Car Ownership v Leasing/Renting/Hiring/Borrowing
Jul 13th 2022, 12:31 pm
#1
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Joined: Apr 2022
Location: London
Posts: 11
Car Ownership v Leasing/Renting/Hiring/Borrowing
Seeing as my questions on driving to Italy got such amazing and helpful responses (Driving UK to Italy) I'm back to ask for some more help and explanations:
I have seen from various posts and other websites that non-residents cant buy or own a car in Italy, but I also saw a few where people have said that they managed to lease/long term rental etc a car from somewhere (one of them mentioned directly from Peugeot I think?). Does anyone know if this is allowable as a non-resident? then there's the driving licence and insurance issues too I guess?
Backstory: we're currently fact-finding about moving (part-time 90/180 system) to Abruzzo and further south. For the fact-find we'll drive down in our own UK car this time and then return with it BUT if we do find somewhere then the plan next year(?) is to have some form of car/van in Italy and just fly out each time. Now that made perfect sense until we hit the stumbling block of non-resident ownership.
Apologies if this is a super dumb question, especially as here in the UK, whilst you may be listed as the keeper of the vehicle, the leasing company still owns it, so it may be all common sense to you all but I just can't find any straight answers anywhere about doing this in Italy. Sorry :-(
I have seen from various posts and other websites that non-residents cant buy or own a car in Italy, but I also saw a few where people have said that they managed to lease/long term rental etc a car from somewhere (one of them mentioned directly from Peugeot I think?). Does anyone know if this is allowable as a non-resident? then there's the driving licence and insurance issues too I guess?
Backstory: we're currently fact-finding about moving (part-time 90/180 system) to Abruzzo and further south. For the fact-find we'll drive down in our own UK car this time and then return with it BUT if we do find somewhere then the plan next year(?) is to have some form of car/van in Italy and just fly out each time. Now that made perfect sense until we hit the stumbling block of non-resident ownership.
Apologies if this is a super dumb question, especially as here in the UK, whilst you may be listed as the keeper of the vehicle, the leasing company still owns it, so it may be all common sense to you all but I just can't find any straight answers anywhere about doing this in Italy. Sorry :-(
Jul 21st 2022, 10:31 am
#2
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Joined: Feb 2020
Location: Piemonte
Posts: 98
Re: Car Ownership v Leasing/Renting/Hiring/Borrowing
Hi Harrison! I subscribe the The Local Italy and they had a recent article about car leasing so I've copied this information below - hope it helps:
Car buy-back lease schemes
A car buy-back lease programme is one in which you technically (but don’t really) ‘buy’ a car with the guarantee that a rental company will buy it back from you when you’ve finished using it.
The programme is most widespread in France (as it’s French car manufacturers who offer the service through a French government tourism incentive scheme), but it’s also available in Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK.
The advantages of this set-up are that you get a brand new car (usually with built-in GPS at no extra cost), you don’t have to pay VAT, you get zero-deductible insurance as part of the package, and you can add additional drivers free of charge – all of which can amount to some significant savings, especially if you’re staying for more than a few weeks.
You can also freely travel to eastern European countries like Hungary, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina on a leased car, an option that isn’t normally available with rental companies without a hefty surcharge.
To take advantage of the scheme, you need to reside outside the European Union and be at least 18 years old. You can lease a car for anywhere between 21 days and five and a half months.
The three main companies that offer the service in Italy are represented by Auto Europe. You can book online through their website at the links below for:
You will need to pick the car up and drop it off in either Milan or Rome, as these are the only two locations available in Italy.
Bear in mind that as a leased car is manufactured from scratch, you will need to make your order several weeks in advance.
Car buy-back lease schemes
A car buy-back lease programme is one in which you technically (but don’t really) ‘buy’ a car with the guarantee that a rental company will buy it back from you when you’ve finished using it.
The programme is most widespread in France (as it’s French car manufacturers who offer the service through a French government tourism incentive scheme), but it’s also available in Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK.
The advantages of this set-up are that you get a brand new car (usually with built-in GPS at no extra cost), you don’t have to pay VAT, you get zero-deductible insurance as part of the package, and you can add additional drivers free of charge – all of which can amount to some significant savings, especially if you’re staying for more than a few weeks.
You can also freely travel to eastern European countries like Hungary, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina on a leased car, an option that isn’t normally available with rental companies without a hefty surcharge.
To take advantage of the scheme, you need to reside outside the European Union and be at least 18 years old. You can lease a car for anywhere between 21 days and five and a half months.
The three main companies that offer the service in Italy are represented by Auto Europe. You can book online through their website at the links below for:
You will need to pick the car up and drop it off in either Milan or Rome, as these are the only two locations available in Italy.
Bear in mind that as a leased car is manufactured from scratch, you will need to make your order several weeks in advance.
