Bad experience with Sicily-by-Car in Olbia

This is happening all over. We returned a car at the Zagreb airport and they wanted to charge us $400 for scratches on the bumper. Luckily we took pictures before we left when we rented the car. The same scratches were there. Case closed.

Yes we photograph too but I’ve never thought to photograph the underside of the bumper! We do this for domestic rentals too. Yikes what next?

Zero deductible through AutoEurope is the way to go. Those agents probably have incentives to get people who don’t have full zero deductible coverage, and they know who they are. You have to look at car rental agencies the same way you look at car dealerships that always try to upsell you repairs that your car does not need.

On most of our recent rentals, we have had similar experiences:

When we pick up the car, we go over it obsessively and obviously, in the presence of their staff. We note every slight hint of a scratch or suspected potential scratch, wrinkle, smashed bug, bit of dirt, etc, and take LOTS photos, all while their staff members stands there watching us, as he repeatedly marks e-v-e-r-y little glitch we note on the paperwork. After a few minutes of this, the guy typically stops checking each thing we point to, he just scribbles another mark on the car diagram when I point, probably rolling his eyes. We go round the car with a super-bright flashlight, camera, taking our own notes. At the end, the guy hands me my copy of the pre-trip inspection report, and the car is absolutely covered with little scribble marks - there are virtually no places on the car that are not marked with some sort of scribble. I'm handed the paperwork, the guy gives me a strange look, which I interpret to mean "look, every inch of the car shows a scratch, we're not going to hold you responsible for any you add, unless a large piece of the car is completely missing."

Last car I returned (at the airport in Malta, about a week ago), they didn't even bother "inspecting" the car; the guy just looked at the paperwork, told me as I handed him the keys "your deposit has been released from your credit card, have a nice flight."

Works for me.

This kind of scam is why we no longer rent cars. You can't be scammed by rental agents if you take the train or bus.

Sorry for your experience. We always rent from companies like Avis or Enterprise and neither has gone over the car with a fine tooth comb upon return for years. A cursory look over is all they give it. We do still take photos just in case.

@David - I will be using this technique going forward! Had the same experience as Larry in Corsica, and we have a Sicily-by-Car rental for our upcoming trip to Sardinia. Thanks for the heads up!

Wr have used AutoEurope for over twenty years, never any problems!

The cost to add full coverage in Sicily seems quite reasonable, about $15 a day. I’ve always relied on credit card coverage but will pay the added cost on our trip this fall.

Had the same thing happen at LA Mezia..no damage..yet everyone who worked there could see it! I had coverage..but had to pay 90 euro to file paperwork!! Yup..in the VERRRY fine print!