# Car rental from Leclerc



## rynd2it

Has anyone any experience of renting a car from Leclerc, good or bad? I mentioned to my regular car mechanic that visitors were looking at them and was warned that although the rates are dirt cheap, they try and gouge you on the return of the vehicle with things like extra cleaning bill, damage claims for things that were there on picking up the car etc.

Given that the regular rental companies want about €600 for a week for a small car, Leclerc charges €35 plus mileage for the same vehicle, it is very tempting indeed

Comments please


----------



## Clic Clac

rynd2it said:


> they try and gouge you on the return of the vehicle with things like extra cleaning bill, damage claims for things that were there on picking up the car etc.


Do you think the 'regular' companies won't ? 

We've had Twingos with them for over 2 years. 

4€/day+ Kms for a new car listed at 22K last time I looked. 

All their cars are like-new and will have been washed on return so you should see any marks on it. 

But pay close attention to the windscreen. I've never known anywhere where they 'chip' like they do over here. 

We've used 2 sites and the second one once charged a hoovering fee of about 15 euros which was a bit dubious. 

The basic 4 euros carries a 1200 euros insurance excess. 

You could rest assured and pay about 8 euros a day (Twingo) for Full Coverage with (I think) zero /next to nothing to pay. 

At 56-60 euros for a week full cover it's still 'for nowt'. 

#Bev, it wasn't me who mentioned Leclerc this time. 😅 I still receive no financial reward from them, although at this stage I think I should. 🤔😂


----------



## rynd2it

Clic Clac said:


> Do you think the 'regular' companies won't ?
> 
> We've had Twingos with them for over 2 years.
> 
> 4€/day+ Kms for a new car listed at 22K last time I looked.
> 
> All their cars are like-new and will have been washed on return so you should see any marks on it.
> 
> But pay close attention to the windscreen. I've never known anywhere where they 'chip' like they do over here.
> 
> We've used 2 sites and the second one once charged a hoovering fee of about 15 euros which was a bit dubious.
> 
> The basic 4 euros carries a 1200 euros insurance excess.
> 
> You could rest assured and pay about 8 euros a day (Twingo) for Full Coverage with (I think) zero /next to nothing to pay.
> 
> At 56-60 euros for a week full cover it's still 'for nowt'.
> 
> #Bev, it wasn't me who mentioned Leclerc this time. 😅 I still receive no financial reward from them, although at this stage I think I should. 🤔😂


I've never had an issue with any car rental company charging for stuff that wasn't legit and I've rented all over the world for years. However, I take your point, especially about the insurance as I didn't see that option on their website.

It is a great deal, so caveat emptor on collecting it.

Thanks


----------



## bhamham

I have a car now that I'm renting from Leclerc, a Skoda Kamiq - nice car. It's a small SUV with 12k km and not a scratch on it. It's 7e/day or 210e for the 30-day month (max rental period offered) with 1500e excess, and .13e per km. This is my second rental from them. There was no problem with returning the first one. I washed and vacuumed and returned it in the state I received it. My Leclerc even gives you free tokens to use at their car wash facility. It was all very straightforward. They made sure that I was a French resident, and accepted my British DL.


----------



## rynd2it

bhamham said:


> I have a car now that I'm renting from Leclerc, a Skoda Kamiq - nice car. It's a small SUV with 12k km and not a scratch on it. It's 7e/day or 210e for the 30-day month (max rental period offered) with 1500e excess, and .13e per km. This is my second rental from them. There was no problem with returning the first one. I washed and vacuumed and returned it in the state I received it. My Leclerc even gives you free tokens to use at their car wash facility. It was all very straightforward. They made sure that I was a French resident, and accepted my British DL.


Thank you - did they insist on French residency? Their website indicates they accept 'foreign' tourists


----------



## bhamham

rynd2it said:


> Thank you - did they insist on French residency? Their website indicates they accept 'foreign' tourists


Well, they made a big deal out of it. Looked at my TdS and counted months. I even pulled out my EDF bill to show them. Might be a different ballgame at another Leclerc.


----------



## rynd2it

bhamham said:


> Well, they made a big deal out of it. Looked at my TdS and counted months. I even pulled out my EDF bill to show them. Might be a different ballgame at another Leclerc.


Ok, thanks. I'm doing this for my SIL who isn't resident so I will check with them


----------



## Clic Clac

bhamham said:


> Might be a different ballgame at another Leclerc.


They each seem to run by their own rules.

David- any problem and you can probably hire the car and add your SIL as an extra driver (no charge).


----------



## rynd2it

Clic Clac said:


> They each seem to run by their own rules.
> 
> David- any problem and you can probably hire the car and add your SIL as an extra driver (no charge).


No I can't, my French licence is only 2 weeks old and they require 2 years


----------



## Bevdeforges

One word here - I'm a huge fan of our local Leclerc for a whole variety of reasons. But Leclerc is run more or less like a franchise. Our local one used to be another grocery store brand and the company that runs the store is apparently who decides much of the important stuff - what merchandise to carry (other than the weekly chain specials), and the general store policies. I expect this also applies to the car rental terms and policies. So your mileage may vary from store to store.


----------



## rynd2it

Bevdeforges said:


> One word here - I'm a huge fan of our local Leclerc for a whole variety of reasons. But Leclerc is run more or less like a franchise. Our local one used to be another grocery store brand and the company that runs the store is apparently who decides much of the important stuff - what merchandise to carry (other than the weekly chain specials), and the general store policies. I expect this also applies to the car rental terms and policies. So your mileage may vary from store to store.


As far as policies go, the details are on the main Leclerc website from which you can choose the location (sorry about the pun!) so I doubt they will change much, especially the insurance policy. We'll see when the SIL tries to make a reservation.


