Links & Resources for Cars in Europe

Rental Resources | Leasing Resources | Driving Resources

Resources for Renting

Auto Europe

(www.autoeurope.com) - Though it offers consistently lower prices than the Big Five, Auto Europe actually works a bit like an airfare consoldiator, so you still pick up the car at some local European office of, say, Avis or Europcar...you just end up paying less for it. This is almost always my first choice when I need to rent, and since they now do leases as well, it's the best one-stop-price-shopping for the best option.

EasyCar

(www.easycar.com) -

The folks behind no-frills airline easyJet now rent cars, usually at a cut rate and with lots of inexpensive funky options, like those super-cute little SmartCars and (relatively) inexpensive convertible coupes.

Dan Dooley

(www.dandooley.com)- Ireland's pretty much the last European country with a major rental agency that hasn't been subsumed by one of the big U.S. brands, offering this local option which is often cheaper than the international competition.

Major Agencies

(search all at Orbitz: www.orbitz.com) - I rarely find the best prices by going directly to the big rental agencies (Hertz, Avis, Budget, National, Dollar), but occasionally there will be some special sale or promotion that will bring the rates being charges by the majors down to the discounted prices you'll find at the companies listed above. The easiest way to compare prices quickly at all fo them is to go through a search engine like Orbitz.

Resources for Leasing

Auto Europe

(www.autoeurope.com) - Since Auto Europe does both short-term leases as well as regular rentals (at the best rates in the business), they're the best place to shop first to see which method—renting or elasing—will cost you the least in the long run. They do cheap cell phone rentals, too.

Europe By Car

(www.europebycar.com) - Europe By Car saves you some legwork by grouping together all of the factory programs, allowing you lease a brand-new automobile direct from a European manufacturer (mostly French—lots of Peugeots, Renaults, and Citroens—but also everything from Fords and Nissans to Audis, Alfas, BMWs, or Mercedes) at prices a fraction of what rental rates would run for similar long periods of time. Plus, their Web site lets you peruse pictures, stats, and strikingly honest reviews of all the models available.

Renault Eurodrive

(www.renaultusa.com) - Direct line to the Renault short-term leasing program.

Resources for Driving

AAA

(www.aaa.com)- One stop shopping for International Drivers Permits, traveler's checks, and some free maps and stuff (not great for Europe, but decent for an overview).

Fuel costs in Europe

(www.theaa.com) - The British version of AAA provides a monthly chart, downloadable in Word format, showing you how much gas costs per liter (er, "litre") in countries across Europe. Remember to multiply that by 3.8 to get gallons (and by the current exchange rate to get dollars) to get a sense of just how insanely expansive gas is in Europe. Once you discover that, for example, petrol in Italy runs roughly $6.60 a gallon, maybe you'll understand why Europeans think we're crazy to complain about the price of gas in the U.S.