Help, no car despite reservation

are you actually at the counter now? Or heading there later?

Are you there now? That’s really poor. I don’t think there’s much you can do if there are no cars other than check what you can find anywhere else that you are able to travel to. AutoEurope are a 3rd party seller so I doubt they will be able offer much help.

Have you tried contacting your hotel or Airbnb to see if they have any suggestions?

You need to call AutoEurope. They have an 800 number for people overseas. You've prepaid.

Here's the proof that tourism has outgrown the infrastructure, particularly in a small area. If they have promised you the next return, you'll just have to wait. You might also ask them to deliver a car from Genoa where they have much larger stock and many fewer tourists upsetting the market.

Did you prepay? That happened to us in Texas. They told us if we had prepaid they would hold the car. People make reservations, not prepaid, and don’t show up.
Whenever we rent a car now anywhere we prepay.

The best alternate location to pick up a car would be Pisa Airport which has numerous car rental companies. While not an easy solution, you can get there by training to Pisa Centrale and then use the PisaMover shuttle train to the airport, then an airport shuttle bus to the auto rental building.

Just in case you need the number:
Customer Service 1-888-223-5555
or
+49 89 412 07 269
Good Luck!

AutoEurope cars are prepaid, but I had this happen at a tiny pick-up location in Paris. I had to wait two hours until someone could deliver a car to me from a large train station location. You shouldn't have to go chase down a car, go to Pisa or anywhere else.
One should be delivered to the contracted location. Having paid beforehand, you have a legal contract and they have a legal obligation to get the car to you. European law takes these things very seriously.
A reservation with no money paid up front is a totally different category.

AutoEurope tel. number from overseas:
+1-207-842-2000

AutoEurope is also present in Italy with an office in Rome there, but not sure if they can help you since you reserved from their US website. In any case their phone number in their Rome office is the following.:
+39 06 948 045 37

I called them almost 10 years ago when I was in Italy and at the Florence location Europcar did not have the large car I had rented and gave me a compact instead. I was able to eventually get the proper size at another location (Venice) where I was headed after Florence. You might be able to do the same by going to the Pisa Airport. I know it's an extra distance, but Pisa airport I am sure has a large selection compared to La Spezia.

so what happened?