Rental car in Tuscany ( Zero deductable Insurance- Auto Europe)

I used Auto Europe in France and I was very satisfied with the price and the service though I'm sure that the local agency is as much a factor as Auto Europe. Our France rental was from Europcar and we will be renting a car through Auto Europe/Europcar for our upcoming trip to Italy. I can't advise you on the zero deductable but I can tell to check with the benefits department of the credit card you are using to rent. Our Chase Mastercard offers full insurance coverage when you use it to rent a car and I don't think its at all uncommon.
Lucky you having 16 days in Tuscany! We only have 6. Its so difficult to decide what to do with those 6 days. But then, I guess it always is hard to pick and choose in Italy no matter how much time you have.

'Our Chase Mastercard offers full insurance coverage when you use it to rent a car' I betcha it doesn't in Italy. You're goint to have to pay for something, how much deductible depends on how much exposure you want. AE is fine, no better nor no worse than anybody else as long as you're happy with who you actually wind up renting the car from.

I justed talked to my Visa card office and Italy's government makes the rental agency have a built in charge, but they said to decline the addtional coverage because Visa will cover that ( only collision, fire and theft of auto, not personal items ) Thanks again Jim

Rental cars in Italy will require the optional coverage. It's more reasonably priced than CDW in the U.S., however. You nat find your credit card's "secondary" coverage as not applicable in Italy. I used AutoEurope.com on my last trip, and was very satisfied. I got my car at Hertz in Florence and turned it in at Hertz in Orvieto without any drop off fees. AutoEurope is actually a consolidator, and they're located in New England. They use different rental companies, according to where you're renting.
Beware of some of the other rental companies with American rental company names. Some are just licensees, and there are rental car horror stories in some countries. I consider AutoEurope or Hertz as reliable companies.

As the other posters have said Auto Europe is a consolidator, they make the deal and then send you to the actual rental car company eg europcar. Much has been said about your Credit Card companies meeting these insurance excess claims. Get it in writing first if you are don't want to take the optional cover. Our travel insurance includes rental excess. Rick's advice was to take the cover for the peace of mind.
FWIW, Roberto, who posts here often on uses AVIS in Florence,

David - what do you mean when you say that the "secondary coverage" is not applicable in Italy? I understand that the basic insurance coverage is not optional in Italy but, if the CC company says not to purchase additional coverage because they will cover it if needed, how could the rental company refuse it?
By the way, I think if you trust Auto Europe, you have to trust that they're not using fly-by-night rental companies. I found Europcar reliable.

One of the Italians who posts here explained that by law rental cars must be insured by an Italian company, which is why you cannot decline CDW.

Jim, You could also check with gemut.com. This information from their PDF Car Rental Guide...... "In both Italy and Israel, CDW and theft coverage must be purchased from the rental company. Your credit card won't offer coverage. The only question remaining is, will your credit card reimburse you for the deductible in case of damage or theft? This a murky area. Check with your credit card company." Cheers!

Ken, My visa card rep said that they will cover the deductable. He said to downnload the actual coverage from the Visa site. He did say it won't cover personal things stolen from the vehicle. Jim