Latest posts for the topic "Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!"

Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:35:37 GMT

Hi

We're going to Nendaz in March and are looking for cheap transfers. There ar 17 of us but due to different flights we're going to arrange our own transfers.

Is it cheaper and 'allowed' to book a car on the french side even if you're going to switzerland? Secondly, does anyone have any good links for cheap car hire?

Thanks in advance.

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:54:33 GMT

Swiss side, and its better easier to get to the alps, as for cheaper search for the 5 that are located at the airport, than check holiday autos they maybe cheaper but they are not located at the airport they pick you up with a shutle.

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:19:03 GMT

I have used this lot in the past from other airports and have always had a reasonable price, give them a try 8)

http://www.arguscarhire.com

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:59:36 GMT

A car rented on the French side will need to have a Vignette sticker purchased for use in Switzerland. The price last winter was CHF 40. This sticker will enable you to use Swiss Motorways and is not refundable or removable.

You will also need rock solid navigation skills to get to and from the French side of the airport, as most of the signposts lead to the Swiss side :mrgreen:

You will also need to price up Winter Tyres/Snow Chains. Cars rented in Switzerland will already have these fitted (and charged for!)

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 19:58:13 GMT

Hi,

It will be more convenient to hire from the Swiss side as hiring from the French side as above there is no " Vignette" sticker provided with the car, also if hiring from the French side snow chains and tyres do not come with the package during winter , if hiring from the Swiss side they are usually included ( best to double check when booking though).

I always use AutoEurope ( www.auto-europe.co.uk , 0800 169 9797 ) for my car hire regardless of whether I am using Geneva ,Lyon , Grenoble etc and have used them for over 10 years now and numerous trips and have found them to be excellent ( during the recent volcano problem they only quoted me GBP243 for three days hire to get back to Calais, when all the others Hertz , National etc wanted between 420 euros - 900 euros for just one days hire ).

If you do hire from the French side , to avoid the Vignette , when heading back to Geneva on the A40, you will pass a sign for the " Telipherqiue du Seleve" , once you see this keep your eye out for the A411 turn off, you will know you are near when you see a large silver factory on the right hand side with big red lettering saying SAMU ( i think the name is spelt correctly ).

Hope this helps,

jon.

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:30:26 GMT

jonG wrote:Hi,

If you do hire from the French side , to avoid the Vignette , when heading back to Geneva on the A40, you will pass a sign for the " Telipherqiue du Seleve" , once you see this keep your eye out for the A411 turn off, you will know you are near when you see a large silver factory on the right hand side with big red lettering saying SAMU ( i think the name is spelt correctly ).

Hope this helps,

jon.

As their destination is Nendaz, CH,they will need to do a little more planning to avoid the Vignette issue. Possibly by going round the opposite side of Lac Leman, but worth it for CHF.40?

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 01:19:29 GMT

Isn't quicker to get to Nendaz from the swiss side,

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 07:09:49 GMT

broom wrote:Isn't quicker to get to Nendaz from the swiss side,

Oh yes, much, though each car will require a Swiss Vignette. These are not fitted to cars rented from France.

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:32:09 GMT

You could buy a vignette on ebay.

In theory you are supposed to stick them to the screen (so you can't re-use them) but many don't & then sell them on ebay.
I think I paid GBP7 for my last one & got the same back!

Andy

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:18:35 GMT

andymol2 wrote:You could buy a vignette on ebay.

In theory you are supposed to stick them to the screen (so you can't re-use them) but many don't & then sell them on ebay.
I think I paid GBP7 for my last one & got the same back!

Andy

Which is a criminal act in Switzerland and the fine will far outweigh the cost of buying a Vignette. Then they will make you buy a Vignette as well. Of course you could always refuse, but they do have the guns to help you come to the right decision.
Bardonnex is rumoured to have installed traffic cameras which can ID foreign number plates.

Last time I purchased a Vignette, the Border Guard stuck it on my windscreen in a really bad place, before I could stop him :roll:

Edit: It's supposed to be possible to remove the Vignette once it's been stuck on. I'm sure I remember ise telling me that his car dealer had a way. I did try this one year by preparing the windscreen with something slippy ) ....but come removal time it was as difficult and messy as usual.

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:30:27 GMT

Of course you could always refuse, but they do have the guns to help you come to the right decision.

Bandit! :evil:

When I sold the old Range Rover, it was complete with vignette. I am convinced the buyer paid a premium for this.

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:24:40 GMT

I'm normally a good boy and make the purchase 8)

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:00:20 GMT

I found this website about driving in Switzerland

http://driving.drive-alive.co.uk/driving-in-switzerland.htm

Is it all actually true? Like, for example, it says that if you need glasses for driving you have to have a spare pair with you in the car, and you have to drive with your lights on in the day.

And, I think that motorway pass, or vignette, only cost GBP27 annually so what's all the fuss about?

Ally

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:12:29 GMT

Yes, you need to carry a spare pair of glasses, and AFAIK you need your lights on in tunnels and bad weather conditions. I think the drive alive site suffers from having a little "copy and paste" action :mrgreen:

The vignette is the same price if you use it for 5 mins or 365 days. It is stuck on the windscreen of whatever vehicle you happen to be in when you need to use a Swiss motorway.

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:19:25 GMT

Dave Mac wrote:

Of course you could always refuse, but they do have the guns to help you come to the right decision.

Bandit! :evil:

When I sold the old Range Rover, it was complete with vignette. I am convinced the buyer paid a premium for this.

OT
The Swiss Gov't have estimated that within the country there are 9 guns for every Swiss citizen, including babies. After Switzerland implemented Schengen, there are now increased Border Guard patrols within Switzerland, on trains and roads.

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:29:56 GMT

bandit wrote:

Dave Mac wrote:

Of course you could always refuse, but they do have the guns to help you come to the right decision.

Bandit! :evil:

When I sold the old Range Rover, it was complete with vignette. I am convinced the buyer paid a premium for this.

OT
The Swiss Gov't have estimated that within the country there are 9 guns for every Swiss citizen, including babies. After Switzerland implemented Schengen, there are now increased Border Guard patrols within Switzerland, on trains and roads.

Yep, tell me about them. They are the rudest border control persons I have ever come across.

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:57:51 GMT

I have just returned from 2 weeks skiing in Geneva which was super fun. I rented a car from http://www.rhinocarhire.com/Car-Hire/Switzerland-Car-Hire/Geneva-Downtown-Car-Hire.aspx but made a mistake which was my fault and booked it at the French side and not the Swiss side so be careful not to make the same mistake :shock:

Re:Geneva car hire - which side and who's the cheapest?!

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:40:58 GMT

Hire from the Swiss side. The Geneva Airport website lists all the rental agencies based at the arrivals -

http://www.gva.ch/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-72/

Sometimes the Swiss '.ch' version of a rental site will have deals which aren't on the '.com' site e.g. www.sixt.ch but often there's no difference. There's a short shuttle bus to the rental car park. Sometimes people will walk to the terminal after drop-off if they're not carrying a lot of baggage. Be aware that not all companies include (mandatory) winter tyres or chains in the on-line quote, so make sure you're comparing like-for-like.

Consider the public transport option: Swiss Rail (SBB) have a foreigners-only return fare from airport to named location which is about GBP75. Take a look at www.sbb.ch trip planner, which includes telepherique and bus connections as well.

If you have a large group, and/or people arriving at disparate times, then another option is for the first arrival(s) to hire a small car, the reminder to go by train, and then use the car as a shuttle at the other end.