Nelda Figueiredo, 20 september 2007
We used Ideamerge for the first time and chose the Renault automatic diesel scenic, even though we were not familiar with this car. The entire experience was pleasant. Every step of the process went efficiently and with no hidden surprises.
The car was waiting for us in Porto when we arrived, and due to our luggage not arriving with us, we were delayed reporting our baggage claim. The Ideamerge rep was waiting for us all that time.
Turning in the car was easy and fast as well.
As far as the Scenic, my husband, my daughters and I felt in love with this car. It was roomy, comfortable and we felt very safe in the road. We liked the car so much we wished we had been able to bring it home with us.
We will definitely use Idearc again whenever we travel to Europe.

Walter Koch, kochandwebber@juno.com, 19 september 2007
After the fifth time we have leased for the summer through Ideamerge, I'm running out of superlatives to describe the experience! The paperwork is always fast and smooth at the airport, both arrival and dropoff, and the cars are always great; never a single problem in a total of about 35-36 thousand kilometers of driving over the past five summers.

The Megane Scenic is a perfect family car - great to see out of with those huge windows, secure handling and gas mileage that I could only wish we were able to achieve in the US - again about 42 miles per US gallon of diesel. We miss it.

We will be looking forward to doing the same thing next summer, same car, and through the same people at Ideamerge.

Al Finci, 16 august 2007
This was my fourth rental of a Renault Scenic. This year we picked it up in Brussels and drove through Belgium, Northern France, Switzerland and Northern Italy.
The Scenic performed flawlessly, as in prior years. So it was a great experience again.
The car came equipped with a navigation system (CARMINAT). It was fully functional in France and covered major highways in the other countries. I found CARMINAT extremely helpful in France. In the other countries it was useful, as it kept us on the right highways any time we encountered a detour.
The pickup at the Brussels airport was with Europcar. The navigation system was not previously installed and we had to wait about 30 minutes for the DVDs to load. In addition, the Eurpocar people were really not very familiar with the CARMINAT system to get us started with it. The English instructions were not quite sufficient. Fortunately, we speak enough French to understand the manual.
The car was returned in Geneva on the French side of the airport. It would have been helpful for the navigation system to find the return location. The address for the return place was not a street address, and the navigation system could not find it.
In the future, if I use the Scenic navigations system, I will always attempt to get from Renault the street address of the return location before going overseas.

Bill Laura Brown, 23 july 2007
Rented a Scenic in Italy for the month of April. It was our second time using IdeaMerge, and again, it was a no hassle, good experience. Pick up in Milan, and drop off in Rome went smoothly, and the car ran flawlessly. Scraped a fender the first night on a narrow driveway after 22 hour flight. When we turned the car in, the reply was "no problem, you're covered". That's carefree service!
Will use IdeaMerge again.

Lew Christine Fifield, lsfifield@aol.com, 17 july 2007
Jerry: Thanks for everything, the car rental went smoothly, we had a great
experience and a wonderful car wish we could have brought it home with us,
but it wouldn't have made the baggage allowance on Ryan Air.
Thanks again

Lisa T, 15 january 2007
In August of 2006 we were on our way to Italy for a holiday before a permant move to Belgium from the US. We rented a relatively new Meganic Scenic through IdeaMerge and Renault. We had great service, a good car, and when we got to Belgium and our car had not yet arrived from the US were able to easily extend our contract. IdeaMerge and their leasing program are a great way to go if you are going to be in Europe for 17 days or greater. My husband and I would whole heartedly recommend their service. Friendly people and efficient service and so much better than renting a car...and you can't beat the price!

Walter Koch, 04 november 2006
We have leased Megane Scenics four summers now (the last time the Grand Scenic) for a total of about 260 days. These have to be the best four or five person touring cars in the world; they handle like sports cars, have reassuring brakes and controls and get phenomenal gas mileage. We average about 42 miles per gallon of diesel with the six-speed, calculated from accurate unit conversions, and that includes 130 kph on the Autoroutes, crossing the Alps over and over and everyday around town hill-climbing.

