The pick-up date for one of these French "TT" (Transit Temporaire) tax-free short-term auto leases should be such that no one-year time-window involving that date — whether terminally, initially or otherwise — also contains more than 185 days during which the client (i.e. you, the customer) was/is/will be in the European Union — the notable exception being TT Special registration, in which case the one year duration involving the pick-up date as its initial day may contain up to 365 days (366 if a leap day is involved) that the client expects to spend in the European Union. … In terms of the lease booking process the 185-day constraint is effectively an “on your honor” thing unless there is an ineluctable record — i.e. another such lease or leases in the client's own full name (in contrast to, say, the client's spouse's name) and effective within the one year duration immediately prior to the pick-up date — which particular record would during said process seem to contradict a client’s statement in this respect. A client’s passport will of course bear a unique stamp for each day s/he enters or exits the European Union, but the inner pages on which these stamps are placed are not viewed as part of the lease booking process. Only French Customs officials in France might view those pages with regard to the lease. Such officials are no longer typically stationed at major or minor roadway entry/exit points to/from France. They are mostly stationed at airports and seaports, although to some small degree they do patrol the roads of France. If French Customs actually encounters in France a TT- or TT Special-registered vehicle and discovers that it is being leased by a client who does not qualify for such registration, French Customs (alone) is empowered to confiscate the vehicle for this reason, in which case no refund would be given to the client.

By the way, a client may not have two or more TT or TT Special leases in his or her own name the durations of which leases overlap.

who can drive the lease car?

The short-term auto lease program allows Peugeot, VW, Renault and Citroen to put many thousands of such vehicles on the market, thus lowering the effective cost of their vehicles compared to the international competition, and hence increasing sales. Of course the French government likes to see its major manufacturers selling literally lots of vehicles, and it likes to encourage tourists to visit France, so it extends a separate law to make these leases tax-free on the condition that only non-full-time-residents (in contrast to citizens) of France may purchase such lease.

what are the max durations?

 
As described above, such registration entitles you to a longer duration lease, The process of completion and approval of the necessary additional forms (listed at bottom of the Resources page) for TT Special registration may add a week or so onto the aforementioned leadtime associated with the lease arrangement.

what is the minimum lease duration?

Note that there are also pick-up and/or drop-off charges that apply to locations outside France. (The Geneva location is considered inside France.) Our online software automatically adds those charges into the total, all-inclusive price and of course includes them in the detailed cost breakdown it presents to you.

why choose IdeaMerge?

 
For starters, the IdeaMerge rates are identical to or less than our vendors' rates. No padding of rates here. The contrary is true. Nevertheless we fully and profoundly embrace our role as broker, treating our clients and our vendors equally with great respect. It's a winning formula. In choosing IdeaMerge you gain the leverage that only such a fair, successful and expert go-between can offer. We're your advocate if something goes wrong. Our Website attests to our work ethic, our consequent expertise and our thoughtful nature. As you can discern, we are the industry leader when it comes to representing tax-free short-term European car leases and worldwide motorhome rentals. What's more, you'll be pleased to discover that our remarkably responsive and personable e-mail and phone support keep pace with — and perhaps even outdistance — our other proficiencies.

But don't just take our word for it. Please peruse (and eventually add to) our French car leasing customer reviews. Note that clients post the reviews directly to those pages. That's how much confidence we have in what we represent and how we represent it.

At IdeaMerge, customer service is more than a concept — it's an ethic.

why so many diesel cars?

And IdeaMerge can guarantee you a diesel vehicle if you select one for your short-term lease.

In a diesel engine, the fuel — which inheres more free energy than gasoline — is pressurized in a "common rail," an intake pipe leading to all cylinders. Electronically controlled injectors allow a precise amount of vaporized fuel to squirt into the cylinders. Consequently diesel engines offer great work capacity — which is of course good for larger vehicles, heavy loads and mountain driving — and they consume less fuel while in like measure producing less exhaust.

