We have rental cars reserved for two different parts of our trip this summer. We are flying into Rome CIA and picking up a car from Budget and heading south for a coupe of days. Then we are returning the car to CIA and spending several days in Rome. Then we are picking up another car, from Dollar, and heading north and returning it in Venice. The Budget rental is pre-paid and the Dollar is not. In fact, the Dollar rental did not even ask for a credit card, which worries me. Getting any info on additional charges from a rental car company is like trying to confirm health care costs prior to a procedure. So far, Budget has responded by email, but has failed to directly address my question about additional charges at pick up or drop off. Dollar has not even responded to my email. I really do not want to call them, as I would like some physical proof of anything they tell me (although in my US state I could legally record the call). I actually have two reservations for the second rental, one with Dollar and another with Thrifty, through Orbitz. Neither are pre-paid and no credit card info was given. After I made the Orbitz reservation, I read some very bad reviews and made the Dollar reservation. I do not need insurance, as my trip insurance covers my rental car, so there should not be any extra charges for that. Anyone have any suggestions? Am I making too much of this?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15155 posts
I don’t know what to tell you,
That is why I rent my cars in Europe through www.autoeurope.com. Never an issue.
Posted by
OP
33 posts
I would be paying a bit more than my existing quote, but I may end up doing that if I can get an assurance from autoeurope the charge will not be more than their quote. Do they match quotes?
Posted by
Minneapolis
1215 posts
I have reserved many rental cars online in both US and Europe and the website and confirmation email always shows a total detail quote with all charges including tax, drop charge, etc. Did you reserve online? Didn't you get an email and /or able to view online your reservation details with total quote?
Posted by
752 posts
Roberto’s suggestion would be mine, too. Autoeurope deals with the main car rental companies in Italy. Even if you decide to book directly with one of the companies, you will have a sense of what’s out there. As long as you’re booking a manual transmission, the smaller players like Dollar and Thrifty may be ok ( I’ve stayed away from these companies in Europe). But if you want an automatic, I’d look at one of the bigger companies. Automatics are scarce in Europe.
Also be sure your trip insurance includes Italy in its auto rental coverage...some do not.
Posted by
OP
33 posts
Yes, I did receive an email with the total charge. My concern is when I get to the counter to pick up the car, there will be additional charges to pay. Maybe I am overly concerned? A couple of things worry me. The Dollar and Thrifty rentals were reserved and I received an email with the total price, but it was not guaranteed with a credit card. This doesn't seem like a way to run a successful business.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16232 posts
My understanding is that in Italy you are required to buy the rental company's CDW; you cannot decline it and rely on other insurance ( travel insurance or credit card coverage). See here:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/car-rental-cdw
https://www.travelpulse.com/opinions/blog/3-insider-tips-about-car-rental-insurance-in-italy.html
My guess is they won't tell you in advance how much additional it costs as they want a chance to upsell from the mandatory basic CDW to something pricier. Dollar in particular is notorious for this.
Posted by
OP
33 posts
I understand about the insurance. It is automatically included with the Budget rental, but not the Dollar rental. I added rental car insurance to our trip insurance and will be able to print out a letter explaining this. On the Dollar website it says you can decline the collision insurance, but theft insurance is required in Italy. Since I have both with my trip insurance it should not be an issue. The Dollar website also states "This location has unique rental and debit card policies, and may require additional documents to rent a vehicle. Please contact this location directly or view their local policy for more information". It has no contact info for the location.
Posted by
New Zealand
19 posts
I'm doing a car rental as well. Re insurance: as someone else mentioned, the rental companies are required to include insurance in Italy--that is already included in the price (at least it was for me with Avis). So what happens is if you have an accident, the rental car company covers it up to whatever limit (which is really not that much) and then the credit card insurance covers anything over that--theoretically, at least. I called Wells Fargo to verify this.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7286 posts
Your observations about the rental car business, and the tendency to create additional charges at pickup time are valid. It’s not conceptually different in Europe than in the US, but the details vary. Although it’s not totally successful, one way to improve your level of information and control is to get price levels through intermediaries like (you mentioned) Orbitz, but to reserve directly with the company. This is partly a generational thing, I think. But it also involves sophistication based on experience.