It's like giving up a family member at the end of each summer and we only wish that we could buy a Renault Megane Scenic in the US.

Hal Helsley, hal@Helsley.com, 23 october 2006
We had a most delightful 5 weeks in France and Spain even though
it was the hottest july ever recorded in France. the Scenic we
contracted for was gas and automatic, even the mirrors folded in
with a switch. We used this feature many times in the old parts of
towns in Spain. Once in Seville, we had both tucked in but still
scraped the buildings.
We did not get the navigation system as we brought a GPS on a
computer with so the rear plug-in was a real nice feature. It located
our little old hotel very nicely, but parking in and around then is a
pain in the larger cities of Madrid, Seville and Granada.
I am 6'3" and had no problem in the Scenic. A real joy to drive in
old town and on the country back roads - as well as the freeways.
Great visibility for the passengers too. Our bag and gadgets all had
plenty of space an ease of access.
We spent a week plus in Bordeaux for a wedding and a funeral,
then off to the caves in south central France. Plenty of power as we
traversed the mountains between France and Spain on little
mountain roads and the the four-lanes. We, too, had the fun
experience of the car not starting as I had usually put my foot on
the brake before pressing the start button, even without the key-
bob in the slot! Walking up to the car and having it open was great
after shopping with all our hands full, no hassle of finding and
inserting the key - a very nice feature! We traveled three plus
weeks in central and southern Spain in great comfort with the
superior climate control.
Checking in and returning the car in Bordeaux was 3 to 5 min, a
walk in and out ... what service. Would I do it again or recommend
it to others ... you bet ... the only way to have a car in Europe!
In 1963 we bought a VW bug and traveled for 67 days and then
shipped the car home, we still drive it! I would have loved to do
that again as the Scenic is another superb vehicle with great
visibility and road handling features.
Thanks for seeing to our "out and about" needs.
Hal and Nancy Helsley, Calabasas, California (a USA megapolis)

Miles Capron, 18 october 2006
Hi Jerry - The trip was great and the Renault Grand Scenic TDI was terrific. We've used you guys for a number of years and wouldn't think of doing anything else. I'll contact you after the first of the year when our travel dates are firmed up for next year. Thanks again for making leasing a vehicle so easy and hassle-free. I'll never rent again if you service the area and I'm there for 17 or more days. Miles S Capron

Chris Measures, chrism@soest.hawaii.edu, 17 october 2006
We leased a Megan Scenic for 7 months during a sabbatical in
Bologna, Italy. Everything was effortless from the pick up which
was delayed due to flight problems to the drop off. If only the
airlines were as efficient! The car was extremely comfortable, even
when our many visitors who sometimes showed up with large
amounts of luggage. The Scenic was also a pleasure to drive, even
for long distances, and surprisingly economical on its diesel fuel.
We will certainly do this agian.

amy Hase, amy@toddhase.com, 05 september 2006
Third year with Idea Merge...says it all. Easy, efficient. great car, no
hassles...impossible to imagine any company works this well.
Scenic standard 2x and long Scenic last year. Prefer the long, for
those unexpected guests but both great cars. We use it for about
three months and can't consider an differnet option...thanks.

Sheryl Seel, sherylseel@yahoo.com, 30 may 2006
I leased a Megane Grand Scenic for a month in France and the car was perfect for us! At one point, we had 7 people legally (and comfortably) seated in the vehicle: two adults in front, two adults and a child in the middle row, and my four-year-old twins in the children's jump seats in the back.

The storage capacity of this vehicle is not to be believed; there are marvelous convenient cubby holes all over the place; we found the cubbies at each person's feet perfect for our spare jackets. The car truly was big on the inside, small on the outside. While I wouldn't have enjoyed trying to park this car in a big city, it was fine in parking lots and parking garages, and we were very comfortable in it. The cruise control was especially handy on the French autoroute, and we appreciated the convenient temperature-controlled climate control.