Admittedly, diesel exhaust long ago gained a reputation for being sooty and smelly. (As if gasoline doesn't smell too!) Yet certain other important pollutants — especially sulfates — have always been considerably less present in diesel exhaust than in gasoline exhaust. And technological improvements in diesel-engine efficiency and especially in the filtering of diesel exhaust have rendered the diesel engines of today considerably more eco-friendly than gasoline engines. Gone is the remarkable sootiness. Gone, too, is the darned glow plug (in contrast to spark plug); now you can start a diesel as quickly as a gasoline engine. Moreover, almost all these diesel cars are turbo charged such that their acceleration approximates that of gasoline-powered vehicles.

Given the native demand for diesel engines in Europe, diesel fuel is available there wherever gasoline is available, and the diesel fuel is of a higher grade than that sold in the United States. Likewise, fuel stations in Europe provide diesel pumps on the same service islands as the gasoline pumps. Plastic gloves are even provided so you need not dirty your hands!

But BEWARE: A diesel nozzle is considerably wider than either a leaded gasoline nozzle or the even smaller unleaded gasoline nozzle and indeed will not fit into either such tank. Consequently a gasoline nozzle will fit into a diesel tank. Therefore, be careful not to put gasoline into a diesel tank!!! Even a liter of gasoline added to the tank of a modern diesel car can cause irreversible damage to the injection pump and other components due to its relatively low lubricity. In some cases, the diesel car so abused has to be scrapped because the cost of repairs exceeds its value. (Diesel in a gasoline engine — while creating large amounts of smoke — does not normally cause permanent damage if it is drained once the mistake is realized. Similarly, older diesels using completely mechanical injection can tolerate some gasoline, which has historically been used to "thin" diesel fuel in winter.) A green pump holds unleaded gasoline or else diesel, a blue leaded gasoline. Diesel pumps are sometimes colored black, sometimes green. Diesel pumps are chiefly signified linguistically, either with the very word diesel or with one of the equivalents: gas-oil, gaz-oil, gasolio, gasóleo, dieselolie, mazot, motorina, or nafta.

In step with the increasing popularity of hybrid vehicles, diesels are becoming more popular and more available in North America. In particular there's quite a buzz about biodiesel fuel. You might do well to consider your lease of a Peugeot, VW, Renault or Citroen diesel car a nice, long test drive of a modern diesel passenger car.

turbo talk

A turbo or turbocharger on an automobile engine is a small centrifugal pump that compresses the incoming air required by the engine for combustion. The action of compressing this air allows for a larger quantity of the fuel to be introduced into the engine and thus for more power to be generated by the engine — which is useful for acceleration and likewise for climbing hills.
There is an optimum mixture of fuel and air for an automobile engine to run correctly, which is approximately 15 percent fuel to air. You cannot simply add more fuel to an engine to gain more power; both the fuel and the air components must be increased. Therefore what is needed is a way to introduce significantly more air into the system so that more fuel can be added in the correct ratio. The answer to this challenge is the turbocharger
how does a turbo work? A turbocharger is nothing more than a small air compressor that compresses the incoming air by means of an impeller that resides in the ambient air intake stream. The impeller is rotated by way of a turbine attached to the opposite end of a common shaft which is being rotated by the engine's exhaust stream. Due to the shape of the impeller blades and turbo housing, the turbocharger increases the density of the ambient air as that air enters the engine. By commensurately adding more fuel to that air, the engine produces more power — as much as 30 percent to 40 percent more power.
why does a turbo work? A natural reality of motor fuels and engines is that motor fuel cannot be completely consumed by the engine. An engine's exhaust still contains some caloric energy that, while no longer sufficient to drive the engine, can be still be utilized for something. Engine gasses should be let out of the engine precisely when they are no longer useful as a motor fuel. These exhaust gasses are super-heated and expanding rapidly; they are in a big hurry to find a place where they can complete their expansion. (This is why engine exhaust “blows” out of the tailpipe instead of just dribbling.) Using both the latent energy contained in those exhaust gasses and the expansion of those gasses, the turbo’s impeller, located in the exhaust manifold, is caused to turn. The rotation of that impeller directly rotates the turbo’s turbine, housed in the ambient air intake stream, which then compresses the ambient air coming in to the engine.
what does a turbo mean for you? A turbocharger can assist you in several ways. Turbos create more power, which is useful for acceleration and likewise for climbing hills. Another benefit of the turbo is that the artificial pressure environment it creates inside the engine renders the engine far less sensitive to the naturally varying outside air pressure. For instance, a non-turbocharged car loses a considerable amount of power as it climbs in the mountains. (Many piston-engine powered aircraft employ turbochargers for this same reason.)
why turbo diesel? The diesel engine has benefitted significantly from the technological advancements in the world of turbos. Many of us remember the not too distant early years of diesel powered automobiles, most notably during the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, and their reputation as slow and cumbersome vehicles. While diesel engines and turbo chargers have been around for many decades, it took quite a while for each of the two devices to be perfected independently and brought together in a way that was reliable and effective enough for common automotive use.
Diesel engines as part of their specialized nature are very fuel efficient and generate a great deal of power, but this power is in the form of torque, or twisting force, which is primarily good for hauling heavy loads. Diesel engines are not especially good at acceleration unless they have a turbocharger. The marriage of turbo and diesel is an ideal match to create a vehicle that is both fuel efficient and powerful enough to accelerate well and haul heavy weights and to climb hills without slowing.
dCi, hDi, tDi...? Many diesel engines are labeled with various three letter conventions by their respective manufacturers to highlight some unique feature of their particular brand. As with car models themselves, where you will see "GT" or "SE" attached to the end of the vehicle name, the three letter turbo diesel engine identifiers are just there to call attention to the engine technology in use. In reality, there is very little difference between any of the modern turbo diesel engines as far as the driver is concerned. They are all extreemly efficient and quite powerful for their size, and they are far quieter and cleaner than their ancestors. In fact, the modern turbo diesel engines hardly make themselves known as such to the driver — except at the fuel pump.

