Basically, the leasing worked really, really
well. I checked both Renault and Peugeot. The deals were similar. Renault seems
to offer regular monthly deals where a certain model is put on sale--very good
savings.
Also, as you probably know, in Italy you have to
purchase collision even if your credit card would cover it--it's mandatory. Much
of our driving was in Italy, so the leasing price was even more attractive.
(Other rental companies were offering cheaper daily deals, but they didn't apply
in Italy.)
Two things I liked were the zero deductible (now,
that makes you feel secure!) and the fact that the car was insured in Greece and
on car ferries. Other companies didn't offer coverage in both these cases.
Probably as a result of the zero-deductible
feature, drop-off procedures were a breeze. It literally could not have been
more convenient.
The Renault person met us right at the airport where we would
check in. We arrived at Malpensa Airport quite late, and he was very gracious
indeed. Then I couldn't find the insurance card, which I later found in my
camera case. He said "No problem." And he didn't even glance at the
car, which in fact had a scrape on it which would have cost several hundred
dollars to fix because scrapes on new vans always cost several hundred dollars
to fix.
The whole procedure took less than ten minutes, and he helped us with
the luggage, too! (Later we received a questionnaire about our service, and
helping with the luggage seems to be part of the policy.)
The only snag was that, due to a mistake, my
insurance period was one day short. I only noticed this because I wanted to
extend the period by one day. So people should check their insurance cards very
carefully when they pick up a car. (I was able to straighten it out over the
phone, luckily.)
- Teresa Plowright
For links to Web sites about the Renault and
Peugeot leasing
programs, and for a link to our "Driving in Europe" article, see page 3.