Also convenient was the supplemental rear set power plug for our DVD player, to keep children entertained on long drives. We loved the tray tables that folded down from the front seats, for use by passengers in the middle row, "just like on the airplane" my kids said. They complained when we got home and mommy's minivan did not have that feature.

The car was fun to drive, had plenty of pick-up, and cruised comfortably at 130 kph, and even higher, on the autoroute. I was glad we got a diesel model, due to the high price of fuel, it was more economical than regular gas would have been. The diesel engine was not at all noisy, as I had feared it might be.

We managed to put one modest stratch, and one reasonably large dent, in the car; it just took a few minutes at drop-off to complete applicable paperwork. No hassle.

My only regret? I should have gotten the optional navigation system. We routinely got lost; it would have been worth the extra expense. I recommend this vehicle, and IdeaMerge, without hesitation.

Phil and Eva Costa, phileva@wavecable.com, 17 june 2005
Hi! We just came back from the two moths vacation from Europe. We wanted a comfortable car and we got a Scenic. Great joice.!!! Pict it up in Zurich and dropped it off in Munich.It was intersting to figure out all the wonderful fetures on the car since we dont know any french. When we got pick up the car the Lady was very nice and very busy.She told us about the basic,s and we were on the way to the gas station. No problem until was time to start up the engine. NO GO.Got the book out, no help. A nice police man came by and told us to step on the brake and start the car. BINGO1 We had a good laugh and we were on the way. What a great safety feture. We loved the car. Roomy, very comfortable, lerge windows, easy handling, easy parking, great milage, lots of power,and good looking. We can go on and on if we could have been able to read the book. We felt very safe, even on the Autobands. Highly recomended! Ideamerge gave us great service. I,m sure we do it again.Thank you. Phil and Eva Costa Port Angeles Washington. June 17 2005

Giff and Mary Jones, 07 november 2004
Hi Doug,

Just a quick note to let you know how much your new car leasing program added to the enjoyment of our recent month in Italy. We (two couples) put 3,000 kilometers on our brand-new Renault Grand Scenic and it was PERFECT for ourselves and all of our luggage. Very roomy and extremely comfortable. In fact, we would love to own one here in the US.

Best of all though, and this is why I'm writing to commend you, was the ease of making all the arrangements. The paperwork was simple and straightforward. The car was waiting for us at the exact time and place we arranged for in Milan, and the same person was waiting for us at the end of our period... at the exact time and place we arranged for. We had damaged a side view mirror, which when called to his attention, he simple smiled, scoffed at us with a wave of his arm, and said, "Oh, that's no problem. You are COMPLETELY insured!" Pickup and delivery each took just a matter of minutes and was completely painless.

Thanks for your service. We'll do it again.

Best regards,
Giff and Mary Jones
Seattle, WA

Warren Elder, wlder@gte.net, 17 may 2004
Four of us adults drove the Scenic from Milan to Venice, then Florence, Antibes, France, on to Lake Maggiore, where we stayed in a very quaint and enjoyable B&B on the top of Monte Rosso at Vermiglia, over 40 tight switchbacks to get to the top, ( the car never faltered-even tho we had to back and forth on some of the turns), Salem, Germany, St. Goar on the Rhine River, and turned the Scenic in, in Paris, We fit all of our luggage into car (tightly). Loved the car, easy to pick up and turn in, loved the trip. We are in our 70's but hope we can make another one.

David Ivory, wistaria@xtra.co.nz, 11 february 2004
We picked our Megane Scenic in Lyon. The Renault lady picked us up from the TGV airport station and took us to her tiny little office in nearby village. The car's colour is olive green so we christened her Miss Olivia and she soldiered on with us 4 and a half month through eatern Europe ending up in Paris with 17,000 kms under her belt. How we were sad to leave her in Renault garage looking forlorn and a bit shabby after a long dusty drive across from Brittany. The sales lady who took her back assured us that she will be cleaned,vacuumed and sold to some fortunate guy out there pretty soon. Both of us swear by Miss Olivia and will choose her type again this year when we tackle Northern Europe.
Pity Renault goes too high-tech and they phased out cassette tape player in all their new cars. We carried our MP3 player with million of songs in our disks but couldn't hook up as the car has only CD player. Apart from that, all were faultless.

mari jurij, chikatilo@web.de, 26 january 2004
price

Nezar Al Anjari, alanjari2000@hotmail.com, 03 may 2003
Yes, we did it last summer(2002) and we will do it again. Same deal. Megane Scenic 1.6 Manual with A/C, my kid,me,and my wife. Excellent Pickup, dropoff service and a friendly car :)

The Best affordable way to tour Eourope.

