Renting a car in Italy - help with CDW

There is no simple, magic answer that applies to everyone in all cases.

Much depends on your credit card. I have a card (several, actually) that provide CDW virtually everywhere (haven't tried North Korea or Syria, but definitely works in Italy, Mexico, Ireland, Japan, Morocco, and every other place I've dared to rent a car). Some details may depend on what country you're renting in (every country has their own laws, or course). There are some "gotchas."

But whatever card you want to use, and whatever place you want to use it in, there are two absolute prerequisites:

1) You need to do your homework (with solid, unambiguous information, obtained in writing, from the insurance providers that your credit card uses), and – most important of all...

2) You need to understand all the details of the coverage You need to know what exclusions there are in what's covered (there's always exclusions) and what the limits are (some my be laughable and useless) and what exactly you need to do at the rental counter (eg, you must accept what is legally required, and decline everything that is simply optional which they will try to sell you, and you need to be able to distinguish between the two).

Critical for success: You MUST do all that prep work before you firm up your plans, and long before you show up at the rental counter. Coming off a redeye flight, exhausted, jetlagged, excited, with whining family members waiting on you and a long line of other renters behind you giving you the stinkeye, with people yammering around you in foreign languages, when everything is confusing, stressful and "foreign" is no time or place to be reviewing teeny tiny legalese print on a contract (which is what you will be about to sign). Overlook something, and you could be out of pocket for the costs of a new car, or more (think medical liability). Know your stuff, understand what's coming before you start packing, and all you need to do at the counter is show your plastic and paper, verify a few minor details to ensure they have not changed, sign, initial, and worry about navigating safely.

You can save a ton of money this way (I have). But you absolutely must have your head in the game, and do the planning in advance. If you can't/won't/choose not to (a perfectly valid choice, BTW, and for some folks the smart choice) then just pay what they're asking for full coverage and be done with it.

Caveat: Even with full coverage, it's smart to know the limitations and exclusions - you may be surprised. I was surprised to discover (buried deep in the fine print) that my AutoEurope rental agreement prohibited taking the car on a ferry (tip: you can get that exclusion waived, if you ask beforehand, but I wouldn't expect any success asking at the rental counter).

Good luck and happy motoring.

Usually the price difference through AutoEurope on $0 deductible vs. deductible is not that expensive, especially in comparison to the total cost of my trip. I opt for the $0 deductible as it affords a stress-free vacation. There are differences between rental companies as to how an incident is handled. Europcar will charge about €60 as an administrative fee if you have a claim. Hertz charges nothing. Unfortunately, this is the voice of experience.

Go with the $0 deductible option. You'll sleep better and have less aggravation when you turn it back in.

And take the train whenever possible...zero deductible ALWAYS 🙂

Take the higher cost plan. We have turned cars in with damage, usually side scraps from narrow stone walled alleyways, dropped cars off. Done.

I've found the Italian CDW to be fairly priced which is an indication the Italian Gov't won't let them charge too much for CDW (like in Ireland.) Enough has been written about it above.
But be careful about their adding personal belongings theft coverage which is a rip off. It covers luggage if stolen from the car.

FWIW, when I dropped my car off in Rome at Termini, the rental drop off places were on the top 3 floors of a high rise (sorta high rise) garage. As I turned to go up the ramps, there was very little clearance on either side of the vehicle. All I could think about was that I was glad to have purchased the $0 deductible because I didn't have to worry about scraping the fender on the parking garage pillars.

We call up Autoeurope getting our rentals; get zero-deductible collision, which covers any damage to the body of the vehicle.

Expect a huge crowd problem Easter weekend. This was last April, crazy to go there:

https://www.facebook.com/271615946192895/posts/2323201414367661/

Why in the world would go to Via Palagio degli Spini by the Florence Airport to rent your car? It's a 3 hour journey on multiple trains and a taxi ride. I advised you on the former thread to pick up your car in La Spezia.

We rented in Sicily, and like the consensus responses, opted for the zero deductible full coverage for piece of mind. We had no issues at all and rented through Avis.

