orvieto car rental & experience with autoeurope

Hi JoAnn, I haven't had any experience with AutoEurope but did use Gemut which is another consolidator for Europe. They are based in Portland, Oregon so you'd be on the same Pacific Daylight Time if you want to call them. We used them for a three week car rental from Orvieto to Lamezia Terme and we ended up with a Hertz vehicle. Their office as well as Avis's (and possibly others) is located across the street from the train station in Orvieto so very convenient. Also on Gemut website is a very thorough brochure on driving in Europe which we printed out and found very useful. We brought our own GPS but I believe that they are available for rent as well. Very useful. The prices were very competitive and Andy was very helpful answering our many questions including those about insurance. Be warned that most rental offices except for airport locations are closed from 1:00pm Saturday and all day Sunday so plan your travel accordingly. Aso be sure to spend time up the hill in Orvieto before you take off on your road trip.. Lovely Umbrian hilltop village. Hope that this helps and have a great trip to Italy. Sherry

I like Gemut as well, great prices and service, but you might end up with a Hertz car through and AutoEurope desk. That's just how it works. You do have to pay extra to have "walk away" coverage and complete peace of mind. Also, be 100% certain to refill your tank completely. There is a ridiculous fee on top of the cost of fuel if you do not fill it completely.

Hi Sherry & Laurel
Thank you for your prompt replys. I will try Gemut as per your suggestion. Finding a car with a GPS is another issue. I don't have one to bring along. I'm so glad to hear you rented in Orvieto and didn't have any issues.
Zero deductible insurance sounds like it is worth every penny. Thanks for the tip regarding filling the tank. This travel forum is wonderful. I'm off to try Gemut and will report back.
Thanks again,
JoAnn

I've used AutoEurope a couple of times and have booked with Hertz directly. Always go for the cheaper rate. Last trip to Italy, AutoEurope got me a Hertz car in a city center location in Florence and I turned it in at Orvieto.

I had no problem whatsoever with AutoEurope and wouldn't hesitate to rent thru them anytime. They are a big player in the European auto rental market.

When renting a car in Italy, the CDW/theft insurance is required. But it's at rates far below that of other countries. Where the car rental companies will get you is in theft insurance on your personal belongs/luggage. It's a rip, as most people have other insurance policies ot cover such problems.

We've rented through Gemut (who contracted through Auto Europe with Eurocar rental). Since we picked up car in Frankfurt and two weeks later dropped off in Florence, we prepaid Gemut the hefty drop off fee. When we picked up our car in Frankfurt, there was a pickup charge for the same amount. I showed the Eurocar desk the voucher that showed it was prepaid and they removed the charge. All goes fine, return car in Florence without issue. But a month later, our American Express has not only the taxes, but the drop fee. Andy at Gemut was helpful in communicating to AutoEurope about the double charge, who immediately credited our AX card and took care of contacting Eurocar directly. Since we rented in Germany our insurance was through American Express. My husband had a minor altercation with a wall that scratch the front bumper, but wasn't noticed when we turned the car in.

Next rental was also in Italy for 4 days through AutoEurope with a Hertz car. Dropped off in Orvieto. no issues with charges, pickup or return. We opted for the Super Coverage with zero deductable. Again, hubby had altercation with brick wall (same situation, backing up with facing slightly down hill with a stick shift). This time Hertz noticed, but when the agent saw we were fully covered, no issues.

Last trip we rented through Kemwel in Scotland for 10 days. Insurance coverage on our Visa. No issues with charges or Brick walls, but a couple "left curb hits", but no harm done.

In all three cases, I received quotes, then call them directly to confirm what is or is not included.

Definitely use a GPS as signs are not prominent in many cases in Italy. I pre-set all our destinations before we leave on our trip. Remember in most hill towns there are ZTL's where cars are prohibited. So instead of entering the hotel address, I find parking on the Garmin's maps as described/pictured in RS book and save the parking lot locations. After two trips and many hill towns, we have not received any notifications of ZTL violations.

When you rent from Autoeurope, be sure and click on "what is included in the rental. Many countries have a daily road tax that is charged to your credit card after you return the car. It surprised me the first time (and that was when i rented from Gemut.) Other than that, I have never been charged anything extra. I did have a rental agent who gave me the run around and insisted I had To take his insurance. A call to the toll free Autoeurope help line cleared that up.

I have always used Auto Europe and never had a problem. As someone else already mentioned, there is sometimes a road tax that is not included in your original price.

In addition to AutoEurope and Gemut, look at Kemwel. They are now a sister company of AutoEurope, but for my Sicily trip last year, Kemwel had a FAR better deal for the car we wanted than any other source (Kemwel is a broker; the actual car was from Hertz).

I have also had no trouble with AutoEurope, and I picked up and dropped off in Orvieto. It was very convenient in both directions. We spent our first night in Orvieto, and then took the funicular down the hill to pick up our car which we kept for 2 weeks in Tuscany and Umbria. Very easy to drop off the car and take the train into Rome. We had a good map and one adult on navigation duty, and had no trouble finding our way in Italy without a GPS. The only trick is that the signs often indicate the next big town, and so you need to constantly check if your destination is beyond that. If someone wasn't manning the map, it would be difficult unless you knew the area well.

Thank you for the helpful suggestions. I will try Kemwel and see if they can provide a quote. After yesterdays suggestions I sent 2 email requests to Gemut and I haven't had a response to either. Are they typically slow in replying?

Thanks again,
JoAnn