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Car rental warning in Rome

Posted by on

Hi All,
I hate to share a bad experience because I have gained so much good info from this website. However, we recently rented a car from Surprice at the Rome airport. The car subsequently had a flat tire in Orvieto and there was no spare. After multiple calls to Surprice and Expedia (through whom we rented the car) and the listed roadside response company provided by Surprice, we ended up having to leave the vehicle (with the keys, as discussed with Expedia) and run to try to catch a late train back to Rome so we could catch our flight out back to the US. It was a nightmare. Surprice then has been trying to charge us ~$1000 for the car return and tire replacement. Expedia has been no help. So, in short, please be careful in renting a car through Surprice. I was also surprised and disappointed in Expedia's lack of support.

Best travels!

Posted by
996 posts

Sorry to hear about this, but, while there are obviously exceptions, this is
an example of why you should generally try to avoid any transactions with
a third party in a travel situation. There is no guarantee that Expedia, Vrbo,
Rail Europe, Kayak, or any other provider cares about your business more
than it does the relationship it has with the providers.

You may want to consider filing a chargeback with your credit card company.
At least they will pursue the matter on your behalf.

Posted by
8318 posts

Sorry this happened to you

Good reminder to only rent from well known reputable agencies like Europcar, Hertz, Avis
Book directly or use a reputable car rental consolidator like AutoEurope
We also always book with Full insurance, no deductible for just a few euros a day more. Peace of mind.

Never heard of Surprice

Posted by
12787 posts

Unfortunate what happened. Glad you made your flight.

Had never heard of "Surprice" so did some looking. and discovered there is 'Surprice mobility' and 'Surprice car hire".

Looking on expedia it looks like Surprice mobility is the one on the site.

Also note that expedia shows a customer 'rating' score with each listing. The majors, e.g., Hertz Budget Alamo, ERAC , run in the 50-75% range. Surprice is at 30%. Found only one worse at 28%( noleggiare)

Hope you are successful in fending off the ~$1000 charge

Posted by
5242 posts

You might try someone like Christopher Elliott who can try and use his connections at Expedia but remember - they weren't the ones who rented you the car. I doubt if "Surprice" has much staff or many assets to go after, or any interest in what you might think of them. Also dispute this on your credit card just to get everyone's attention.

Also a good reminder to go over the whole car with the rental agent, you would have/should have noticed no spare. But keep in mind, most cars these days do NOT have a spare so this all might be a non-starter (pun intended).

Posted by
35531 posts

didn't the car have a reflation can and instructions what to do in case of a flat? Or had you destroyed the tyre in a pothole of clobbering a kerb?

Cars without a spare (more room for the luggage and better fuel economy) should have a reinflation kit with instructions

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