Please visit Ireland's Automobile Association (AA) Website for an up-to-date listing of fuel prices. (Remember, 1 US Gallon = 3.79 Liters.)

Note how cheap fuel typically is in Andorra and Luxembourg relative to surrounding countries; how it's much cheaper in Spain than in France; how it's more expensive in Switzerland; how it's much cheaper in Ireland than in the UK; and how it gets progressively more expensive from Germany to Denmark to Sweden to Norway.

Fuel is much more expensive at stations along the expressways. Supermarkets along main roads at the edges of towns sell the cheapest fuel in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. In France the main supermarket chains are Mammoth and Intermarche; in Germany the main chain is Spar; in the Netherlands it's Mamoet. The governments of Italy and Spain and Eastern Europe regulate fuel prices; all stations have the same price, so don't waste your time shopping for fuel in these countries.

Pump your own fuel, or make it a habit to check that the attendant doesn't cheat you. (Check that he zeroes the pump before he pumps your fuel.) If you pay with a credit card, be sure the receipt is accurate. Some stations require that you pay not inside at a counter but outside at a booth upon driving out of the station area. (Although increasingly you can pay by inserting a credit card in a machine near the pumps.) If this is the case and a line of vehicles forms at the pay booth, you may have to wait to pump your fuel until the person who preceded you at the pump pays for theirs. Especially when dealing with such setups, note the total fuel charge on the pump so the attendant at the booth can't overcharge you; sometimes the attendants depend on your honesty and let you quote the total to them at the booth. In hot weather, fill up early in the morning or late in the evening when the air is cooler: the fuel will be more dense then, and thus you'll get more fuel for your Euro (or whatever).

You might make it a practice to fill up when the fuel level dips to a quarter of a tank, but fuel stations are so plentiful that the chances of unexpectedly finding yourself low on fuel and far from a station are very low. If, however, you're careless enough to come close to running out of fuel, try the following technique: accelerate very slowly to 33 km/h, turn off the ignition and move the gear to neutral, let the vehicle slow to 8 km/h, start the engine, repeat. This trick can double or even triple fuel efficiency, but it's a trick that won't work if your steering wheel locks when the ignition is off — and it can be dangerous and illegal.

can you buy the vehicle?

If you like, you can purchase your vehicle at the end of your lease. All you have to do is contact Paris at the relevant phone number listed in the Traveling Instructions booklet (provided in the vehicle) at least 8 days prior to the termination of your lease. The manufucturer will arrange for 2 weeks worth of temporary registration and insurance (appending to the end of your lease duration) while further assisting you in regard to financing.

