Anyone have experience with Peugeot%26#39;s Buy-Back car rental at the TGV station in Avignon? (www.autoeurope.com) It seems like the best deal if you%26#39;re renting for a few weeks!
I looked at www.ideamerge.com and their rates are good, too. But they have limited hours in Avignon and not located near either train station (TGV or Centre).
Thanks!
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I used ideamerge when I did a buyback program a couple of years ago. Ideamerge is just Renault Eurodrive via a broker. I will say that the staff at ideamerge was EXCELLENT. Very very helpful and were able to arrange a last minute rental only a week before pickup! I was very happy with the program. Brand new car, had several traveling and we needed a Renault Grand Espace when the rental companies only had the plain Espace. We were also doing lots of driving so was good to have the unlimited miles.
Havent used Peugeots program but I am sure it is similar. By the way, autoeurope is a broker also. Here is the official Peugot buy back website:
http://www.peugeot-openeurope.com/
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Thanks MorganB! I also found that Hertz has good rates...for a month rental its even a few dollars less than the Peugeot buy-back. And they have better hours at the Avignon TGV. Looks like all three would be a safe bet.
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huntrw, keep in mind that buy back programs usually include unlimited milage and full insurance coverage. Hertz typically does not include full insurance coverage so you would have a daily fee added if you did want that insurance. I know credit cards will cover the insurance for it but it is nice to have the peace of mind that you can just hand the keys over even when there is an accident. Of course with Hertz you dont get to pick the exact car you will get but only the category. It really depends on what your needs are.
Have a great trip!
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the question is how many weeks...as I never took any of these buy-back program, I cannot say. I rent car in France about 3 times a year and this, since many many years and had never any problem. If you pick up your car at CDG, or Nce airport you, have a greater choice (from BMW diesel to VW) than in smaller towns or railroad station. A pick-up at TGV Avignon will not have a great choice. In these place the larger car they usually have are 407%26#39;s or a Laguna. Hertz lately has been a little cheaper than Avis. But if you do a lot of driving make sure you get a diesel one. They are excellent.
Good luck
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Be careful when you are renting a car not to get a car too big for the indoor parking at your hotel. I had the experience recently and I returned the car they had originally gladly upgraded me to (%26#39;cause I rent at least twice a year). Peugeot 407 is a real nice car but kinda large acording to plublic parkings standards.
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%26gt;%26gt; I also found that Hertz has good rates
I assume you have priced the Hertz rental with equivalent insurance coverage as buy-back.
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I would reinforce yymca6%26#39;s comment. Many French car parks are designed for very small cars. Getting into some of the underground parking in Nice would be absolutely impossible in a large car.
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Here is my two-cents on this...we just returned form a three-week trip to Europe and used the Peugeot buy-back program. We absolutely needed a large vehicle since we are a family of six (mom, dad and four daughters ages 15, 13, 10 and 2). Our only option was to go through the buyback program to guarantee that we would get a large enough vehicle for this gang! It worked out great! We picked it up from a dealer in Paris (near La Defense), parked it easily near Invalides, and loaded it outside our rented apartment early on Sat morning. We had stayed in Paris for five nights, then drove all over Europe with it. It was a Peugeot Boxer nine-seater with enough room for all of us and our luggage! We out about 5000 km on it in the three weeks we had it...that would have cost a fortune from a rental! And my husband backed the thing into a tree and made some damage to the upper tail light and fender and they never said a word! We returned it to the airport the morning we left and it took less time than if we had a rental car renturn! I could not recommend it highly enough!
We arranged it through Idea Merge, but when all is said and done you end up doing it through Sodexa in Paris....IdeaMerge is just the broker I think. In any event, it worked flawlessly! And the size of the car was not really an issue. Only a few times were we unable to park that beast in a car park, and then there was always an option to park outside somewhere. The height of the vehicle is listed on the windshield so you can always see it when you are pulling into a carpark.
Just to let you know, we drove that thing from Paris to Lugano, Switzerland, then to Venice, Italy and down to Positano on the Amalfi coast. We drive through a tiny area of Naples/Sorrento, Lucerne with its tiny streets and the windy roads to Positano opposite every tour bus on the planet! It was not always easy, but I would never say we regretted getting that size van.
And when I say we, I mean my husband! I never got behind the wheel...not because I couldn%26#39;t, just because my husband is better at driving stick shift!
Let me know if you need more info.
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I have used the Peugeot Buy-back program 4 times now, and think it%26#39;s the best deal going if you are renting for three weeks or more. The pick-up point is no longer at the TGV station, but is at a Shell station on the ring road outside Avignon. They come to the TGV and pick you up, then return you to the TGV at the end. They also let us park free in their station lot when we went to visit Avignon. AND, I returned the car with a broken windshield, that happened on the way back to return the car. Not a problem. Putting a Hertz or other rental car insurance on your credit card is opting for big problems if there is an accident. If you want to know more about that, I can fill you in.
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