver
  5. Very good Insurance cover included.
  6. Pick up and return just as easy, as with a rental. Probably even better.
  7. Can return to different TT Car depot usually without penalty.
  8. Usually less expensive than renting

Our personal experience:
We leased a Peugeot 508 hybrid Station Wagon.
Pick up was from Nice (France) airport, we took the train from Paris to Nice then a cab to TT depot which is within the Nice airport precinct.
It took about 2 minutes to do the paperwork....they had all the info, and signed contract on hand and the car was sitting waiting for us outside. Beautifully clean and gleaming in the sunlght.
The TT Car representative was so helpful.....spent all the time we wanted going through the controls, GPS, how to use everything, so complete, so pleasant, English not a problem.
During the course of the next 40 days, we travelled 4500+ km thru France and Italy, without a hitch.
We had a minor run-in with a concrete pillar in a parking lot (some other idiot parked so close to us we could not maneuvre fully) and put a minor 'ding' in a rear door.
We advised TTCar by email, with photos (as per requirement in lease)....(damage did not affect operation of the door or window). No problem, because of built in insurance cover
Returned car to CDG depot. They checked the car, were already aware of damage, checked that the Hybrid charging equipment was still with the car....took all of 1 minute, signed the paperwork, received a recept for return of vehicle, then drove us back to our hotel in the CDG Precinct....again, very pleasant, helpful, courteous, organised.
The whole experience was really fantastic.
ABSOLUTELY NO word of a lie or exaggeration here!
Picture below is the car in the village of Radda Italy.



This link is to part of the TTCar website which shows all the depots, if you click on 'BOOKING', you get into starting point......what car, when, where etc.
Hope you find this helpful.
Regards Greg.

DSCN0225.resizeJPG.JPG


Admin: edited to show photo full-size.
 
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As Aussie Greg has said, you could consider leasing a car. One other advantage is that you do not need to return with a full tank of fuel. It comes with about 100kms of fuel on pickup. One disadvantage may be that there are fewer places to pick up, and Narbonne is not one. Toulouse would be the nearest location. We have leased five times pre Covid, cancelled a lease in 2020 and have booked a lease for April 2023. It has always been easy both to book and pick up. We are also Australian and booked through Autoeurope which is often recommended as a broker for renting as well.

We always stay in self catering and have been using https://www.gites-de-france.com/fr for several trips and always been happy with our experience. AirB&B is a presence in France of course, but we have never used it.

As Joe has said, you do need to look at the listings carefully. Some listings can be a bit lacking in information. For example, as we stay at least a week and sometimes two weeks in one gite, I always want a full stove with oven. If there is not a photo showing the oven and it is not clearly mentioned in the fiche descriptive, then we do not consider that gite. I am afraid a two burner cooktop on a bench and a microwave is not what I consider a ' fully equipped ' kitchen.

As for an IDP, my husband always gets one. He has never been asked for it, but have heard of people being refused the car because they did not have one. As already said, it is more if you have to show it to police. It is like insurance. You always hope you never need it, but are glad you have it if something happens and you do.

We stayed south of Bergerac in 2016 and enjoyed the area. This is my report on our stay. Scroll through to the Lot et Garonne section.


Bon voyage.
 
Question #1 is answered by Aussie Greg in post #5. And be aware that if you rent a car and your credit card says they provide insurance coverage, unless you have AMEX Platinum with the added primary insurance coverage or similar card, most cards only provide secondary insurance, i.e. you have to use your personal car insurance first, and then they'll pay any difference.

Question #2 - You only need an IDP if you are stopped by the police or get into an accident or your car is broken into. So you take your chances.

Question #3 - Buyer beware.
 
Question #1 is answered by Aussie Greg in post #5. And be aware that if you rent a car and your credit card says they provide insurance coverage, unless you have AMEX Platinum with the added primary insurance coverage or similar card, most cards only provide secondary insurance, i.e. you have to use your personal car insurance first, and then they'll pay any difference.

Question #2 - You only need an IDP if you are stopped by the police or get into an accident or your car is broken into. So you take your chances.

Question #3 - Buyer beware.
Our Capital One card does provide coverage from car rentals in Europe, but only for 30 days, not longer. Check your cards.
 
I got an email from Auto Europe with a link to their main page on short-term car leases:


Also saying to expect limited availability in 2023.
 
