Car rental in Italy

AutoEurope, always.

I have rented a car from Europcar In Lecce Italy (On the Adriatic in Puglia) a Puegeot 208 for a month for $481 (yes dollars not Euros)

What I do is go to Kayak see who has the best prices, it seems I get the lowest from them.

As far as Car rentals and reviews go, I ignore them or never look. There are too many variables and SO MANY people just do not read the fine print and understand what they are doing and then get upset and give bad reviews when in fact it was their mistake for not understanding what they were signing on for.

Good luck Have fun

AutoEurope is a consolidator that has vehicles available from many rental agencies and they have a great reputation. I've used them exclusively for my rentals and have always been satisfied with them. They seem to have the best prices and use major companies. I’ve rented through them 8 or 10 times and have already booked 2 rentals for my trip this fall. Most of my cars were supplied by Europcar, once by Avis and this year both from Hertz. You can get $0 deductible at a reasonable price on Europcar and Hertz rentals through AutoEurope rentals. Don’t forget to get your International Driver Permit which is required by law in Italy.

Going with the lowest price is the worst approach as the low bidders are incentivized to get your money in other ways - such as by hard-selling insurance or even spurious damage claims. Your contract is with the car provider not the broker and some are piranhas. Recently Italy fined Goldcar and Firefly over a million euro each for deceptive practices. Use only Avis, Budget, Europcar, or Hertz. In my opinion, the only decent broker is AutoEurope and if you use their insurance option, you still need to read the fine print.

I usually check Autoeurope and then compare their rates with those directly through the agencies. I rented from Europcar a year ago in Salerno, nice car, good service, no problems.

I forgot to mention, the one place in Italy I would never drive is in Naples! And that's after I spent two days driving the Amalfi Coast. I suggest you pick up the car at the airport and avoid the city, if you must pick up the car in Naples.

Thanks for all the replies so far. I will give AutoEurope a try. I'm thinking of either Budget or Avis as Hertz seems to add more expensive options. Is Hertz worth any added expense? Any recent experiences with these three in Italy?
RDJ

As to reviews, I always take them with a grain of salt but when I see the vast majority very negative such as Europcar I'm rather wary.
To Chani - We plan to pick up and return at the airport heading south to the heel of the boot and avoid the city.

Had an awful experience with Avis at the Florence Airport. Would not recommend them under any circumstances.
A company that I have use quite successfully and priced competitively was Sixt. You will find them throughout Europe. Can't recommend them highly enough!

We had a problem in 2016 with a car rented from Europe-car. Two weeks after I turned it in, we got a letter with an additional $185 charge for our car rental. They said we approved for and got an upgraded vehicle. We did not. Fortunately we rented through AutoEurope so we had a recourse. It took about three weeks but eventually the added charges were credited back to us.

Again, thanks for all the replies. After looking at many reviews from many sources I find all rental companies in Italy have a great number of negative reviews. I decided to reserve a car through AutoEurope choosing Avis as their sight put them ahead of Budget. I do plan on reading the fine print and a close examination of the car.
RDJ

You may already be aware of this, a few other important points to mention.....

For driving in Italy, each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. (so you must carry both). These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office).

You may also want to have a look at some of the posts on the forum concerning the Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities (especially Florence!). Some of these are enforced by automated cameras and some by local police. Each pass through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket and visitors often don’t know of these violations until several months after they’ve returned home.