one-way leasing - drop off in Europe?

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Thu 31 Jul 2003 09:54
one-way leasing - drop off in Europe? - cherrytree
I am travelling with family to France / Italy for 6-8 weeks and need a 6 or 7-seater. Ideally we would like to drop off this car at Rome airport (before returning to Australia) but renting seems astronomical (up to £2,000!) - has anyone got some good suggestions. I was even thinking of buying a left-hand-drive MPV in London and then trying to organise a sale in Rome - but that sounds like a lot of hassle. Would appreciate any ideas people have...
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Thu 31 Jul 2003 10:16
one-way leasing - drop of in Europe? - DavidHM
That would work, but it would be hassle and LHD cars aren't necessarily cheaper here than they would be on the continent, so you could end up losing £2k between retail and trade anyway.

Hertz do a scheme whereby you rent a RHD car in the UK, cross the channel and pick up a left hooker. The drop off charges in Rome would still be astonishing, though probably less than if it were a RHD.

Possibly the best option is to fly into and out of Paris and pick up a Renault for rent via Eurodrive. It's quite popular with Americans doing a grand tour of Europe. Basically you get a brand new car that they then sell on through dealers as a nearly new, letting them shift extra volumes without directly giving discounts. www.eurodrive.renault.com

You might also be able to fly into Paris and, if you want the extra convenience, drop it off in Nice - it's not Rome but you get to cut out the journey across France and drop off charges will be less, if any, because the car is likely to be sold as soon as you've finished with it.
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Thu 31 Jul 2003 13:15
one-way leasing - drop of in Europe? - looking4car
Why not buy a cheapie , sort out some 3rd party insurance and just scrap it when you get to the eternal city ?
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Thu 31 Jul 2003 16:04
one-way leasing - drop of in Europe? - cherrytree
Thank-you both for your suggestions - I looked at eurodrive (or similar French schemes) - it still seems expensive (over £2,000 for month and a half).
As for buying a cheapie - I definitely would if I wasn't travelling with my family (taking wife and 3 kids with me) :-)

I am now asking an LHD specialist in UK if they would sell to me and then enter into agreement to buy back from me and pick up from the continent. I haven't got an outright no yet so will see what happens....

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Thu 31 Jul 2003 20:12
one-way leasing - drop of in Europe? - T Lucas
Have to say £2000 for about 6 weeks rental in a new people carrier sounds reasonable to me,especially if that includes insurance.If you buy there will be probs with insurance,and with a multi national if you get a problem there is always back-up.As for the buy back and collect in Europe that really sounds like a massive,expensive headache.
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