car rental

Check with the conditions of your visa card. Some cc do not cover insurance in Italy even if they do so in other European countries. Ours does, we refused the cdw when we picked up the car in Rome, scraped the car in Sorrento - and the entire bill was covered by visa, no deductable.

First, I'd check reviews of the Australian company on sites like this one, Tripadvisor, etc. Compare to Autoeurope's rates and reviews.

Second, the coverage on your credit card is something you need to verify with them. I just posted another answer to a similar question. You need to be sure you're covered for the worst case scenario - fatal crash, car burned. Much of the worst is a legal requirement for rental in Europe. But you need to be sure.

Hi Dennis: Make sure your credit card company shows you the place in writing where it says it will cover you in Italy. Some credit cards exclude Italy because of high risks. Also be aware of Rick's advice in Italy 2008 p. 841, in which he says: when you decline the CDW offered by the rental car company, they can place a hold on your credit card for the full market value of the car. This maxes out most credit cards and that credit card is no longer available for use on the trip. This can cause problems.

I have to agree with Rosalyn. When we rented a car in Italy we were not given the choice to refuse the cdw. It was an all inclusive policy.

So what happened to us then? We rented a vehicle in June 08 through autoeurope like many here. We did NOT pay for cdw when picking up the car and had to sign that we refused it. And when we returned the dammaged car we again signed that the bill will be paid through our cc insurance.

Someone out there correct me if I'm wrong, but as I recall, the cdw is not charged separately in Italy because it is mandatory. That's why prices look so much higher than for most other countries. Maybe because it's not an Italian company they're showing you a price that will change when you actually pick up the car.

Dang, didn't save the page, but I read recently that liability insurance must be paid when renting a car in Italy. You can't use your VISA card.

Anyone else know about this?