Hi, renting a car from pisa and returning to Rome...we chose Fox rent a car from Pisa as it was much much cheaper than all the others...Fox seems new to Italy and I can't find any reviews anywhere!
Fox is terrible in most cities in the US, hoping its not too bad in Pisa ..anyone have any experience with Fox rental car in italy?
also if we end up booking with another company, is there a better drop off point for the rental car rather than the airport?
Thanks!
Meg
Rental companies are not all created equal. Some of the big name U.S. rental car companies are franchised in Europe and thus run differently over there.
Have you checked AutoEurope, a big rental car consolidator?
We flew into Pisa and took a train into Florence. Upon leaving Florence after a long weekend, we picked up a Hertz car on Sansovino arranged through AutoEurope and toured the Tuscan hilltowns. The car was turned in at Hertz across the street from the Orvieto train station, and we took the train into Rome Termini. Many rental car users use Orvieto as a pickup and turn in place when going into Rome. We didn't see any reason to pay for a car for those days we were the large Italian cities with ZTL's and expensive parking fees.
If you know that a company is "is terrible in most cities in the US" (do you have first hand knowledge of that?) why would you think they would be better elsewhere?
A low-ball quote is not a good thing, it's a danger sign. You are about to sign a contract giving the car rental company the right to charge your credit card with any amount THEY say is due. Fox is not in the Pisa Airport car rental building according to my memory or to the official airport site: http://www.pisa-airport.com/index.php?lang=_en&id_sect=78
I suggest cancelling and renting only from Avis (same as Budget), Hertz, Europcar, or Maggiore, either directly or through AutoEurope (different from AutoEuropa ending in 'a'). Yes, you will pay more, but you are less likely to have a memorably bad experience.
Kemwel is a sister company of AutoEurope that often has better prices. Gemut is another consolidator that gets good reviews. Check all three of them, as well as the car rental companies themselves.
I agree with not taking a chance on Fox - if there's any problem, you're stuck.
I had checked europecar prices but they seemed to be out of many options due to my trip being in 2 weeks! I tried checking where fox might have their rental center if not at the airport.. Seems like couldn't be that bad since Pisa is so small? But I will check europecar and those other companies again.
Forgot to mention that we are traveling in group of 6 so looking into van rental, automatic transmission and wanting to travel around Florence area few days.
Based on only what I have read, I would not chance it with an Italian rental car and choose to follow advise others have given to stick with only Europcar, Avis or Hertz in Italy.
Make sure you do realize Fox in the US will not be of any assistance should you have an issue with a location in Italy using the same Fox name and logo.
Fox mentions on their corporate page that they use affiliates in Italy. See 2015 entry here https://www.foxrentacar.com/en/about-fox.html Because of your special need, I would not use a broker like AutoEurope either, but only the actual rental car provider. The brokers are using indirect information on availability (i.e. they'll say anything).
The reason it may be cheaper thru Fox is that CDW is not included. Usually noted as inclusive. Mandatory in Italy.
You could get a BIG surprise at the rental counter.
Your next best option might be at Florence airport for a van, but I don't know if you're headed headed in that direction.
