Looking for car rental in Italy
- Thread starter Lolvoguy
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Enterprise always worked well for me in Italy and Germany. Good rates and nice cars. If you call at least a week in advance they should be able to get you what you want as well. I'll always recommend a Ford Cmax diesel or BMW 3er/5er wagon diesel.
Make sure you have your international drivers license as well. Cheap at a local AAA center.
Make sure you have your international drivers license as well. Cheap at a local AAA center.
I have used Alamo 66% of the time and Sixt 33% of the time on my trips to Europe. Both were fine but I would give Alamo a slight edge in price (lower). The cars were all clean and in very good condition. Sixt was the only company of the two to provide the exact car class as per the booking. Customer service at pickup and drop off was fine with both firms. I did receive a photo traffic ticket on one trip but was not charged an administrative fee by Alamo which was a plus.
Whoever you choose, make sure you get the optional insurance. In European rental car contracts there is no such thing as "normal wear and tear" like we have in America. So a rock chip on the windshield will cost you 500 Euros, a dent from someone door-checking you will cost you 400 Euros, and even a flat tire will cost you the cost of a replacement tire. I just used Sixt and the car was a pretty much brand new VW Passat (~400 km on the odometer). The insurance literally doubled the rental cost but by the time we came back it had several stone chips and several dents on the doors because of the tiny little parking spots.
One positive note on Sixt, if you want a nicer car (Mercedes SL, BMW 6er, etc) they have then available.
If you have "status" with any current rental company (AVIS, Hertz, etc.) I'd recommend using them. My experience with renting in Italy is things can become unscripted fast and your status may be your only saving grace.
I'll tell you about our car rental adventures in France.
We prebooked a Renault Megane diesel with a manual transmission. When we arrived the rental agency told us the only Megane available was gasoline and automatic. But when the automatic door locks didn't work properly they finally said, "Would you take a diesel?" Appears they had our prebooked car all along but (being from North America) would accept a gasoline automatic. About half the cars in France are diesels. Diesel fuel (in France anyway) is much cheaper than gasoline, and the mileage is much better. So get a diesel if at all possible. Lovely car by the way.
We didn't take the rental insurance but relied on our Visa Platinum insurance. We checked the car very carefully and noted all the minor dents and scrapes.
One day we were sitting in traffic in a small village waiting for a heavy truck to work around a tight corner ahead. When the traffic was just starting to move the car that had been sitting behind us for at least 5 minutes suddenly ran into the back of our rental car scraping our back bumper. Luckily the car was being driven by someone from England so it was easy to take down one another's details. What we didn't know was that we were supposed to jointly complete a tic box form in the glove compartment with all details that the 2 drivers agree upon. When we stopped at an outlet for our rental company later in the day, we were told we absolutely had to have that form filled out by both parties within 24 hours. Way to blow a day at the Riviera and drive half way across France! But when they found out we hadn't taken the collision damage waiver they said not to worry about it.
They insurance company at the 1-800 number was great. They said they expected to be charged the full cost of the repair but not to worry about it.
When we returned the car, we pointed out the scrape but the agent (noting that there was a scrape on the back bumper reported on the original condition record) said, "One scrape, two scrapes, what's the difference. Don't worry about it."
Our bill (which we received when we finally got home) was very similar to the estimate but included an unexpected "Surcharge Number 2" for 100 Euros. We wrote and asked what that was for and they responded, "Just a mistake, we'll take it off." We later learned that mystery surcharges are a common scam.
So a few adventures, but a lovely car for sure, and we sure learned a lot!
We prebooked a Renault Megane diesel with a manual transmission. When we arrived the rental agency told us the only Megane available was gasoline and automatic. But when the automatic door locks didn't work properly they finally said, "Would you take a diesel?" Appears they had our prebooked car all along but (being from North America) would accept a gasoline automatic. About half the cars in France are diesels. Diesel fuel (in France anyway) is much cheaper than gasoline, and the mileage is much better. So get a diesel if at all possible. Lovely car by the way.
We didn't take the rental insurance but relied on our Visa Platinum insurance. We checked the car very carefully and noted all the minor dents and scrapes.
One day we were sitting in traffic in a small village waiting for a heavy truck to work around a tight corner ahead. When the traffic was just starting to move the car that had been sitting behind us for at least 5 minutes suddenly ran into the back of our rental car scraping our back bumper. Luckily the car was being driven by someone from England so it was easy to take down one another's details. What we didn't know was that we were supposed to jointly complete a tic box form in the glove compartment with all details that the 2 drivers agree upon. When we stopped at an outlet for our rental company later in the day, we were told we absolutely had to have that form filled out by both parties within 24 hours. Way to blow a day at the Riviera and drive half way across France! But when they found out we hadn't taken the collision damage waiver they said not to worry about it.
They insurance company at the 1-800 number was great. They said they expected to be charged the full cost of the repair but not to worry about it.
When we returned the car, we pointed out the scrape but the agent (noting that there was a scrape on the back bumper reported on the original condition record) said, "One scrape, two scrapes, what's the difference. Don't worry about it."
Our bill (which we received when we finally got home) was very similar to the estimate but included an unexpected "Surcharge Number 2" for 100 Euros. We wrote and asked what that was for and they responded, "Just a mistake, we'll take it off." We later learned that mystery surcharges are a common scam.
So a few adventures, but a lovely car for sure, and we sure learned a lot!
I've used Sixt couple of times, and always had good experience. Dad use it every month, all new, clean, low kilometers cars. It's a bit pricey compared with some others, but on vacation it's worth it.
JHZR2
Staff member
Ice rented with Sixt, Avis, europcar and enterprise in Europe. All are good. Sixt had the best cars I think. Had a BMW 530D wagon a few weeks back that I drove across Germsny and through a few other countries, at a great rate.
I've used enterprise a few times in Italy. Never had any issues - always got manual diesel cars. Once a Renault Clio, once a VW something or other, once a BMW 5 series diesel wagon. My inclination is to go with a small car. I encountered a number of roads that I could not fit through in the BMW. More than once I had to leave the car and walk. I think the Clio was the best overall aside from top speed.
One time I received a car that was too small to fit my single large suitcase - I had to upsize.
One time I received a car that was too small to fit my single large suitcase - I had to upsize.
thanks for the help guys
Should I be concerned with using my CC to reserve the car?
So far I'm rather drawn to reserving something smaller along the lines of a Fiesta Diesel.
Budget rent a car in Siena seems to have the best price and has other cars that also seem interesting (Alfa Romeo Guilietta diesel)
I'm happy with renting a stick, and prefer something diesel as I've never had the chance to own/drive one here in N. America
Should I be concerned with using my CC to reserve the car?
So far I'm rather drawn to reserving something smaller along the lines of a Fiesta Diesel.
Budget rent a car in Siena seems to have the best price and has other cars that also seem interesting (Alfa Romeo Guilietta diesel)
I'm happy with renting a stick, and prefer something diesel as I've never had the chance to own/drive one here in N. America
the 1.6 diesel in the giulietta is very good for it's size. quite a bit largzr than a fieta though, it's focus sized.
hmm
would you recommend it over the Fiesta?(the price difference is about $30-40 CAD for the rental duration).
Also, will I have problems navigating it around the streets of Italy? We plan on mostly travelling to the countryside with the car.
thanks
would you recommend it over the Fiesta?(the price difference is about $30-40 CAD for the rental duration).
Also, will I have problems navigating it around the streets of Italy? We plan on mostly travelling to the countryside with the car.
thanks
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