Bradley Newcombe, bnewcomb@csc.com.au, 08 january 2003
I would like to add my congratulations to Renault for the excellent car and service provided through their eurodrive scheme. My wife and I had no problems collecting the car (Megane Scenic turbo diesel, A/c, 5spd) in Paris or returning it in London and the staff were very prompt and professional, the paperwork was simplicity itself.
Our initial travelling experience in London was as the owners of a very unreliable second hand campervan. After the problems we experienced we were keen to have a reliable motor vehicle and a trouble free travel experience. The new car, zero deductible comprehensive insurance and 24 hour roadside assistance was a combination that gave us ample peace of mind.

In a bit under 5 months we travelled 25,400 kms everywhere from Ireland to Turkey. Through flooding rain, thunder storms, heat, snow, flying along German autobahns, winding through the mountains and navigating the beautiful (and narrow) streets our car was completely faultless, drove superbly and returned 40mpg as an average over the entire distance (a diesel car is a big saving when you drive as far as we did). The car has ample storage as well as many “hidden” storage areas – under seats and footwells. When we finally unpacked the car to go home we couldn’t believe the amount of souvenirs we had collected. Even though we covered a lot of distance the driving was not too taxing, the car rode well with minimal road noise, had good visibility (a little higher than a sedan) and the air-conditioning meant any temperature outside was always pleasant inside. It was a pleasure to drive and have the freedom of independent travel.

The car made our trip to Europe as enjoyable and trouble free as we could hope. I can’t say enough good things about the programme, the price is excellent and I would recommend the scheme to anyone travelling to Europe.

Carl Reller, 28 november 2002
I can't resist writing a quick note after reading these reviews. We had a Scenic for 2 1/2 mo. this summer. We previouly had cars from Hertz and Eurocar for the summer so the ease of picking up this car in Nanntes France was really put in prospective. How can walking up to a counter, have your passport photocopied,sign 2-3 signatures and I'm lead out the door to car with 4 km on it, and asked is this O.K.?, be any easier?
The car was great, never a problem and returning was even easier. A few signatures, no "inspections"
and I was out of there. My total time picking and returning the car was 5-6 minutes, total!
The ability to get a diesel was also a very positive point.
The comprehesive insurance surley is another plus.
Will I use them again this summer-you bet!

Bill Watters, creative@pipeline.com, 29 october 2002
Yes, we did it again this past summer. Same deal. Scenic, two kids, me, one wife. This time Zurich-Munich-Rheinland Pfaltz-Paris-Caen-Portsmouth-London. The car seemed like an old friend after having one the previous summer. Pickup, dropoff, car quality - all was flawless, no surprises.

The only problem was our shopping. By the time we got to Paris, people gathered round just to watch us try to cram all our stuff in the car. Thank God for tolerance when you're flying First Class! Our luggage topped 1,100 lbs, but no one gave us problems.
Next summer? Fer sure! But this time we'll try an Espace just for a change of pace.

Renault is the ONLY intelligent way to bop around Europe!

Iracy Costa, iracy@terra.com.br, 27 june 2002
Sou proprietario de uma Scenic 1.6 e em setembro de 2000, viagei durante 17 dias, 5.400 quilometros, atraves da França, Alemanha, Suiça e Italia.
Cumprimentos ao pessoal que nos atendeu em Paris fora do horário com muita eficiencia e gentileza.
Quanto ao carro, só elogios ao seu desempenho.
Estamos voltando à Europa e faremos novo leasing Renault Scenic 1.6.
Iracy Costa - Marilia - Sao Paulo - Brazil

Bill Watters, creative@pipeline.com, 01 october 2001
My two sons and I (and for the last three weeks also my wife) spent two months in Europe driving from Paris to Rome. Leased a Scenic 1.6 manual. Pickup was as easy as a rental.

