Hiring a car in Geneva

Author
Discussion

alangla

Original Poster:

4,723 posts

180 months

Monday 20th June 2016
quotequote all
Hi All,

Wasn't sure whether to post this here or in GG, so here goes.
Some of SWMBO's family live in the Milan area & we're planning to visit later in the year. I've always fancied visiting Switzerland & crossing the Alps, so a cheap (amazingly cheap!) Easyjet flight to Geneva followed by a hire car seemed like the obvious solution.
Unfortunately, it seems that the laws governing taking Swiss registered vehicles into the EU have changed & it appears that it's now illegal for an EU citizen to take a Swiss registered car anywhere in the EU other than their home address. I've asked the hire company if I can have an EU registered car and I've also looked into whether I can leave Geneva airport via the French side rather than the Swiss side which I guess will mean I'll get a French registered car, but the choices of rental firm/cars on that side is rather poor.
Has anyone attempted to do a similar trip since the new laws came in on 1st May? How did you get on?
My first hint of complications came from here - https://docs.abgcarrental.com/location/avis/CH/CH/... - Avis's country-specific hire conditions covering Switzerland.

Edit to add - I've been looking of the FCO/AA/RAC websites for advice on this - pretty much all their advice is around taking your own car, not hiring a locally registered one.

Edited by alangla on Monday 20th June 13:27

rcspeirs

178 posts

213 months

Monday 20th June 2016
quotequote all
The rules allow you to take a car registered outside the EU into the EU for a short period, a week I think. But the hire companies may decide the administrative hassle of policing this is too difficult, so just ban all cross border out of Switzerland.
You can exit the airport into the French sector - there are signed exit routes to facilitate this - but if you want a car there you must specifically choose the French sector as your pick up location. A car collected there probably won't have a Swiss vignette, so you'd need to add that to the budget. (It is an exercise in mindless frustration trying to cross Switzerland without touching the Vignette roads).
Presume you are flying back from GVA? The drop fee for One way rental cross border is eye watering.

alangla

Original Poster:

4,723 posts

180 months

Monday 20th June 2016
quotequote all
Thanks - much appreciated.

Yes - I looked at flying back from Malpensa & you're right, the fees for a one-way hire are ridiculous & the range of options a bit limited so I'm going to drive back to Geneva & fly from there back to Edinburgh. Fares look to be considerably lower from there anyway (about £38 each for a single, so £75 return roughly)

jonny996

2,603 posts

216 months

Monday 20th June 2016
quotequote all
get over to the forums on snowheads.co.uk they have the low down & it is not an issue.

phil121081

88 posts

171 months

Monday 20th June 2016
quotequote all
We covered this recently here;

http://www.rhinocarhire.com/Car-Hire-Blog/June-201...

Hiring from the French side is not a problem and price parity is much closer recently, as said above however you will need to arrange a vignette if using the motorway network in Switzerland.

Booking on the Swiss side of GVA should not be a problem so long as you advise the broker / agent before hand that you intend to travel outside of switzerland (chech cross border conditions / charges), they should then be able to arrange an EU registered car anyway.

Chucklehead

2,729 posts

207 months

Monday 20th June 2016
quotequote all
jonny996 said:
get over to the forums on snowheads.co.uk they have the low down & it is not an issue.
I've not gone over to have a look, but speaking as someone who works in the industry I can assure you it definitely is an issue. People are getting turned back at the borders.

Zod

35,295 posts

257 months

Monday 20th June 2016
quotequote all
Read the conditions carefully if you hire a car in Geneva. They often prohibit taking the car to certain countries, including Italy.

jonny996

2,603 posts

216 months

Monday 20th June 2016
quotequote all
Chucklehead said:
jonny996 said:
get over to the forums on snowheads.co.uk they have the low down & it is not an issue.
I've not gone over to have a look, but speaking as someone who works in the industry I can assure you it definitely is an issue. People are getting turned back at the borders.
Well come skiing season it will be chaos

CoastalHawk

110 posts

94 months

Monday 20th June 2016
quotequote all
Hiring in Geneva on Friday and fortunately friends gave us the heads up on this. When booking through Argus and speaking to them they have advised that certain rental companies are stocking EU registered cars on the Swiss side. Budget/Avis all Hertz group including Dollar are OK but you must advise that you wish to travel out of Switzerland. Alamo are not allowing travel into EU.