If you are going to need a car for more than 21 days, there is a far better option than renting a car in France.
And that is Leasing. This year (our first trip to Europe of more than 21 days) we leased a car through TT Car Leasing. Here's why it is so good versus rental:
  1. You get a brand new car...absolutely brand new, maybe 10km on it!
  2. You get the exact car you requested. You choose the car you want from a fairly substantial list of French vehicles offered. (Choice of colour is only option not available, but that is also the case with rentals)
  3. All cars come with GPS
  4. No charge for additional driver
  5. Very good Insurance cover included.
  6. Pick up and return just as easy, as with a rental. Probably even better.
  7. Can return to different TT Car depot usually without penalty.
  8. Usually less expensive than renting

Our personal experience:
We leased a Peugeot 508 hybrid Station Wagon.
Pick up was from Nice (France) airport, we took the train from Paris to Nice then a cab to TT depot which is within the Nice airport precinct.
It took about 2 minutes to do the paperwork....they had all the info, and signed contract on hand and the car was sitting waiting for us outside. Beautifully clean and gleaming in the sunlght.
The TT Car representative was so helpful.....spent all the time we wanted going through the controls, GPS, how to use everything, so complete, so pleasant, English not a problem.
During the course of the next 40 days, we travelled 4500+ km thru France and Italy, without a hitch.
We had a minor run-in with a concrete pillar in a parking lot (some other idiot parked so close to us we could not maneuvre fully) and put a minor 'ding' in a rear door.
We advised TTCar by email, with photos (as per requirement in lease)....(damage did not affect operation of the door or window). No problem, because of built in insurance cover
Returned car to CDG depot. They checked the car, were already aware of damage, checked that the Hybrid charging equipment was still with the car....took all of 1 minute, signed the paperwork, received a recept for return of vehicle, then drove us back to our hotel in the CDG Precinct....again, very pleasant, helpful, courteous, organised.
The whole experience was really fantastic.
ABSOLUTELY NO word of a lie or exaggeration here!
Picture below is the car in the village of Radda Italy.



This link is to part of the TTCar website which shows all the depots, if you click on 'BOOKING', you get into starting point......what car, when, where etc.
Hope you find this helpful.
Regards Greg.
Very interesting! We had both Kee with Enterprise but are checking out TT Car right now. Thanks!
 
We’ve done short term lease buy back programs out of Rome airport with each of Renault, Citroen and Peugeot, either directly or more commonly via Autoeurope as broker at the same price. Several advantages to this form of rental as noted by others; only drawback I think is there is a fee to modify your booking. But if 2023 inventory limitations are as restrictive as 2022, I’d recommend booking earlier than later even if you may have to modify later on. A few of our friends got shut out of these deals at the end of last summer despite trying to reserve a couple of months in advance. Of course I have no way of knowing how many cars will ultimately be secured for leasing this year.
 
OK, I know this is a lot of questions, but Help!

1. What car rental company do you trust in France? We will train from Barcelona to Narbonne - or near abouts. We want to rent a car there to drive to our Airbnb near Bergerac. We will have the car for about a month and return it to Marsaille airport when we fly to Florence. Avis says they are "sold out" for April 5, 2023. Really??? So do you trust Sixt? or Enterprise? or someone else?

2. Do we or don't we need an International Driving Permit for France and Italy? If not, then do we need a translation of our Georgia licenses in both languages??? Is it an issue of - you need it if you get stopped, but otherwise who will know? Do we need it to rent the car in either country?

3. We have read several blogs and a book by people who travel a lot or full time in Europe and they all had strong reasons to use Airbnb for bookings. But I just read at least one thread where some of you good folks had bad experiences with Airbnb. We have booked and were planning to continue booking with Airbnb exclusively. Please weigh in! If not them, who??? Southern France, Tuscany, Southern England, Scotland.

Thank you!!!
OK, I know this is a lot of questions, but Help!

1. What car rental company do you trust in France? We will train from Barcelona to Narbonne - or near abouts. We want to rent a car there to drive to our Airbnb near Bergerac. We will have the car for about a month and return it to Marsaille airport when we fly to Florence. Avis says they are "sold out" for April 5, 2023. Really??? So do you trust Sixt? or Enterprise? or someone else?

2. Do we or don't we need an International Driving Permit for France and Italy? If not, then do we need a translation of our Georgia licenses in both languages??? Is it an issue of - you need it if you get stopped, but otherwise who will know? Do we need it to rent the car in either country?

3. We have read several blogs and a book by people who travel a lot or full time in Europe and they all had strong reasons to use Airbnb for bookings. But I just read at least one thread where some of you good folks had bad experiences with Airbnb. We have booked and were planning to continue booking with Airbnb exclusively. Please weigh in! If not them, who??? Southern France, Tuscany, Southern England, Scotland.

Thank you!!!
Regarding leasing a vehicle abroad, it is very important to note that doing so means you own the car. If there are existing problems during pick up, you are responsible for repairs. My husband and I leased a car at the Munich airport and drove to a nearby gas station to fill the empty tank. The car then would not start and had to be towed to a repair shop...on a Saturday. The shop then closed for the remainder of the weekend.

It turned out the battery was dead because no one had run the car while it sat on the leasing company's property. It was a nightmare.

