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So this might be a long shot but I'm going to Paris for a week and I'd like to rent an older french car (instead of the new stuff they have at Hertz or Avis etc.)
Something along the lines of this for that "legit experience":
Anyone have any advice or experience renting something more... "classic" per se?
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I'm so stance my roof rack got a roof rack
this is probably one of those ideas that seem really neat in the planning stages but a pain in the derriere upon execution
also, hope you've driven in Europe before. It's a different ball-game even if France is LHD. i drove through Cote d'Azur & Provence weeks ago and while it wasn't as crazy as say places in East Asia and you'll probably survive, you'll be needing to change your pants by the end of the first day. Mopeds will zip into your path when backing up, and bring your parking A-game because spaces are tighter than Crystal Mall's parkade. Tolls also add up fast, and you some routes you can hit a roundabout every 500m.
Countryside is manageable but I couldn't imagine driving in the big cities. Next time I'll just stick to trains.
Last edited by twitchyzero; 07-07-2017 at 07:50 PM.
Oh man this is exactly what I was looking for. I was toying with the idea of doing a road trip to Nice if I didn't find this but given twitchyzero just said and coming across this plans may have just shifted.
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I'm so stance my roof rack got a roof rack
Just got back 2 weeks ago from France (Paris, Nice, Monaco) Spain and Portugal. I only drove in Spain and Portugal.
I can't speak for the rest of France, but if its anything like Paris, I highly recommend not driving if you can help it. It is a completely different set of rules and you'll almost be guaranteed to regret it.
As twitchy said, good on paper but bad in real life. Not only can costs add up (ie. Insurance, Gas, Tolls; All of which are very expensive) you will shit your pants in many scenarios. Not shoulder checking, splitting lanes, running lights, texting while driving, people/bicycles/mopeds darting left and right at their convenience and anything you can think of that would leave mouths hanging here, are a norm over there.
Roads are incredibly tiny, many are one ways (without a GPS you'll spend a long time circling around), and parking is extremely tight. People will park bumper to bumper and its almost an expectancy that you'll need to hit someones car just to be able to squeeze in/out.
You need to have a very acute sense of your surroundings to not get side swiped by someone cutting into your lane every 30 seconds, because god knows where else their attention is. Drive in any of the main cities and you will wish you never rented a car. To their benefit, the safest place I felt was in the roundabout, which they seem to do often and efficiently. Suffice it to say, I was very stressed driving and could not divide my attention enough to enjoy my little Citroen or Peugeot as much as I wanted to. You paid for a vacation to relax and not worry every second about getting into a fender bender.
I will say that driving on the highways in Portugal was fantastic. People keep right except to pass religiously, and are extremely well behaved. Many of the coastal roads are breathtakingly beautiful, however there are some extremely windy and 1 lane roads you'll have to negotiate. Luckily small cars are very popular there.
If driving there is that important to you, I'm sure none of this will deter you. I just found I did not personally enjoy it with all the stress and shit running down my leg. It was an experience to say the least, but not one I would recommend or do again. Public transit is extremely convenient and a no-brainer for most.
??? I've spent countless weeks driving in every major city in Europe and, while it's very much a case of "fit yourself in anywhere you can" I would hardly call it pants-shitting? Eastern Europe is way worse than Western Europe... Poland is basically a contest of near head-on collisions from turning 2 lane highway into 4 or 6 lanes... maybe I have a high tolerance for expecting people to know what they're doing? Driving in Paris is fine... even the Arc de Triumphe roundabout, while crazy looking, just requires you to move confidently and efficiently.
??? I've spent countless weeks driving in every major city in Europe and, while it's very much a case of "fit yourself in anywhere you can" I would hardly call it pants-shitting? Eastern Europe is way worse than Western Europe... Poland is basically a contest of near head-on collisions from turning 2 lane highway into 4 or 6 lanes... maybe I have a high tolerance for expecting people to know what they're doing? Driving in Paris is fine... even the Arc de Triumphe roundabout, while crazy looking, just requires you to move confidently and efficiently.
Yea, I get this too. I've driven countless times in Ukraine so questionable driving tactics don't worry me too much, hell in Lviv we don't even have road markings on the cobblestone so you end up having to share it somehow between yourself, other drivers and street cars/trolleys
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I'm so stance my roof rack got a roof rack
Subjective interpretation I suppose. I didn't enjoy my time driving in Mallorca or Lisbon. And just by walking through Paris I could tell I would have had a difficult time too. Didn't know what some of the traffic signs meant so that added to the confusion as well.
I like to think I'm a pretty confident driver. For the 3 or 4 days I did drive, I was overly concerned about getting dinged and that added a lot to the stress. Maybe a few weeks or few months of driving there could change my mind, but don't think you can deny a bit of traffic culture shock.
The fact that I was very much in vacation mode and didn't expect the extra pressure made my experience feel more negative. No incidence though. Just my 2 cents
yeah even if you're confident with driving, getting insurance for those classic cars will probably be a headache itself.
I admit I'm not the best at doing austin power-styled parking and even though I was getting acclimatized 3 days in, I just don't need that kind of stress when I'm on a vacation, like circling around for 20 minutes looking for a spot.
Last edited by twitchyzero; 07-08-2017 at 12:53 PM.
Funny when you see the people near the Eiffel Tower and arc de triomphe renting the gallardos and ferraris, you know it's just a insurance cash grab with the driving conditions you'll have to go through in order to get those cars anywhere lol
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Dank memes cant melt steel beams
Funny when you see the people near the Eiffel Tower and arc de triomphe renting the gallardos and ferraris, you know it's just a insurance cash grab with the driving conditions you'll have to go through in order to get those cars anywhere lol
Drove through Champs-Elysees and around the Arc Dr triomphe last night, wow... lmao
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I'm so stance my roof rack got a roof rack
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