Obtaining a car rental in Rome

I (and most of us frequent contributors) use consolidators:
www.autoeurope.com
www.kemwel.com
They are now part of the same corporate group after a merger years ago, but check prices with both as they vary.
They work with the major companies (Europcar, Hertz, AvisBudget) but they often offer better deals than directly.
I usually select the zero deductible insurance option for peace of mind (about $4 a day more).

I usually pick up at the Rome TERMINI TRAIN STATION.
The cars are stored at the Giolitti Car Park, a multistory car park at the corner of Via Giolitti and via Mamiani (next to the Radisson Blue Hotel) on the south side of the station.

Tiburtina train station locations are also easy to pick up and reach the freeway (both stations are not far apart). Termini is more likely to have automatic transmission cars (if you don’t know how to drive stick).

The address of Hertz, across the street from Tibertina is

Circonvallazione Nomentana, 532, 00162 Roma RM, Italy

Two years ago we had a bad experience with the Autoeurope counter in Stazione Termini. The woman told us the car I rented was unavailable and she would upgrade us. She took SO LONG and she charged me the full price for the upgrade. We did not find it until later that day when we were in Matera reviewing the records. I immediately called the Autoeurope number here in the USA and they told me they would take care of it when we returned home. Autoeurope refunded the entire overcharge and solved the problem.

Plus, you must now walk a long distance from Termini to retrieve your car the Giolitti Car Garage. We are both independent travelers in our 70s and this was difficult.

We've rented cars from Autoeurope in Italy every year since 2003 and this was the only time we had such a problem. When we pick up our car this October from Autoeurope in Roma we will be doing so from their location near the Via Veneto area.

Another strategy some travelers use is to take the train to Orvieto, which is a seventy-five-minute ride, and they take the car at this location. The rental car agencies are in the same small piazza as the train station. Plus, it's easier to drive out of Orvieto than Roma.

Buon viaggio,

Since AutoEurope is a consolidator your rental was actually thru a rental agent such as Hertz, Avis or Europcar
Not AutoEurope - hate to see them get a bad rap when it was a specific rental agency you had trouble with

We’ve used AutoEurope for all of our European rentals and found their service to be excellent no matter which agency the car is actually rented from
(Have done both Hertz and Europcar)

We now pick up our rental car ar the Tiburtina station in NE Rome. It has easy access to the freeway. We’ve rented through Autoeurope, typically finding Autoeurope cars to be cheapest for our needs. Tiburtina can be reached via local trains and buses.

Thank you everyone for your posts! These are very helpful!!

"Another strategy some travelers use is to take the train to Orvieto"

That's Hertz, bad idea because of lots of complaints; referral by Autoeurope ended some time ago. Meanwhile, Hertz in Chiusi offers excellent service. Good place to drop a car, but if starting in Rome better to drive out of the city.

cc,

For driving in Italy, be sure that each driver listed on the rental form has the compulsory International Driver's Permit. You'll also need to be vigilant to avoid the ZTL (limited traffic) zones that exist in many Italian towns. Hefty fines for each pass through these zones. Do NOT drive in Florence!

ChristineH,

Ooooops!

You made a most cogent point concerning Autoeurope. The rental agency was Europecar that overcharged us and it was Autoeurope who secured the refund.

Thanks for the reminder.