And about international licenses - available at AAA offices. It is advised to get one in the event of any incident. Without it, your US driver's license isn't recognized whereas the international one is.

Carol
 
Sounds horribly frustrating, Carol. Do you know if it was through the same lease-buyback program for Citroen, Renault, and Peugeot cars being referenced in this thread? I’m very far from being the most knowledgeable about it and certainly don’t want to promote it, but I believe they have 24/7 roadside assistance included - as well as zero deductible insurance for standard repairs - in their standard contract. In fact the reason we first (anxiously) tried this kind of lease-buyback deal was when several years ago one of our friends’ spanking new lease-buyback car had some kind of difficultly after a few weeks (I don’t remember what), and their brand new car was replaced by another brand new car without much hassle. I do think that outcome would be very much less likely if not impossible now because of the current car shortage. We also love not being charged for an additional driver, which I must confess previously led us to ‘dissimulate’ about the likelihood of the wife’s inevitable very occasional independent use. So while I’m sure there can be any number of problems that come with leasing through this program no less than any other, I still think you may have more consumer protections here than offered by a traditional rental contract, if indeed it is available for one’s travel dates and location. Hopefully others on this board can share their experience with this arrangement.
 
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We have only had a minor issue, a flat tyre on our last trip, and we just chose to pay the small amount to get it repaired rather than spending time chasing it up. But Allen is correct, you do have roadside assistance and anything major would be repaired or the car replaced. You do not have to pay. There is a condition that you pay for the first service if the kilometres exceed a certain limit as with any new car. I think that is 10,000 for petrol and more for diesel. We travel for ten weeks and that has never been necessary.
We have had a couple of scratches. Once we came back to the car in a car park and found a dent in the side. There was no issue when we returned it.
 
Thanks, Allen, for your detailed response. I should have made it clear that our lease experience was 9 or 10 years ago. From your description, it sounds as though the leasing system has become much more organized.

What I recall is that we rented through Auto Europe and got a lease for a Renault. When we were stuck at that gas station outside the Munich airport, I did as instructed by the car's brochure and phoned Paris. At that point, we learned we were the new owners of a defunct automobile! Luckily for us, a diagnosis came quickly on Monday morning, the battery was either charged or a new one put in, and off we went. Since then, we have been reluctant to get another leased car, but with the new information you present, we may want to reconsider.

Again, many thanks!
 
I have always gone to AAA for and IDP, just in case. The last time I was with 2 others who wanted to be the listed drivers, so I didn't bother getting the permit. One of my friends decided to chance it
re: IDP, and she was denied being a listed driver by Budget in Italy...so, we had only a single driver
which was OK but not what we had planned. My understanding is that Italy requires the IDP because they don't want to have to decipher all the different states DLs. I will probably always get
one in future, just to have the possibility of renting/driving, just in case. Cheap peace of mind!
 
Our Capital One card does provide coverage from car rentals in Europe, but only for 30 days, not longer. Check your cards.
The above is extremely important. And, don't misinterpret artnbarb's note to mean that the first 30 days are covered. No major credit card, nor our home owner's insurance, nor our auto club insurance will cover anything if the rental contract is for more than 30 days.
 
We always get the IDP, peace of mind. Additionally, as suggested by a Frenchman, if you ever are requested to "hand it over" you still have your own driver's license in your possession. Also peace of mind.

Auto leasing has been in our best interest several times. You have to do the research (luckily I have a partner who kind of digs that) and compare, compare, compare. But it's when it's worth it, it's a great deal. AutoEurope and Europcar come to mind. You have great suggestions and information in the posts above.

As to rentals, we also use gitesdefrance.fr as well as suggestions garnered by this forum, Cybevasion recommended by a French traveler, chambres d'hote that we've found while en route as well as online, and some personally listed accommodations. We try to cross-reference the listings, read the reviews and bank on a lot of good karma!

Happy planning!
Laura
 
3. We have read several blogs and a book by people who travel a lot or full time in Europe and they all had strong reasons to use Airbnb for bookings. But I just read at least one thread where some of you good folks had bad experiences with Airbnb. We have booked and were planning to continue booking with Airbnb exclusively. Please weigh in! If not them, who??? Southern France, Tuscany, Southern England, Scotland.
When in Paris, I use French rental companies, not AirBnB. I've used AirBnB in other areas of France. My reason in Paris is that I know the names, from before the days of AirBnB, and have been very happy with them. Because I spend at least a week, up through a month, in Paris, I like having the services of local companies. One company I rented from for over 5 years has now placed his listings on AirBnB. Some of the other companies post on their own websites and on AirBnb. There are differences in prices, too --- probably because of AirBnb requirements. Usually, the cancellations are friendlier on AirBnB, but cost more.
 

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