A concrete example of these issues is the discussion in this thread so far about “CDW.” I’m not telling you to cancel any reservations you have, but present this as a sort of lesson. I put CDW in quotes because I mean to emphasize that it is no longer a well-defined term. In Italy, the required insurance still leaves you liable for several thousand dollars. They will offer you something like “Super-Cover” (I made up that name) at the desk. If you consult your credit card or travel insurance company about the non-waivable Italy coverage in an attempt to use their coverage, make sure you get a statement to present to the rental company proving that you have coverage and that it is good in Italy. The same thing applies to any THIRD-PARTY travel insurance: At the very least, print out the policy pages and proof of insurance. Better, call the travel insurance company and ask for instructions.
To answer your question, you are making too much of reviews and of thrifty companies administrative shortcomings (after all, you bought on ... price, didn’t you?) You are making too little of reading multiple threads on newsboards like this one about car rental in Europe and Italy. Do you have an IDP yet? Do you know what a ZTL is? Do you plan to pay for a second driver? Do you have a car policy at home? Do you know what “secondary” coverage is? Do you photograph all sides of a car when you pick it up and return it?
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6041 posts
My advice to you is to give AutoEurope a call- 888-223-5555
www.autoeurope.com
or at least take a look at their website to see what they can offer.
They are a US based consolidator than many of us here use for all european rentals. Very knowledgeable, helpful, excellent customer service and usually the best rates.
You won't get hit with any surprises/additional charges
Especially since you have so many questions/concerns about the rentals you have booked now
Posted by
Monterey County, CA (formerly Verbania Italy-Lago Maggiore)
1626 posts
Use AutoEurope. Only once have we had an issue with charges not reflecting the quote or voucher.
In that case the voucher indicated we paid for the one way drop charge, but after we returned the car we were charged the one way fee a second time. AutoEurope credited our credit card without a problem.
In Italy best to get the zero deductible. Rental cars tend to be very used with lots of previous scratches, dents, dings, etc. and with zero deductible you can’t be accused and pay for previous damage. Not to mention that parking tends o be our most challenging part of driving in Italy (parking challenged on three rentals = dents and scrapes, no questions asked upon returning cars).
Posted by
OP
33 posts
Thanks for all the suggestions. I appreciate the civility of this forum. I have communicating with Autoeurope for clarification and am still waiting on an answer to a few questions. To complicates matters a bit more, this is a one way rental, so I am concerned about the drop off fee. I don't want any surprises in Venice when I drop the car off.
Whitewater Kayaker - I am aware that CDW and theft insurance are required in Italy. The Budget rental included CDW insurance, but the Dollar rental did not. When I went in to verify it states that CDW is NOT required in Italy, but theft is. That confused me a bit. Also, when I contacted my credit card company about CDW insurance, they told me I was covered in Italy, but only if I decline the rental car CDW insurance. Which in Italy appears to be impossible to do. This is why I added a rental car option on my trip insurance.
Tim - I have already verified and will get a letter from my trip insurance company stating I have a zero deductible CDW and TP rental car policy.
Yes, my thought was booking directly with the rental car company would give me greater leverage if charges were added. When I rented a car in he US, there seemed to always be other "charges" that appeared upon pick up. For the most part I was able to have those removed through communicating with the counter personnel at pick up. My fear is in Italy, with a language barrier this will be much more difficult. Which is why I am trying to take care of this now.
Do you have an IDP yet? Yes.
Do you know what a ZTL is? Yes, I have detailed maps of where I will be driving and plan to do further research. Also, I understand the differing color codes for street parking. One thing I am still doing research on are the bus lanes and how to ID them. I suspect I will be doing research on these items until we leave.
Do you plan to pay for a second driver? No.
Do you have a car policy at home? Yes, but it doesn't cover a rental out of the US.
Do you know what “secondary” coverage is? Yes.
Do you photograph all sides of a car when you pick it up and return it? Yes, and sometimes I have the car rental attendant stand next to any scrap or dent in the photo.