AutoEurope rental questions

Usually, we’ve rented directly with the company, be it Europcar, Sixt, Hertz, Dollar, Avis, Enterprise, or smaller companies in more remote places. Those have included Pop’s in Greece, Bolt’s in Shetland, Arnold Clark in remote Scotland, Noleggiare in parts of Italy, and some outfit that rented very used, cheap but junky cars in Bulgaria 21 years ago. They’ve all been cheaper than AutoEurope’s price, but we’ve had to shop around.

One consolidator we’ve used a couple of times is DiscoverCars.com, which also has a user-friendly App. They’re based out of Latvia, of all places, but have sometimes had the best price, and through major rental companies. Have never needed to contact them after booking the rental, although they offer a local phone number in the U.S., along with local numbers in 22 other countries in Europe and North America, plus Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand. The App also shows a link for calling them “Online, using the Internet,” but it doesn’t say whether that’s via WhatsApp, or what. Not providing any phone option for contacting the new AutoEurope seems to be a major reason for people having problems with them.

Because our Chase VISA card offers insurance protection, we’ve never taken insurance with a rental company’s offerings. We’ve been relatively lucky with rentals, with only two times of any damage. In Norway a few years ago, paint scratches (surprisingly expensive, per Hertz’s assessment), were quickly, easily, and completely covered by our VISA card’s program, and in Sicily a few years earlier, a damaged tire/wheel came with what turned out to be an illegible receipt from a tow truck driver, and it was easier to pay out of pocket than to mess with the paperwork to try and resolve amygdala issue, which wasn’t exceptionally expensive. For any claim, regardless of the insurer, complete, legible documentation is essential for obtaining reimbursement.

Of course, anyone without that credit card protection will have more to consider, regarding car rental and coverage.

Roberto, I rented with AutoEurope for decades, except in the UK, where I usually rent with Arnold Clark, but after the stories I've been hearing and the change of ownership, I've decided just to rent directly with the company. In the past year, I've rented from Enterprise and Hertz (in Norway), and I have not had any problem at all. I've rented from Europcar back in 2024, and the experience was okay, but not great. There wasn't any damage to the car, and I didn't have any problems, but there were just a few things that I didn't like about the process. That said, it could have been that particular branch office, which was in Plymouth in Devon, England.

I doubt that I will go back to renting cars through a broker, with the exception of Costco. Also, lik Cyn, I have a Chase card that covers the zero deductible. I've used that with Arnold Clark and the process was very successful, but it's the only time I've needed to use it.

Roberto, your post is very timely for me. I just booked a car through AutoEurope for Catania at the end of the month. It's my first time this year renting from them (last time was Oct 2025 in Puglia). I noticed the different user interface but didn't realize it's new ownership. I chose a car by Budget, picking up/returning at Catania Airport and took the extra insurance, but wondered why it wasn't called 'zero deductable' as it was before. Now I'm not sure I'll keep this reservation. It's fully refundable until 2 days? before so I still have time.
When in Europe I always take all insurance, when renting within the US I never take it because I know my insurance will cover it. The added cost isn't cheap but gives me peace of mind.

Does anyone know if when renting directly through the auto rental companies in Italy, the zero deductible is offered? I'll have to start looking around. I have had good luck with Europcar and Hertz, in Italy but they were always through AutoEurope.com. Guess I need to shop around.

Greetings Roberto. I have used AutoEurope a few times in the past and was very happy with their service but was unaware that they had changed ownership. For a 6 day rental in Italy last August I booked through them for a Fiat 500 with full coverage for 102 euros/day. I thought it was strange that they did not list the rental companies up front as they used to do. When the return email came it said the company was RentalPlus which I'd never heard of. The pickup was FCO but when we took a taxi from Rome they were not listed at the airport so our driver checked on line and found they were off site. Arriving at the location we had to maneuver through a huge lot of cars for several companies to find their office. Once inside we were told they did not accept the full insurance coverage and we had to use their coverage for about 50 euros/d more. That added about 250 to the price that AutoEurope listed. They also had no small cars like the Fiat 500 and the smallest they had was a Jeep Avenger. Needless to say I will no longer use AutoEurope but will go directly to the rental company.
RDJ

Quick update - I'm a USAA member and just tried to price out a car from Hertz for 8 days pickup/drop off Catania. I selected Midsize SUV/Minivan Renault Symbioz E-Tech or similar (hybrid). The USAA offer includes several additions (No indirect loss charges, no cancellation fee, ad one free additional family member as driver, damage liability limited to $5000, primary liability protection included.) The rental for 8 days was $330, which jumped to $860 if I want to include 'super cover' which is I believe the same as Zero deductible. That's the price that Hertz charges. The $330 is similar to the Budget car I rented through Autoeurope (also a hybrid).