We had a rather bad accident in Reims on Bastille Day, pretty much everything was shut down as per our 4th of July. The police were most courteous and professional as was Renault. With only one phone call to their 24-hour number, they had a Renault mechanic and truck out to us in lass than an hour. The guy has us back on the road in about a half hour more.

We stopped a few days later in Germany to have the car looked at, but then puttered on in the general direction of Rome.

Renault really offers an exceptional program. And a very comfortable car as well.

Dr. Watters

Karen Koshy, 24 august 2001
We picked up the Renault in Amsterdam and drove all over Europe. The car was great and we had a wonderful vacation. We returned to Amersterdam and retuned the car. We will definitely lease a Renault on one of our next vacations. Thank you for all your help.

Karen Koshy

John McMillan, john.mcmillan@usa.net, 02 august 2001
I too had a great experience with the 1.9L Diesel Scenic, in France. To avoid repeating many of the last reviewer's comments I'll just add the following, as it was the type of info I was looking for before making my trip:

Distance travelled - 4,030km (mostly on autoroute)
Average diesel consumption - 6.3 l/100km
Average diesel cost - FRF 5.69 per litre.
Autoroute toll cost - about the same as the diesel cost
Problems with car - Nil

Pros:
None of the usual rental car insurance dribble about what coverage you would like.
I am 6'4" and the headroom was fantastic.
Booking in and out in Paris was quick and efficient.
The car had good acceleration and we never felt underpowered.
The car is the right size for almost all of France's backroads...go to some of the villages and backroads of Provence and you'll know what I mean.

Negatives:
At 130km/hr on the Autoroute the engine is a little bit too vocal to be drained out by the radio.
I feel the need for a baby seat would better be covered by rental of same rather than outright purchase.
I would have loved to have satellite navigation as a option, SO would my wife.

All in all it's a great program

Gregory Hanka, 12 july 2001
I don't normally do this, unfortunately. But, I just had such a great experience with my short term lease through your company that I had to write.

We had a splendid Renault Megane Scenic automobile with a turbo diesel. It was a beautiful car in a mini-van/tall wagon styling. Many amenities like
comfortable seats (my wife needed them), trays for each back seat passenger (my sons loved it), the ability to get at things in the trunk through the
back seat and the storage compartments in front and back. The trunk was spacious and fit all our rollered suitcases in a row. My boys brought a CD
player along and used the 12V DC receptacle by the floor in the back seat the entire trip.

I picked the car up at Budget counter in Geneva. The fellow behind the counter was friendly and courteous and got me on my way with the information
I needed to have a safe and enjoyable trip.

I ran into one problem on the road. The warning lights on the dash came on. Since the manual was in French, we didn't know exactly what was the problem.
I called the toll-free number, got a person that could speak English on the line and he dialed a mechanic. We had a three-way conversation going. The mechanic said it was nothing serious and bid us a safe, rest of our journey. (It turned out that I needed to check the tire pressure and the warning
lights would not come on.) So, we really had nothing serious the whole 27 days we had the car.

When I returned the car to Geneva, I had one form to sign and I was out the door. With normal renting, I would be looking at damages, assessing fines for not enough gas in the tank, etc., etc. This was the most carefree rental I have ever had.

I will definitely keep you on top of the list for our longer term driving vacations in Europe. I was glad I found you.

Thank you.

Doug Brouwer, dbrouwer@firstpreswheaton.org, 14 november 2000
My family and I picked up our leased car, a Renault, in Milan. I expected the worst, and so was surprised and delighted by how easy it really was. The dealership could not have been more helpful in getting us into the car and on the road. The car itself performed flawlessly -- even in the mountains. I was impressed. The return several weeks later in Paris was just as easy.

