Car rental Italy

We've used them several times through Autoeurope, and have no complaints. However, it seems that lately people on this site have had negative experiences. You can do a search to find specifics. Also, check Autoeurope. Not only are their rates good, but several posters have told of them going to bat for them in sticky situations. Again, a search should bring up some of the tales.

Yes, I saw auto europe and them went on to Europcar directly. Are you thinking it's better to book through auto europe?

There are negative reviews on every single car rental place in Italy if you look mainly because people don't understand the insurance/deductible aspect but there are some companies that seem worse than that.
By all accounts Europcar seems like one of the good guys, and that list in Italy also seems very short with 3 company names only. Hertz, Avis and Europcar.
Personally though I have booked Europcar through Auto Europe if the rate directly at Europcar website (US Website) was cheaper with zero deductible insurance I would use them directly without a doubt, I think always best to book direct.
In my experience though with zero deductible Europcar was always far higher than Auto Europe for the same Europcar rental.

One benefit to going direct is your rental will be honored even if you are multiple hours late, through Auto Europe I believe there is a window (2 hours I think) ; if you miss that window you could be out the money and your rental cancelled forced to re-rent at a much higher rate on site. That is about the only risk of using them vs. a direct rental that I found.

Europcar is a major car rental company; like Sixt, they're big in Europe but not in the US.

AutoEurope is a consolidator, that works with various actual rental companies. Two others that people on this forum have used are Kemwel and Gemut. For my Sicily trip with a friend in 2014 and my friend's return Sicily trip in 2015, Kemwel had a FAR better rate than anyone else (looking at both consolidators and rental companies directly). The first time our actual car was from Hertz; the second time his car was from Europcar.

When looking at rates, be sure you are including all the insurance you want so you are comparing apples to apples. We wanted zero deductable; one deal we rejected had a good rate, but a €2000 deductable (yes, two thousand euros).

Just one case, but I had a short rental from Sixt in Sicily in 2014, and it offered the best rate and a flawless experience, and they provided me with a brand new car.

One benefit to going direct is your rental will be honored even if you are multiple hours late, through Auto Europe I believe there is a window (2 hours I think) ; if you miss that window you could be out the money and your rental cancelled forced to re-rent at a much higher rate on site. That is about the only risk of using them vs. a direct rental that I found.

I've rented Europcar via AutoEurope for almost twenty years and have never experienced or even heard of such a thing. OTOH, AutoEurope has gone to bat for me the three times I needed it. They provide you with an 800-number that can be used from Europe if you need to tweak your reservation.

Most of the time I agree that we should deal directly with the provider, whether an airline, a hotel, or a tour operator. However, for a car rental, I prefer the consolidator. AutoEurope has representatives from Hertz, Europcar, Sixt and all the rest working directly in its Portland, Maine office. That's how they resolve problems efficiently.

And before anyone asks, no I don't work for AutoEurope, nor do I have stock in the company--full disclosure.

Thank you to everyone for this detailed information. Really appreciate all the advice!

Bets
I have read numerous reviews of renters with different agencies in different European countries booked through auto Europe where they showed up late (maybe it is 3 hours instead of 2) Without Calling and their car was cancelled and/or rented to someone else leaving the agency with no car even though they prepaid with auto Europe
If they had called ahead this would not have happened but appears to be one caveat of using a consolidator
Booking direct if you prepay the car would have been held
I would use auto Europe in a heartbeat and am using them just will do my best to call if I am running very late for sure
Not exactly sure if company policy or not but something readers should be aware of there are multiple online reviewers that had issues with this

I just got back and used Europcar for the first time. I picked up in La Spezia and dropped off in Arezzo. No problems, no wait, and I would recommend them to everyone.
PS I read what everyone else had to say on this site before making my decision.

My philosophy of life is to distrust all rental car companies. I've used Europcar in Italy many times and have no major complaints about them. Having said that, just take precautions with any company you use. Be fully insured, check and report damages before you leave the lot, take photos of the car before and after return, take photo of fuel gauge when you return to show you returned it full, keep receipts of fuel fill up on day of return. In Europe I generally rent through a consolidator (www.autoeurope.com or their affiliate www.kemwel.com depending on who has the best pricing), but even with them, the Europcar option generally offers the best deal when you opt for the full zero deductible insurance package. If you use the above consolidator Make sure you contact AutoEurope in case of a delayed pickup. Their Italian affiliate is www.autoeurope.it and they have a local toll free number. I had problems a few years ago (they didn't have the car size I had booked when I first arrived) but eventually Europcar fixed it and they ended up giving me a free upgrade to a large nice car. Europcar is the largest car rental operator in Italy.

I didn't notice whether anyone had mentioned this yet, but It's important to note that 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. 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).

Also, you'll have to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities especially Florence, which is almost saturated with automated ZTL cameras. EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket, which you won't know about until several months after you return home!