I have emailed Argus and have written confirmation for all our summer rentals that we can travel into France.

I called Alamo in Geneva and she could confirmed what Argus had told me. She also said it was a nightmare and customers were asked to sign to confirm they wouldnt leave Switzerland! No signature no car! This is a massive problem but carful planning should mitigate risk.

Will update Saturday morning!

alangla

Original Poster:

4,723 posts

180 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
Please do - I'm with Dollar via CarDelMar, so I guess it'll be OK - I've submitted the request for an EU reg car to CarDelMar, but they've not got back to me yet.

I had a look on Snowheads last night, but I couldn't find anything useful & it doesn't seem to have a search function - could you point me at any relevant threads?

Thanks all for all your help on this one, very much appreciated

jonny996

2,603 posts

216 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
alangla said:
Please do - I'm with Dollar via CarDelMar, so I guess it'll be OK - I've submitted the request for an EU reg car to CarDelMar, but they've not got back to me yet.

I had a look on Snowheads last night, but I couldn't find anything useful & it doesn't seem to have a search function - could you point me at any relevant threads?

Thanks all for all your help on this one, very much appreciated
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=125693&highlight=&sid=0d658f508e3b842645479c59ee9c4ef9

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
This is the Europcar Geneva French side. Just rent from there, it's easy and usually cheaper.

https://www.europcar.com/location/france/geneva-fe...

Zod

35,295 posts

257 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
bulldong said:
This is the Europcar Geneva French side. Just rent from there, it's easy and usually cheaper.

https://www.europcar.com/location/france/geneva-fe...
It's a total PITA to get back there at the end of your trip though.

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
Zod said:
It's a total PITA to get back there at the end of your trip though.
It's not really, you can either take the free ticket the TPG give you in the baggage area before you leave, or you can take the shuttle bus that they run.

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
Zod said:
bulldong said:
This is the Europcar Geneva French side. Just rent from there, it's easy and usually cheaper.

https://www.europcar.com/location/france/geneva-fe...
It's a total PITA to get back there at the end of your trip though.
Finding that obscure unmanned petrol station on the Swiss side isn't a bundle of laughs either.

Zod

35,295 posts

257 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
bulldong said:
Zod said:
It's a total PITA to get back there at the end of your trip though.
It's not really, you can either take the free ticket the TPG give you in the baggage area before you leave, or you can take the shuttle bus that they run.
It's the fact that all the signposting from the autoroute takes you to the Swiss side.

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
Zod said:
bulldong said:
Zod said:
It's a total PITA to get back there at the end of your trip though.
It's not really, you can either take the free ticket the TPG give you in the baggage area before you leave, or you can take the shuttle bus that they run.
It's the fact that all the signposting from the autoroute takes you to the Swiss side.
Just place a pin on google maps when you pick it up and you won't have any issues. This bks is just the result of a poorly thought out law which is ridiculous.

Chucklehead

2,729 posts

207 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
As things stand right now, Avis and Sixt have good stock of EU cars and should be able to get you one if required. Hertz and Europcar are basically asking people to sign a waiver to say that they won't take their cars in to France so that if they do they can wash their hands of it - but they do have some EU cars. Alamo i'm not certain if they have any EU cars, but are very strict about giving you one if there's any indication you're going to France.

cannedheat

947 posts

274 months

Tuesday 21st June 2016
quotequote all
I hired from Hertz at the weekend in downtown Geneva and asked about this - they didn't seem bothered at all and said it wan't something to worry about. They said the French border guards had more important things to worry about at the moment... :-/

Btw, if anyone wants a cheaper hire car from Geneva, often the downtown offices are usefully cheaper!

alangla

Original Poster:

4,723 posts

180 months

Tuesday 19th July 2016
quotequote all
Just to update this one, I've had to change the booking as Dollar/Thrifty now have a policy that cars can't be taken out of the country of hire, even though Hertz (same group!) allow you to do so. I've rebooked with Alamo & been told that I'll get an EU car & that I can take it into Italy, but NOT France. Not entirely sure why, but it just means I'll need to replan my route a bit.
I've looked at hiring from the French area of Geneva airport, but the cars there appear to be significantly more expensive for some reason.
I'll let you know how I get on...