At such a high cost for the zero cover, I may go with my credit card insurance or perhaps add it on my trip insurance. Not sure exacttly what I'll do at this point.

Another option could be to decline the extra insurance “refundable” deductible coverage offered by AutoEurope (now through a 3rd party), which costs about $10/day extra, and either rely on the credit card to cover the deductible, or purchase the full no deductible (aka kasko in Italy) coverage at the desk when you pick up. I have no idea how much it would cost to get that full insurance as extra at the desk when you pick up the car. I did so only once, when I rented directly from Avis-Budget in Florence (before I learned about AutoEurope), but it was a long time ago, maybe 2011 when my dad passed, and don’t remember the cost. I’ve also rented directly from the car companies prior to that but took the risk and declined the extra cost for the non deductible. I need to check with my credit cards and see what they offer. Not all cover Italy.

Do you also know which credit cards cover Italy for sure, in case one declines the extra coverage?

Our Chase British Airways VISA (which also earns Avios frequent flyer points with every purchase) covers Italy. We’ve used it on many mainland Italy rentals, as well as one on Sardinia. With its coverage, In fact, you have to decline any and all optional insurance offered by the rental company, and use that card to pay for the rental, in order for the coverage to be in effect.

Our card also covers car rental insurance in Ireland and Northern Ireland, by the way, which I’ve been told that most cards (including many other VISAs) don’t anymore. We had to show a physical letter from our card issuer to the rental agent at the Dollar Car Rental desk at the Cork airport, attesting to the coverage, before he’d allow us to collect the car and not buy insurance from him. He took a photocopy of the letter for his records.

For a 6 day rental in Italy last August I booked through them for a Fiat 500 with full coverage for 102 euros/day. I thought it was strange that they did not list the rental companies up front as they used to do. When the return email came it said the company was RentalPlus which I'd never heard of.

Wow, RDJ (and also Roberto and anybody else), a couple of things:

• Back in July, we rented a Fiat 500 (manual transmission) from Europcar in Wales for 13 days, and it was less than £19 a day, so less than $27. I know Wales isn’t Italy, and Europcar isn’t RentalsPlus, and we declined any insurance from Europcar, as we trusted in our credit card’s coverage, which we, thankfully, didn’t need, but $27 a day versus €102 is a lot!
• Last year, we’d never heard of RentalsPlus before, either, but used them for a trip in southern Italy last fall. Searching on DiscoverCars.com, we were given a large array of rental options. The two cheapest companies (which DiscoverCars gives you) got horrible reviews from people, including charging people for damage that already existed when they first picked up cars, having filthy vehicles, and also accusing renters of supposed damage that did not exist when they returned their car. Basically, scammer companies, and not worth the savings.

So we went with the third-cheapest car, booking directly with RentalsPlus. We won’t use them again. Both pick-up and drop-off were problematic; I won’t go into extremely lengthy details. After reading about others’ experiences, we took a bunch of before-and-after photos, to prove existing damage, and that we didn’t cause any during the rental.

The return office we first found, a trailer in a Bari airport parking lot, wasn’t staffed. The lot sign had the names of several other rental companies, but not RentalsPlus. Only after lots of driving around, and stopping to ask one man who wasn’t happy about giving us an answer, we located the trailer at the back of the lot. We took lots of “after” photos, including of the front bumper, but there was no place to drop off the key. A guy in the neighboring trailer for another company told us there was a RentalsPlus counter in the airport terminal. Apparently we were expected to turn in the car at the curb outside the terminal, and take the key inside. Nothing from RentalsPlus ever told us that. Well, we walked to the terminal, dropped the key off inside, and went our merry way.

A couple days later, and no longer in Italy, the RentalsPlus office sent us a message asking if we had photos showing the condition of the car when it was turned in, and included a photo showing a front bumper with a big gouge in it, suggesting it was a our car. We replied with a photo showing our pristine bumper. and they thanked us, and that was that. If we didn’t have a photo, were they going to charge us for alleged damage? That’s how they make their money, not from the actual rental fee, but from overpriced insurance and/or trumped-up bogus damage claims. Always take photos - it’s worth the time and effort, especially with third-rate, off-brand companies.

So we went with the third-cheapest car, booking directly with RentalsPlus.

I'm having difficulty understanding why "cheapest" is a criterion for choosing a rental company, given all the horror stories regarding unscrupulous behavior. One would think that using a reputable, well-known company would be a major deciding factor, as opposed to price.

