Help!! So confused!! Car rental in Sicily

For our trip in December 2012/January 2013 (not a super busy time on the roads in Sicily, although I suspect travel numbers were increased somewhat because it was Christmastime), we rented from Europcar at the Palermo Airport. Although airport and train station car rental offices pass on the extra charges associated with those facilities, it was more convenient for us as we'd just gotten off the plane, and were heading west, not into Palermo. Do you ant a car before you get to Cefalu? That might influence your decision on when and where to rent. By the way, the rest of the passengers on our plane seemed to be Germans, and they all marched straight to the Sixt car rental desk at the airport, so you might want to compare prices on both Europcar & Sixt with those of Hertz/AAA.

We opted to waive all optional insurance coverage they offered, having checked on the coverage provided by our VISA card, as well as VISA's paperwork requirements. Had there been any damage, it would likely have involved a major paperwork nightmare, in addition to major inconvenience, but we saved on paying major fees for their coverage. I think they also ran our card as a "damage deposit," but didn't actually ring up a charge, just had the card on file as security.

Driving was a little challenging in hilltowns with super-narrow streets and tight parking spaces (rent the smallest vehicle you can get that will accommodate all your passengers and luggage), but highway driving in Sicily was a breeze.

Our only near-incident was near Sorrento, after we'd taken the car to mainland Italy by ferry a few days earlier, when a speeding kid passed another car in an intersection in a quiet residential area, just as we were pulling out to make a right turn. The kid, coming from our right, would've hit us head-on if I hadn't screamed when I saw the car and Scott hadn't slammed on the brakes (he was looking left, having already looked right, before the kid pulled his stunt). If there had been a collision, there might have been serious medical issues, in addition to automotive, police, and insurance issues. Thankfully, after giving the kid a honk as he sped thru the small intersection, that was the end of the situation (after our hearts stopped pounding), and no VISA-provided insurance needed to be invoked.

In hindsight, we didn't need to worry about having lots of excess insurance coverage, but it's always a gamble of how much do you pay for peace of mind, and that formula will be different for everyone. By the same regard, we never needed to show our International Driver's Permits (obtained thru AAA) to anyone, so we could've saved the $15 apiece (plus the cost of the 2 passport photos), but that was cheap, so we were glad we'd gotten those.

As with any car rental anywhere in the world, be sure to inspect the car before you drive off the first time, and be sure the rental company has noted any pre-existing damage. Our car was brand-new, less than 40 km on the odometer, but we went over it from bumper to bumper to ensure there were no dents or scratches before we left the Europcar lot.

We rented a car through economycarrentals.com. We picked it up and returned it to Palermo airport. It came with full insurance and though we don't recall the cost, it was reasonable. We had the car for almost 4 weeks (we returned it before visiting Palermo at the end of our trip) and had no problems. We have used our credit card insurance in the past but never needed it. Now we usually use economycarrentals which usually comes with insurance and usually costs less.

This is a how-deep-is-the-ocean question. Rent at the airport as you don't need extra effort at that time. Look at the zero excess option at AutoEurope www.aecar.rentals and you'll have an English help line for any problems.

I (and many contributors to this site) prefer to rent a car through a wholesale consolidator.
The company most often cited here is:
www.autoeurope.com and their sister company www.kemwel.com
They are part of the same group, but I check prices with both since the sometimes prices differ a bit and therefore I pick the better deal in either site.
They work with the largest rental companies in Europe, such as Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, etc.
I also select the no deductible insurance option (a.k.a. ‘no insurance excess’) since my US car insurance does not cover me abroad. It’s a bit more expensive, but the deductible can easily amount to €1,000 or more. Also coverage provided by many credit cards excludes Italy and a handful of other countries.
I’ve rented through both consolidator websites above (generally selecting Europcar or Hertz as the rental provider, as they tend to have cheaper rates). When you return the car make sure you obtain receipt that you filled your tank (I also take a picture of the dashboard showing the full gasoline gauge). I often get charged for fuel charges after the fact when I’m back home and having those records allow me to dispute the extra charge with my credit card.
Don’t forget that to drive in Europe you need an International Driver’s Permit (obtainable in 10 minutes at any AAA office with $15 and 2 passport photos). The IDP is a translation of your home driver’s license in multiple languages. The rental car office won't ask you for one, but if you get pulled over by the police and you don't have one you might incur into fines or arrest.
I also recommend to take a GPS unit from home with European maps loaded on it (Maps available on Amazon) and an old fashioned paper map for planning your itinerary and also as a back up since GPS navigators are sometimes inaccurate. You can buy a map locally.

