car rental at florence airport price help

It should be perfectly normal to book through the US web site and $117 is what I would expect as a normal price for an economy or compact. Auto Europe also shows prices in that range. $492 sounds nonsensically high, unless you were trying to drop the car in another country.

karen, assuming you live in the USA (you left that part of your public profile blank) it is actually more honest to use the US website. Naturally, you need to read all the Terms and Conditions carefully, and check the hours and days that the agencies are open. There are additional details about Italy, often discussed here, like speed cameras, IDP and ZTLs, as well as some minimal insurance (leaving $5,000 or more collision on your head ... ) being required by local law. That makes it harder, but not impossible, to jump through the hoops to use your Credit Card or other third-party collision coverage. Have you ever rented a car in Europe before? Can you drive a standard transmission? Do you already photograph your car as soon as you take possession? Do you have a chip and PIN credit card for likely unattended gas stations?

I assume that you meant 492 Euros when you wrote $492 Euro. We can't estimate "extras" for any give auto company. A big unknown is expensive gasoline or diesel fuel, tolls, and in-town parking garages. 117 Euros sounds unrealistic for four days. Are the terms of both rentals the same?

Check Auto Europe. It's an American company that you can call from N America. You may be comparing apples to oranges. One may have full insurance coverage and the other just the basic.
Basic is required by Italian law. You'll have your choice of both Hertz and Europcar plus others.
Those are the two I prefer.

Edit: please read this if you've never driven in Italy and download their e book for important info on their rules of the road.

https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/dont-mess-with-ztl-zones

My 5 day Hertz rental (I recall it was a Fiat Panda) in Sicily last spring was $112, booked through the US Hertz site. I took required coverage only, nothing extra and no GPS.

Edited to add: the 5 days was over a weekend (as is yours) which I recall was cheaper (as often is the case in the US) than mid-week.

I always go through AutoEurope.

Another vote for AutoEurope- US based consolidator that can usually get you the best rate.
They are extremely helpful and wonderful to work with as well.
We've used them for rentals in Italy (Hertz), France (Europcar) & Germany (Hertz) with great success.

www.autoeurope.com

We rented from the Florence Airport last June through Auto Europe (as others recommended). This is my go-to-rental agency in Europe as I have had great experiences in booking and in working with them when I have had accidents (in France a couple of years ago).

A couple of things that might help you in your reservations:

• Auto Europe offers a GPS that you can rent in advance and take over with you. You don't need it. The car we got from Hertz (through Auto Europe) had a GPS. In addition, we used WAZE which was also helpful in avoiding the ZTL zones.
• Auto Europe is great to work with if you need to make changes to the reservation before you arrive.
• When we got to the airport, I asked at the Hertz counter if they could waive the extra driver fee (I am Hertz Gold). The manager said, because it was through Auto Europe, when we booked we had to pay the extra driver, but she waived the fee for us on the spot. If you have status with a rental car agency (e.g. Hertz, Avis, etc) and book through Auto Europe, ask if there is anything special that your status can get for you. We saved some money just by asking.

Good luck. We loved driving in Tuscany. Just remember to get your International Drivers License before your trip. You can get it at AAA.