The vehicle will be a European-spec model, so you shouldn't plan to export it to, say, North America. However, the full cost of your lease (not including any pick-up and/or drop-off charges that might apply) will be subtracted from the sticker price of the car (more precisely, the portion of that price not including the French 18.6 percent value-added tax, VAT), and that remaining amount would be the amount you would owe (plus VAT on only that reduced amount). The standard, EUR sticker price (including VAT) for a particular version of a particular model can be gleaned from www.renault.fr. If you do buy the vehicle outright, you will have to pay relative to the sticker price of the particular vehicle you receive. That vehicle may happen to come with certain bells and whistles which are not guaranteed features of the model in terms of the short-term leasing contract. Of course extras of this sort add no cost to the lease, but if you choose to purchase the vehicle outright you will be charged for them.

Now, when you figure that (a) the insurance for the duration of such lease is included in the lease cost (a good value in Europe, where the cost of insurance is typically twice what it is in, say, the United States of America), and (b) that the cost of the lease would be subtracted from the pre-tax price of the car, and (c) that the lease duration would effectively be a nice long test drive, and (d) that you can return the lease early if you like, perhaps eventually receiving a refund for unused days, then this option becomes pretty attractive if you plan to keep a vehicle in Europe.

renault–nissan?

The recent history of Renault can be fairly described as consisting of three acts: restructuring (1981–1995), privatization (1996–1999), and the Renault–Nissan alliance (2000–present). Actually signed on 27 March 1999, the alliance is largely defined in terms of cross-shareholding, with Renault owning a 44.4 percent stake in Nissan, and Nissan a 15 percent stake in Renault. The Renault–Nissan alliance commands about 9.6 percent of the relevant global market share — fourth largest, behind GM, Toyota and Ford. In 2006 Renault–Nissan and GM nearly agreed to form a similar alliance. For the time being that deal has fallen through. Nevertheless many automobile industry observers think that Renault hopes to re-enter the US market in terms of such alliance, perhaps now with Ford instead. Renault in and of itself commands the largest share of the European passenger car and light commerical vehicle market: about 10.8 percent. And Renault leads the way saftey-wise, with the most models — 14 — honored with the coveted 5-star safety rating from Euro NCAP. In this light, by choosing to travel Europe in a brand-new Renault you're choosing to sample a big part of the global future. We might even have a few Nissan models for lease.

europe wide?

The availability of mechanical service is a prime concern for anyone endeavoring to drive abroad. Renault literally seems to be everywhere in Europe — especially in terms of their famed Renault minute garages. Renault garages are present every ten or twenty miles from Portugal to Italy to Germany to Norway to Britain, and, of course, in France. The presence of the competition is nowhere near as obvious. In fact Renault has almost twice as many service stations than does their closest competitor. Thanks to this ubiquity, a 24-hour hotline, and guaranteed 24-hour service, you would experience minimal trouble in the unlikely event you must get a Renault Eurodrive car to a qualified service station. "Renault Assistance TT" is the name of Renault Eurodrive's assistance program. Renault agents will help you arrange for towing and repair (or replacement) of your car and will assist you with and compensate you for car rental and/or hotel reservations as appropriate, provided you are within the geographic domain of the included Renault Eurodrive insurance and assistance. If you want to drive in Albania, Belarus, Iran, Israel, Moldova or Ukraine, please ask IdeaMerge for a special solution.

how about pick-up and return?

 

No security deposit is required with these leases. Which is to say, no security deposit is charged to (or merely authorized/blocked on) your credit card upon the pick-up occasion. Indeed, no money at all changes hands upon the pick-up occasion. Rather, on that occasion you only need present your valid domestic drivers license and passport and your copy of the lease contract.

Otherwise pick-up and drop-off proceed almost identically to that of a car rental. In fact, many clients report that the process is even easier because all the paperwork is already taken care of and there tends to be no line of customers waiting at the desk. At the airport locations, courtesy phones and/or reception desks are in place to connect you with a shuttle that will take you to your vehicle nearby, where an associate will introduce you to your vehicle and send you on your way. Long before you arrive you will be provided with detailed directions and contact information regarding your pick-up and drop-off locations. Sorry, but it is not allowed to pick-up or return vehicles offsite or at cities or airports not listed on this page.

