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Has anybody come across this? I read on UK Climbing that car hire companies will no longer allow you to hire a car from the Swiss side if you plan to take it outside Switzerland for longer than eight days. It's something complicated to do with VAT on the car that I can't be bothered to understand.
[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/worth-a-read-if-youre-flying-to-gva-this-summer-and-renting-a-car-to-go-to-fr ]http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/worth-a-read-if-youre-flying-to-gva-this-summer-and-renting-a-car-to-go-to-fr[/url]
earlier thread:
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/worth-a-read-if-youre-flying-to-gva-this-summer-and-renting-a-car-to-go-to-fr
links to:
http://edgemag.net/2016-05-13-confusion-eu-law-geneva-car-hire-france/
Ive not had a response to a tweet request from Europcar, with whom Mrs S has a booking in June. Will have to email them for more info I think.
Hire Co.s seem to be using waiver's to cover themselves at the moment:
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Bummer. Looks like we'll be hiring from the French side and suffering the stress of trying to find our way around the outside of Geneva.
Ive just emailed europcar to see if they can clarify. Booking made for CH side pick up for 4 day trip.
Google "ferney voltaire car hire". The airport is right on the border so you can rent in France. Europecar France is there, Stoner.
Edit: and click "map" in Google then you'll see how the hire companies have organised themselves.
yep, Ive asked if it makes sense to switch to FR side pick up from them. Of course then Mrs S has to buy a vignette at the border unless she's v lucky with getting a car that already has one in.
I've rented on the French side in the past and don't recall any navigation issues, either walking to the French side or driving out of the airport, and that would have been with just a paper map.
Can you hire a French car then drive it through Geneva, as long as you avoid the Swiss motorway? In the old days that was always the way you had to go anyway; you got a smashing view of the lake and the Jet D'Eau. You could then pick up the A40 in Annemasse.
Photograph every square cm of the car when you pick it up and drop it off.
yes, as long as you dont go on the motorway in front of the airport.
as you say, you then go to annemasse, or even corss the border on the way to Thonon. But the traffic out to the road along the lake can be an utter bastard. Id' rather spend the €40 on a vignette personally!
Can you hire a French car then drive it through Geneva, as long as you avoid the Swiss motorway?
Yes
I recall we drove under the airport back into Switzerland, so must have been straight onto the D1005 south, under the aiport and onto the motorway (or not in your case).
You can claim the cost of the vignette back from the hire company when you drop the car off. They just give you the cash back.
As per the other thread dropping a car back on the French side of the airport is quite tricky as its not signposted at all ( or well?) All the signs are focused on the Swiss side. I hope the EU/Swiss sort this out as its a major pita otherwise as when I rent its from Swiss side and in summer we always do both French and Swiss mountains (eg Verbier/Chamonix) or just the French.
What do you rent that doesn't have a satnav? A Kangoo van?
Dear Customer,Thank you for your email.
Cross border to France is allowed and free of charge you just have to inform pick up station
Best regards,
Jeremy Pomponne
Europcar International Reservation
Quality to Customer
http://www.europcar.com
hardly conclusive, but I'm going with it.
For skiers there used to be an issue that vehicles hired on the French side used not to have snow tyres and chains. Might have changed now...
more info/reporting here.
http://morzinesourcemagazine.com/geneva-airport-car-rental-what-you-need-to-know/
interesting Morzine Source have got the same response from Europcar as I have had.