Before our trip we did a fair amount of research on every aspect of our trip, including cars. I thought the lease arrangement with Renault sounded too good to be true (usually a warning sign). In the end, though, it really was the best deal around for our needs. We were in Europe -- mostly Italy -- for a month, and the lease arrangement turned out to be a great deal.

One small caveat: my family of four (including two tall teenage girls) occasionally had a tight squeeze to get into this car. When we had to travel with our luggage, we just barely made it. But -- and this is the good news -- we did it!

I'd lease this car again.

Steve Stanec, cclsteve@aol.com, 13 november 2000
We leased a Renault Scenic earlier this year (2000) through Ideamerge and the Internet. Everything was straight forward and they did a great job with the paperwork and trying to get us insurance for Poland and Hungry. After talking to the US Embassy in Hungry we gave up the idea of driving through that country and elected to drive through Austria instead.

When we arrived in Frankfurt, Germany, we were met at the airport by the leasing agent. He then took us to his office about ten minutes away, where our new automobile was waiting for us. This was a Sunday and there were very few other people around. The agent was very courteous and helpful and the whole operation took only about thirty to forty minutes.

Our trip took us into or through eleven (11) countries and covered twenty-three (23) days, just under 5,000 miles or 7, 700 kilometers. For one half of the time there were four (4) adults (my wife and I, her sister and brother-in-law) and all our baggage. It was tight but comfortable. The other half of the time, it was just the wife and I and we had lots of room, even with some of her sister’s luggage and our purchases.

The car was a Scenic with auto transmission and A/C. It performed above expectations and visibility was excellent which I feel is extremely important when traveling in unfamiliar areas and trying to sight-see at the same time.
It road well and was able to keep up with all but the very fastest cars on the autobahns and autostrasses. I might add the gasoline mileage was also very good and this was definitely a plus with the cost of gas in Europe. We enjoyed the car so much that we hated to turn it in at the end of the trip and asked if we could purchase it to take home. I might add the cost was straight forward and very reasonable compared to rental rates we had obtained from various sources.

Another thing we really enjoyed was the full coverage insurance they provided for all the countries we visited, even though, we did not have to use it at all. Most rental agencies would not provide insurance for such areas as Slovakia, The Czech Republic, Slovenia or Croatia. We had no problem taking the car into any of the countries, probably because the car was registered in my name.

When we returned the car to Frankfurt we took our bags to the airport first and had them checked-in and then returned the car to the leasing agency. Like when we picked it up, it only took about 20 to 30 minutes and again the agent was extremely polite and courteous.

I have already recommended the Renault lease to several friends and would not hesitate recommending it to any one else. At present we are hoping to return to Europe with others in our family some time in 2002 at which time we will probably arrange for the lease of two vehicles and hopefully the Scenic will still be available. It was really a great experience!!!

Faye Augustine, 30 november 1999
Leasing from Renault was a painless enterprise and gave us a great advantage over other types of travel. We could go wherever we wanted! Since all costs were up front, we knew exactly what we were getting and the insurance coverage was especially helpful as we had a minor accident in France. After getting our police report, we continued our trip and handed over the documents when we returned the car. Renault was very gracious. No other costs were incurred.

The car we rented was a Megane Scenic and it was very comfortable and roomy enough for a 6'1" driver. It handled well on those speedy highways, but we never got over 100 mph! We saw lots of great Renaults all over Europe and the Scenic looked like a good size for more than 2 passengers.

Also, there are Renault dealerships everywhere! It was reassuring to see them in remote places, especially outside of France, but we never needed to use one! The car ran well on diesel which was about 1/3 less in cost thatother gases. We didn't notice any diesel smell like you can with older vehicles.

It's great to start out your vacation in a brand new car. The location of the agency in Paris was very convenient. When we were ready to take off, we taxied to the Renault dealer with our luggage and after about 1/2 hour max, they wheeled our "new" car out for us. You will have to buy your first tank of gas, however, you can practically coast back on in your fumes and return it empty. On return, Renault will call a taxi for you and you're on your way. That's different than renting in the US.

We would definately use Renault again!