----------



## Clic Clac

Bevdeforges said:


> So your mileage may vary from store to store.


It does. 
And often from car to car. 

I think the insurance is standard though throughout the network in order to negotiate the best deal.


----------



## Sneetch

rynd2it said:


> No I can't, my French licence is only 2 weeks old and they require 2 years


I am one of those unfortunates who cannot exchange my US license for a French one so I'm planning on doing the code and driving tests sometime soon. Once I have my newly minted French license I had been thinking that the easiest option with respect to getting a car was to rent one from from Leclerc, but it seems that this will not be possible due to their 2 year rule.

Is there any way around this with Leclerc ? Can I use a driving record from the US to show that I have been driving for a long time ? It seems ridiculous that after having driven for over 40 years that I will be reclassified as a total beginner just because I got a new license.

If there is no workaround with Leclerc are there any other options for leasing ?


----------



## rynd2it

Sneetch said:


> I am one of those unfortunates who cannot exchange my US license for a French one so I'm planning on doing the code and driving tests sometime soon. Once I have my newly minted French license I had been thinking that the easiest option with respect to getting a car was to rent one from from Leclerc, but it seems that this will not be possible due to their 2 year rule.
> 
> Is there any way around this with Leclerc ? Can I use a driving record from the US to show that I have been driving for a long time ? It seems ridiculous that after having driven for over 40 years that I will be reclassified as a total beginner just because I got a new license.
> 
> If there is no workaround with Leclerc are there any other options for leasing ?


There might be a way, when I tried to book it I used the date on the front of my licence. I could try with the date from the back which does have the dates of first issue of my UK licence . I'll get back to you soon


----------



## rynd2it

rynd2it said:


> There might be a way, when I tried to book it I used the date on the front of my licence. I could try with the date from the back which does have the dates of first issue of my UK licence . I'll get back to you soon


I just went on their website and entered my French licence details using the date from line B1 on the back - that worked so far. Whether it will fly if I ever try to collect the vehicle I don't know but I suspect you might get away with showing your valid US licence as proof of driving experience. It will also be interesting to find out if you would need an "A" sticker on the car given your French licence will be brand new.
I'm not the expert on this stuff but you could ask Kim Cranstoun on the Facebook group for guidance.


----------



## zarathustra

Have never rented a car from LeClerc, but I did hire one of their larger vans for the day a couple of years back. Although you're supposed to fuel it to the top, whoever used it before had got it to the top bar, but definitely not filled it right up, as I discovered at the pump when the cost didn't match the mileage. I cleaned the van at the garage too before returning it. The lady came out to have a look and was really surprised I'd actually cleaned it - apparently almost nobody bothers. Told her about the fuel and she offered a small gesture off the price, which was appreciated.


----------



## bdelancy

I have rented a few times from them this year and so far have not had a problem. On return, someone once commented that the car was a little dirty, but there was no extra charge. Since then, however, I have been careful to clean the car before returning it. The only problem I have had with them is that they seem to have a fairly limited inventory, so it is sometimes hard to get a car.

Based on my limited experience, I would recommend them.


----------



## bhamham

My Leclerc asks that the fuel receipts be returned with the car.


----------



## Lffsam

Following my recent experiences hiring a van from SuperU, I would ascertain what is included in the assistance package before proceeding with any hire / rental.
The van I hired to drive from Limoges area to the haute Pyrenees broke down 3 hours in to the trip due to an attempted theft of the catalytic converter the previous night. We "used" our €500 taxi allowance getting to our destination and were asked for a further €135 to be paid by "yourself direct to the taxi firm", who had been instructed by the assistance. Took over 4 hours to find a taxi firm willing to do the trip with my wife and dog.
No replacement vans with tail lift were available. So we lost 2 days trying to find one ourselves.
The assistance eventually agreed to pay for the rental of a van from a local intermarche although we had to pay for the hire and claim it back from the assistance via a pre arranged reference code, along with the receipt. Guess what, still waiting !
After we drove 4 hours North to rendezvous with the broken down van, transfer the load to the replacement van, take it back South and unload it, we thought we had over one a very traumatic few days.
That was when we were told that we had now used up all our assistance allocation and no form of transport ( car hire, train, bus etc) would be paid for, and in essence we were stuck in the haute Pyrenees, with no transport to get us back to Limoges and our own vehicle.
What should have been a three day trip had now taken 7 days.
Super U have subsequently refunded the original van hire and insurance costs as a gesture of good will. We have to date had no refund of the hire costs of the replacement van. We have had to stand the return costs from the haute Pyrenees.
My advice to anyone thinking of hiring or renting, read the small print. You normally get what you pay for. In our case, less than we paid for!


----------



## BoilingFrog

Can I ask: are people just using LeClerc as a 'normal' short term hire company, or has anyone taken a car from them for long term (6 months +). Do they do this? I am unclear as to what limitations they might have. Thanks


----------



## Clic Clac

With our branch you can only book for a maximum of a month, but you can immediately re-book another month as many times as you want to and have it as an on-going rental.


----------



## saffron_gin

rynd2it said:


> There might be a way, when I tried to book it I used the date on the front of my licence. I could try with the date from the back which does have the dates of first issue of my UK licence . I'll get back to you soon


I once rented from Leclerc with my newly re-issued US license of less than 3 months old, by putting in first license date, and the clerk was fine with it at pick-up.


----------



## saffron_gin

saffron_gin said:


> I once rented from Leclerc with my newly re-issued US license of less than 3 months old, by putting in first license date, and the clerk was fine with it at pick-up.


re-issued may not be the right word, as in the US most licenses need to get renewed every few years...renewed/re-issued, for clarity...


----------