Regarding the rental location, I would first visit Palermo on arrival for a day or two (you won't need a car while in Palermo). Then after a couple of nights there, I would rent a car from a city location and get out of town with a car.
Palermo's traffic is legendary, however I found it not to be bad at all outside of commuting peak hours. Just pick up the car later in the morning (at around 10), when everybody is working in the office, and you'll be fine.

I had a short rental in Sicily a year ago. From my limited experience:
1. I did web research on cars and costs and ended up renting from Sixt at the Palermo Airport. No problems, brand new car, reasonable rates, good staff. I got a small discount when I reserved in advance over the net with a nonrefundable rental commitment.
2. I was very pleased to pay for the zero-deductible insurance, for several reasons. My credit card insurance would have covered me, but the advance payment and paperwork hassle would have been huge, would I have had the papers they require, such as police report, estimates, etc.? Would the rental company and police have accepted that I really had this coverage? Probably not. Also, zero-deductible insurance eliminates any incentive rental staff might have to "find" some damage they say you caused, and you say you did not. Especially important if you drop off the car without an in-person inspection.
3. Be sure you know how to get the car into reverse before you leave the rental lot -- I did not, it was a new and strange way to me, and caused me some grief, before I found someone who could help me, in a parking lot far away. The car had no manual in it.
4. Road driving is great. I would avoid driving in large or small cities as much as you can. The car is nice to have in the countryside. Even small cities are very congested, very hard to find your way around, parking in cities is quite unavailable and done in weird ways, I found. And often even small cities seem to have the dreaded ZTLs. There were a couple of times that I arrived in a town planning to stop, had no street map, could not find ANY parking space, came upon a ZTKL sign, and left town without stopping at all.
5. Returning the car to the Palermo Airport was easy, however as I approached from the west, I started looking for a gas station to fill up about 20 minutes before the airport, and found none. I ended up driving east past the airport for about 15 minutes til I found a station, filled up, and returned to the airport. The station attendant told me that was the closest station to the airport.

First, You won't need a car in Palermo. Option 1: If you wait until you get to Cefalu you can rent from AutoEurope and get an Europcar or Avis car. Option 2: Palermo departure day, take a taxi to Palmero airport and rent from Carrentals.com. You'll have Hertz, Budget, Avis, and much more to choose from.

Second, If you have CDW already on your policy at home or from you credit card company you won't need it. You don't need the othe optional insurances. The other one you need is CDW.

Best suggestions given already: inspect the car before you drive away and before you turn it in; fill the tank and save the receipt, or take a picture of the fuel gauge.

Always have your IDPs with you. They are required in Italy. You may never be asked to show it but it's the law!

We'll be there in October. From Palmero we have a private transfer to our Trapani rental. In route we are doing a private tour. When we leave Trapani we're renting from Avis at Trapani Airport. Regards to AAA, I planned on using my coupon for a Hertz rental, too. However, we need an automatic and they only have highest priced ones remainng. Avis had more car choices.

I rent my cars through expedia.co.uk finding them to have the best all around rates. For example, our last trip to France, Hertz has the best rate, €155 for 8 days, with Super CDW added the total came to €617 or €77 a day for a small SUV with automatic trans and Nav (which I didn't need, but was all they had) including the second driver fee waived in Avignon dropping the car at the Nice airport. By the way, drop charges are obscene in the EU.
In November, picked the car up at the Palermo airport after enjoying the city, and dropped it at Catania, for about €400 for 4 days with Super CDW and the drop charge of €47+/-. I am a firm believer in the Super CDW for Southern Europe given the road conditions and sometime narrow streets-on our last trip we went through a village with streets so narrow we had to collapse the mirrors.
On their website, put in p/u and drop cities, and several choices and agencies will be shown-personally, a will not rent from Sixt in Italy, however, never had a problem with them elsewhere.