All the vehicles in the tax-free short-term leasing program originate at factories in France. They are delivered piggy-back on a truck, just like a brand-new vehicle is delivered to a dealership. Indeed the vehicles are brand new. Such delivery preserves for you that new-car feel and smell. The cost of such delivery and the return, a cost which also involves certain importation fees if the vehicle is delivered outside France, is passed on to the customer in terms of certain pick-up/drop-off charges associated with only the locations outside France. Our online reservation software carefully works these fees in to the total prices it quotes to you.

Examples of the Renault pick-up/drop-off charges are listed below. (These fees for the Renault Trafic are higher, as computed and presented by our online reservation software.) Such fees are additive. For example, if you pick-up in Rome and return to Frankfurt, you must pay a total of US$525 in terms of such charges. If you pick-up and return in Rome, say, you must pay US$600. Our online reservation software carefully works these fees in to the total prices it quotes to you.

The VW pick-up/drop-off locations are listed below.

For details see Renault Eurodrive's exact insurance terms.

New from Renault Eurodrive in 2012: additional cover is now included for lost keys, punctured tires and even fuel inversion (i.e. placing the incorrect fuel in the vehicle). No other car rental or car leasing company provides such cover.

The insurance provided with Peugeot, VW and Citroen leases does not cover the tires.

If your vehicle has a flat tire (not caused by vandalism), you are responsible for solving the problem. Usually the solution involves changing the tire to the spare tire (jack, wrench and spare, or tire inflation kit, included) and driving to a tire shop for repair or replacement of the tire. Most flats can be repaired quickly and inexpensively using a sealant. If the tire must be replaced, however, the total cost may approximate EUR200. The assistance program typically stops short of dispatching a service person to assist in the case of a flat. If you are a member of your national automobile club (e.g. the AAA), you should have reciprocal membership in an automobile club of each European country and therefore those clubs will be another source of assistance to you.

The tires included with short-term, tax-free leases are multi-season tires. By "multi-season" we mean tires that are not specifically designed for muddy and snowy conditions (which tires bear the code "M+S") or for snowy conditions in particular (which tires bear the international symbol of a snowflake); i.e they are not — we repeat, not — the sort of tires which are colloquially referred to as "winter tires" or "snow tires". Rather, multi-season tires are the sort of tires standardly delivered on new cars. Where and when road or weather conditions, and perhaps laws or ordinances or such, dictate the wise or requisite use of specific tires or specifically embellished tires (e.g. tires fitted with snow chains or socks), it is the driver's responsibility to abstain from driving until such tires are installed on his or her vehicle. It is nevertheless the client's responsibility to return the vehicle with the initial (i.e. original) set of tires installed or co-present; otherwise the client will be billed for those initial tires. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden, for example, have laws which dictate the use of winter tires. It is the client's responsibility to research and understand such laws in relation to his or her itinerary. Renault Eurodrive has instituted a new service with the Eurodrive Road Assistance in order to facilitate, upon client request, the change from multi-season tires to winter tires, this via the Renault network in Switzerland and in Germany. This service consists in identifying the closest Renault garage to the place where the client is or will be and then arranging an appointment for the client with the garage. The purchase and labor costs for the change of tires will be billed directly by the Renault car dealer to the client, and the client will still be responsible for returning the vehicle with its initial tires.

You can study the UK Automobile Assocation website to learn more about winter tire requirements and other compulsory equipment per European country.

Regarding snow chains, it is vital that you check and if necessary maintain the tension of the chains frequently, and certainly after every short journey. Also, with the chains fitted do not drive faster than about 35 miles per hour (60 km/h).