Glad to offer an opinion Roberto. You have been helpful to so many for several years. Just returned yesterday from Italia. Rented through AutoEurope this time and many times in the past. Obviously the change in ownership is not for the better. The insurance coverage is vague at best with no "0" option available. Not even a phone number to call with any questions. They used to have excellent customer service in the past, but no longer. I used Allianz to cover my rental and the cost was a little over $100 for 8 days. You would still have to pay a substantial deductible up front and turn to Allianz for damage reimbursement.

Going forward I will most likely rent directly from the larger companies unless someone surfaces in the future to provide a better option. The Avis counter at FCO (Rome) is still archaic having to wait over an hour to obtain the car wit only 6 customers in front of me.

A humorous story about a 24 hour rental in small town Germany in April. They wanted $120 for a "0" deductible coverage, the "only" coverage they had. I declined and decided to roll the dice with whatever my credit card coverage would be. They proceed to roll out and brand new Volvo large SUV with one of those special paint jobs. No scratches and only 80 km on the odometer!! Needless to say I held my breath with every mile, but as the Germans do...they are very respectful of speed and safety. Couldn't wait to return the car.
I simply want a car with a million scratches!!!

Ha ha, I hate it when I get a brand new car. I was in England in 2024 and got a brand new Mercedes, and of course, as luck would have it, I wound up scratching it in a car park, and I felt horrible the whole time. Then I got a brand new car recently in Spokane, Washington, when I went to Coeur d'Alene for the weekend.

Why does this happen to me? Like you said, I'd rather have a good used car so I don't have to worry about putting the first scratch on it. Luckily, nothing happened to the Spokane car, thank goodness. 😊

In Palermo, we got a brand new Mercedes as our rental... the nice young lady was backing it out of the parking garage and smashed the left rear bumper against a pillar. I was more than happy to drive a pre-dented car in Sicily.

I'm having difficulty understanding why "cheapest" is a criterion for choosing a rental company, given all the horror stories regarding unscrupulous behavior

Price is always a factor for some of us, markcw. We book the cheapest car category we can, as we don’t need (or want) a big Mercedes on vacation. We also fly economy, and use airline miles to cut the fares. The well-known rental companies’ prices were all considerably more expensive for that trip, and I wasn’t aware of unscrupulous company horror stories before then. Maybe that’s because of using those major rental firms for so long, but I am now, and much more wary. We're not likely to use a sketchy rental company if a more familiar company has a decent price, but initial cost has to be considered. As I said earlier, we did, at least, ignore the two cheapest companies.

Cyn:

That's why I always buy the second cheapest wine.

Regarding rental cars I consider that business in the same guise as used car dealers and secondary credit collection agencies. Shaky at best, even those who are franchises of well known brand names.

That is a sector ripe for better government regulatory oversight.

I just went to Kemwel and it looks like they still offer zero deductible online, I can't tell for sure if it's through the car rental company directly. I chose europe car, and with zero deductible and full coverage (that was and extra ~$11/day) I have mid size hybrid for 8 days pickup/drop off at CTA for $415.
UPDATE I did find the fine print and this is a reimbursement policy from Autoeurope, not insurance from the rental agency, hence the more reasonable cost.
Here's the list of items that the full coverage says is covered:
Full Protection Includes:
Liability Insurance
Fire Insurance
Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)
Theft Protection (TP)
Zero Deductible
Wheels and Glass Damage Coverage
Windscreen, mirrors, external lights
Roof and Undercarriage
Breakdown including towing fees, unused day refund due to medical reasons or car damage
Damage to additional items (GPS/Child Seat etc.)
Additional Information
Unlimited mileage
Collision Damage Waiver. Deductible: EUR 0.00
Theft Protection. Deductible: EUR 0.00
Road Tax - EUR 33.62, per rental
Highway Use Charge

Regarding rental cars I consider that business in the same guise as used car dealers and secondary credit collection agencies.

Roberto, I get that, and I feel that way about most agencies. That said, I will say one of the reasons that I usually book with Arnold Clark in the UK is that their attitude and their customer service have been exemplary.

Every time I rent a car from them, they take pains to go over all of the language I'm signing in the contract, and they want to make sure I understand what happens if I choose to use credit card coverage for the deductible. They explain everything, and want to make sure I understand that I will have to pay up front and then go through my own card company for reimbursement, and so on.

I have always been pleased with their cars as well and have been upgraded several times at no extra cost. When I had to file a claim with Chase because I dinged a car and had to pay the £1000 deductible, they sent me all the documents I asked for immediately and cooperated with the credit card company to make sure I got reimbursed. And once, when I was in danger of missing a train after dropping the car off, they gave me a ride to the train station. I can't recommend them highly enough. If you're ever in the UK, I would definitely think about renting from them.

I’ll keep that in mind if I ever plan to rent a car in the UK. Although my past experience driving on the left side of the road (in the Bahamas) probably will dissuade me from trying again.