Best car hire company?

We had a bad experience with Europcar in 2017 in England. They did a bait and switch on us.

I’ve used Hertz and Europcar in Italy multiple times with no problems. Except my own carelessness.😔

Book through AutoEurope in Portland,ME and you are protected if there are any problems. Most of the time in Italy we have had cars from Avis and EuropCar, never any problems. We had a great experience with EuropCar in Sicily last year, from Palermo to Siracusa.

I'd use any of the major companies, found and booked through AutoEurope. I wouldn't worry about reading a complaint or 2 about any particular company. There will always be isolated problems with any company. It's when the problems are more than "isolated" that I'd steer clear. I won't name any names.

Choose one of the majors - Avis, Budget, Hertz, Europcar, Sixt, but pay attention at pick-up and drop-off. Make sure every ding and scratch is listed on the little 'condition report' when you pick it up and take photos of each section of the car. Repeat on drop off and include a photo of the mileage reading / fuel gauge (on full). Don't drop off after hours if you can help it, and try to get a signed condition report on drop-off.

May want to check if you have some discount options - for example AAA in Northeast has Hertz discounts available for members. I have National Car Rental account through work and have a personal account with them as well.

Last two times, in Germany, we used the Hertz option through AAA - both very good experiences - remember to bring your AAA card.

Sixt was mentioned above: I really like them (great cars, great service), at lease in France and Spain, BUT their base rates sometimes DO NOT include any kind of CDW coverage - you are liable up to the entire value of the vehicle if you are not insured through other means. So read the fine print carefully!

Hertz has a location south of the river that avoids ZTLs- Hertz Firenze Sansovino. If you search this name on this site, people have provided good driving directions to get out of town,

I use a consolidator like www.autoeurope.com or www.kemwel.com (same corporate group).. they work with the biggest (Europcar, Hertz, AvisBudget, Sixt).
To me the most important thing is to opt for the full zero deductible insurance coverage. Deductibles are usually 1000€ and over.
More than once I’ve returned the cars with visible small dings and scratches (always courtesy of someone who parked too close to me and dinged me when they opened the door) and I would have been held responsible for probably hundreds of € to pay for the small body damage, but thanks to the zero deductible option I always choose, I didn’t have to worry about it. That option costs only less than $4 a day extra. On a typical two week rental that is nothing to ensure your peace of mind.

We always book with AutoEurope. Got Hertz in Italy and Germany, Europcar in France. All were excellent experiences.
We picked up at the Sansovino location in Florence- super easy- no ZTL issues.

Thank you to all. I do feel a little nervous because of the zone fines many people say they have to pay but I'll be on the lookout for signs. The zero deductible sounds great Roberto, I'll definitely look into that. 4 euros a day sounds like a price well worth paying for peace of mind.

balso, in Italy all rentals must include CDW insurance but can have a deductible (excess) which is often about 1,000 Euro.