Hertz rental in USA for Italy?

If you need an automatic, best to do it in advance.

Thanks will do that.

The collective wisdom on this forum seems to be that it's cheaper to book a vehicle in advance from the US.
In Europe, we've only rented in Ireland & Germany (also with Hertz) and that generally has seemed to be the case.

I generally use a consolidator like
www.autoeurope.com or their affiliate www.kemwel.com
They work primarily with Hertz, Europcar, Avis-Budget.

Personally I would pick up a car in Rome and drive from there, especially if you are hoping to get a car with automatic transmission.

I wasn't thinking cheaper but more of a convenience. I want to make sure I have a car available when I arrive at my destination. I am going to check out our Hertz in our area and see what my options will be. This will be the first time I will be driving in Italy. I hope I'm confident enough to do it!

Don't forget your International Drivers Permit, available from AAA (you don't need to be a member). Required for driving in Italy.

If you have any issues with a car rental from Hertz Italy, Hertz USA will tell you they are a separate company. Therefore it's not clear that it's even possible to do the rental for Italy from Hertz USA ( or could they be hiding behind that allegation?). Anyway, you can arrange the rental through Autoeurope or Kemwel. Those companies will also give you some back-up, if there should be conflicts. I would definitely rent as close to my destination as possible. Driving that distance is not much fun, and pointless unless you wanted to make intermediate stops.

When we went to Tuscany last December, we rented through Hertz USA (I'm a Gold member). I had no problems. We rented in Rome at the airport.

We rented a standard shift, which was a lot cheaper. Our Renault diesel had a great feature. It automatically braked on inclines so it was very easy to engage the clutch without rolling back.

Driving in Italy is not nearly as daunting as it is made out to be. While I wouldn't (and didn't) drive in large cities like Rome and Florence, I had no problem driving in Tuscany, including the fairly large city of Siena. If you are a careful and observant driver, you'll do fine. Study up on the web regarding road signs and ZTL's before you go.

I am going to check out our Hertz in our area and see what my options will be

The above statement by the OP has me confused on what they are trying to do.
Your local Hertz office (likely a franchise location) in anytown, USA will be of no help to you booking a rental for an Italian Hertz office.
The system doesn't work that way.

I would definitely do this online or uncomfortable with using online systems, call the main 800 number for Hertz.
As mentioned you have the choice of booking directly with Hertz or through a place like AutoEurope (who is actually in Portland, Maine)
Just make sure they book you with Hertz if that is what you want. They have an 800# as well (888-223-5555) and can do the full booking over the phone for you (they charge a little higher rate over the phone but give you a couple of better polices)
If you plan on paying extra for zero deductible insurance I have always found booking through Auto Europe to be much cheaper than Hertz directly. Maybe those with a big corporate discount can get better rates but for common folk without these discounts, the consolidators offer better rates.
Just make sure if you buy insurance through Auto Europe, make sure you refuse insurances at the rental counter otherwise you will be double covering the car which is totally useless and the Hertz office will gladly upsell you on.

I don't see why you would be any likely to not have the car waiting for you if you book in advance on line or over the phone now vs. waiting until closer to when you need the car, the opposite really and I am positive if you wait till you need a car and rent it then it will cost far more.

I have rented from Hertz online from home (using AAA member discount) twice in France with no major problems. BUT to make sure we got automatic the rentals have been at airport (Orly) or TGV (Avignon) locations.

I have rented through Hertz Gold in the US and it is the way to go so that you do not get upsold which is common at the Rome Airport.
Mike