While it’s true that France offers a vast network of public transportation options, Americans visiting the Gallic homeland may want more convenience and flexibility. Unfortunately, renting a car in France can prove to be quite a challenge, particularly if you’re unschooled as to the taxes and surcharges that normally get added. If you’re not careful, you can end up paying as much as three times the so-called sticker price for your auto rental.
European rent-a-car programs for Americans by and large require extensive paperwork and subject you to heavy taxation and meticulous inspection. If you’re going to Europe for vacation, school, or business, you likely don’t want to get knee deep in some foreign bureaucracy. So where can you turn for an efficient European car rental or lease at reasonable prices?
European can rental agencies often try to foist poorly engineered or dilapidated used cars on American tourists, students, and entrepreneurs visiting the continent. Even at those so-called discount European car rental agencies, transportation often ends up costing a small fortune after the addition of value added taxes, mileage surcharges, gasoline fill charges, insurance taxes, and the like. Thus, what starts out looking like a pretty good deal on a European rental car turns into bureaucratic and financial quicksand.