Your tax-free short-term lease vehicle will not come bearing any toll-road vignettes (passes, usually a sticker on the windshield) when you pick it up. You must purchase those on your own, if you choose to. By way of contrast, note that rental cars in Switzerland, for instance, do come bearing a vignette which signifies someone has paid the necessary annual tax for the privilege of driving that vehicle on Switzerland's expressways. As a tax-free short-term lease customer, if you want to use the Swiss expressways, you must buy the vignette at a Swiss border station, a Swiss post office, a Swiss motor vehicle service station or garage, or from a Swiss National Tourist Office. At the border you can pay in SwF, EUR £'s or USD. You can also pay inside the Customs office onsite by credit card. The vignette costs about CHF 40 (roughly USD 37, or EUR 27) for all cars with maximum admissible weight of 3.5 tons or less. The sticker is valid for 14 months, from December 1 to January 31 the next year (Of course, many rental vehicles in cities nearby Switzerland, such as Milan and Munich, come with this sticker as well since their former renters tend to have ventured into Switzerland and opted to travel the expressways there.) Austria and Slovakia recently introduced similar vignette systems for their expressways. See Wikipedia's Vignette page for more about such vignettes and road taxes.

what is the domain of coverage?

The VW insurance and assistance are effective in the following countries:

The Citroen insurance and assistance are effective in the following countries:

* The insurance is effective in these asterisked countries but the assistance is not.

can I see an example contract?

Here's an example of a Renault Eurodrive contract.

Renault Eurodrive will send such form to you for full completion and signature. You are not obligated to complete the field pertaining to employment. In the above example, the client, Mr. Joseph Traveler, will pay to Renault Eurodrive US$2425.00 well before picking up the vehicle. Provided Mr. Traveler returns the vehicle as agreed, he will not owe Renault Eurodrive (nor IdeaMerge nor any other entity) any more money at any point with respect to this lease.

specific vehicle

You can study the UK Automobile Assocation website to learn more about compulsory equipment per European country.

Each Renault Eurodrive vehicle comes equipped with a reflective safety jacket and flashlamp or warning triangle.

Similar safety equipment is included in each VW Discover Europe vehicle.

In France, Peugeot Open Europe and Citroen EuroPass deliver a triangle and vest with each vehicle. Outside of France the depot charges EUR 15 for these items.

Alternatively or in addition, such safety kits may be purchased from most dealerships, service stations, and supermarkets for an approximate cost of EUR 5–25, depending on kit and seller.

The vehicle is supplied with 10–15 liters of fuel, depending on the vehicle model. This is enough fuel to drive about 80 kilometers (50 miles). An empty tank upon return entails no charge to the client. Hence the fuel originally provided is essentially free of charge.

drivers license

Indeed many countries require of you, the foreign driver, no license apart from your domestic drivers license. However, certain countries require of certain non-resident drivers an International Driving Permit (IDP) in addition. You should contact the relevant tourist office, consulate or embassy to determine whether a country requires you to carry an IDP while driving. A good secondary indicator in this respect is the IDP webpage posted by the UK's Automobile Association. Basically an IDP is a means by which police in a foreign country can know — in terms of translations in nearly a dozen different languages — that your domestic driver's license is indeed recognized as being valid by the proper authorities in your country. (See the excellent article at Drivers.com.) Is it really necessary that you obtain an IDP if you plan to drive in the aforementioned countries? In practice of course it depends on the particular police officer who might happen to pull you over. The vehicle leasing company (e.g. Renault Eurodrive) doesn't care whether or not you have an IDP; it's up to you whether you cover yourself in this regard.

The local office of your auto club (AAA, CAA, etc.) sells IDPs for about US$20. If you need an IDP, take your license, two passport-sized photos and the requisite cash to the club office. (Though for about US$6 the club may snap Polaroid photos for you.) Ten minutes later you'll be able to legally drive on any European road—assuming you're at least 18 years of age. If you plan to operate a motorcycle in Europe, be sure to have the auto club certify your qualification to do so. The USA's AAA now has a Webpage whereby drivers licensed in the USA can obtain an IDP: AAA's application for IDP. Web searches will bring up a host of Websites selling documents that conform to the model delineated in annex 10 of the United Nations Convention on Road Traffic (1949); but according to Article 24 of that convention, a truly valid IDP is one which is "issued .. by the competent authority of another Contracting State or subdivision thereof, or by an association duly empowered by such authority ...." The US State Department says it has empowered only the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the American Automobile Touring Alliance (AATA) to issue IDPs. (The AATA offers IDPs through the National Automobile Club.)

child safety seats

Although motor travel in Europe is not generally considered prohibitively dangerous, there are, of course, associated risks — including death. For quantitative measures of these risks, please see the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT) http://www.asirt.org.

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