I second the recommendation of checking Autoeurope and/or Kemwel. For my most recent trip, I rented from Hertz through Autoeurope. Their rate for the same car compared to the Hertz website was less and included the full insurance.(this was on the Hertz website with AAA discount) CDW is automatically included in the rate when you rent in Italy, but Hertz generally tries to do a very hard upsell at the counter for the very expensive additional protection. Unfortunately, I forgot what my deductible was but it was minimal. It was also nice to not be nagged at the counter. Note, I have also rented a car numerous times and waived the extra insurance, preferring to self insure. I figure that we go often enough that the money I have saved by waiving it will cover an incident.

However, I had a friend at work have a horrible time clearing a claim on a car in Italy. After hearing her story (however, it was not with Hertz) I have decided I will use the full insurance option with the companies listed above. It is worth the piece of mind to not stress about it.

I just returned from a trip to Sicily. I rented a car from the UK Autoeurope site. My cost for 9 days was £90, less than $140. The rental was through Sicily by Car, I think they are the low cost wing of Europe Car. I picked up the car in Palermo. The office was in a good location for heading to Cefalu, one block from the road that went straight to Cefalu, no turns just drietto--drietto straight to Cefalu. Booking options from Cefalu were much more limited and more expensive than in Palermo. from my experience there was no need to backtrack to the airport.
As for insurance you're on your own. I get CDW with my credit card.
Brad

Oh my gosh!! So much great information and feedback!! Thank you all! My girlfriend will be the one renting the car, driving and putting it on her credit card so I thought the least I could do was the leg work. If she is most comfortable with getting the insurance, we will be happy to go along. I spoke to my VISA benefits and the do cover on top of the required CDW/TP in Italy if we decline any further insurance. Yes, the biggest positive for getting the SDW seems to be less hassle if a claim does need to be filed.

We actually visited the Rick Steve's office in Edmonds, WA for a consult since we are lucky enough to live in Seattle and our consultant said we would want a rental car at least part of the time, especially to go inland. We can travel by train along the coast easily it sounds like. We are still trying to decide if we will get one for the whole trip, in Palermo, in Cefalu, or just for a number of days . We will be there for 9 days total.

Again, all of this information is SO helpful!! Thank you and if you think of anything else, I would LOVE to hear it!

I flew into Palermo, stayed a couple of nights, then left my luggage at the hotel and took the train to Cefalu with an overnight bag for 2 nights (1 day), returned to Palermo to pick up my stuff and the rental car. I used AutoEurope (best price of the sites I checked) and got Hertz. In spite of many warnings not to drive in Palermo, it was a lot easier to get the car from a city location and not schlep out to the airport with my luggage just to rent a car. I took a taxi to Hertz. The drive out of the city was short and simple to the highway. This worked for me since I was planning to start with the southwestern part of the island. At Hertz they offered to upgrade me to a pretty large car which I refused. I ended up with a smaller Fiat - but not nearly the smallest.

Does your friend know how to drive a manual transmission? If you must have an automatic, you are better off with a large rental office (like the airport) where there are more cars. Even if you've reserved an automatic, it may not be there at a smaller location. I would confirm a day in advance that they have the car.

One quirk - the car engine automatically shut off when I was stopped and in neutral. At first I thought maybe I was killing the motor by misusing the clutch, but then I realized that it would automatically start again when I depressed the clutch. It's a gas-saving thing.

My rental included insurance. Even so, at Hertz they tried to sell me additional insurance for glass (windows, mirrors) which wasn't otherwise covered. If you're thinking of using your credit card insurance, go to their website and read the fine print on insurance conditions. Go to gemut.com and download - and read thoroughly - their brochure "what you should know about renting a car in Europe." You can also get rental quotes from them. They are competitive.

Edit: It's not clear if you are thinking about renting a car right after your flight and if it is a long-haul flight. I would not recommend trying to drive in Sicily after a long flight and jetlag.

You can also decline the insurance through the auto rental company and insure your rental car through trip insurance. The trip insurance is generally less expensive than what the rental company changes. On our last trip we were going to purchase trip insurance anyway because of a very ill family member (not going on the trip), so we added the car onto the policy. You need to present coverage at the rental car pickup in order to decline their insurance. We've had some surprising fees occasionally tacked onto the car rental in the past, so we decided to ensure the car more fully to reduce the worry if an accident or damage were to occur. From what I've read, some insurance companies require auto rental theft insurance for Italy. Rick has a very nice writeup somewhere on this website about what to consider if pondering trip insurance.

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