I am certainly a supporter of zero deductible insurance. And with AutoEurope it’s not really very expensive. On my last trip, in Spain, while entering a hotel’s garage, the side of my car had a slight run-in with the moving garage door. There was something of an amicable dispute with the hotel manager about whether I/my car hit the door or the moving door hit my car. Very modest damage, but noticeable. In any case, I called the car company’s customer service to tell them, and they said, “you’ve got zero deductible insurance, no problem”. Then when I turned the car in, I told the staff there too, and they again simply said “you’ve got zero deductible insurance, no problem” If you rely on insurance from your credit card, I believe you need documentation, like a police report, then you pay and request reimbursement. Like police in Logrono, Spain, would come out on a weekend evening to investigate and do paperwork on a car v. door scrape on the side of a tourist’s car. Not!

You might find it helpful to make a call to Gemut (toll free call) as they have a lot of knowledge about car rentals in Europe. Regarding Italy, their rental guide states.....

"In both Italy and Israel, CDW and theft coverage must be purchased from the rental company. Some credit cards offer coverage in Italy, but it means nothing because all major rental companies require the purchase of CDW and theft. The only question left is will your credit card reimburse the deductible in case of damage or theft? Apparently only Visa will, but confirm
with them. This a murky area."

I assume you're aware of the compulsory International Driver's Permit and also the ZTL (limited traffic) areas?

Just to perhaps clarify a few points above which I think may not be completely accurate in all cases...

If you rely on insurance from your credit card, I believe you need documentation, like a police report, then you pay and request reimbursement...

Not necessarily true. As I said above, you really need to know the details of your coverage.

You might find it helpful to make a call to Gemut (toll free call) as they have a lot of knowledge about car rentals in Europe.

In fact, I usually arrange most of my rentals through Gemut (they search for prices and options you specify, they set things up, and act as your advocate if anything goes sideways). I generally recommend them. For most rentals in Europe, they're great; they may not do as well at locations well outside the mainstream or beyond Europe. In the past few years, I've rented through Gemut for England & Scotland, Italy, Lithuania, Ireland and a couple more I'm forgetting. They couldn't find cars in the Faroe Islands at all and were not terribly helpful with Mexico or Japan, where I went my own way. For most folks headed to most places in Europe, I'd start with them (they will price-match if you find a better deal). IME using them simplifies the search, and offers an extra bit of piece of mind (if you have trouble with the rental company while you're abroad, you can call Gemut 24/7, get an English-speaking rep, who will try to sort things out).

Regarding Italy, their rental guide states..."In both Italy and Israel, CDW and theft coverage must be purchased from the rental company. Some credit cards offer coverage in Italy, but it means nothing because all major rental companies require the purchase of CDW and theft. The only question left is will your credit card reimburse the deductible in case of damage or theft? Apparently only Visa will, but confirm with them. This a murky area."

It's even more murky when people (including Gemut) use imprecise language. This goes straight to my point above, you must do your homework (and I'd add this corollary: be careful with language - small details matter, a lot). While it's true that many countries require the purchase of various types of insurance, you need to read things carefully (and what you get with that required purchase may be all but worthless). Even Gemut's response above, while technically correct, is misleading. The quote above is not about "zero deductible" CDW. If you simply accept the required insurance, you do not have zero deductible CDW! That's extra (and that's what they will try to sell you). So the quote above is not terribly helpful (at least in this context) because the question here (and most of the discussion) was about CDW (zero deductible, presumably), it's not about the (limited) insurance that is mandated in Italy. As another example, when renting a car in Mexico (and some other countries), regulations require that you purchase insurance as part of the rental. But the level coverage is so low that it's all but useless. With the required insurance, you could spend a long time in a Mexican jail if you run over some poor farmer's cow (which I nearly did). It's wise to understand the limits of liability and know what you're getting. If you're not going to invest the time to understand such details, then it may be best for you to simply pay for all of the insurance they can offer you.

This probably seems pedantic and a real TLDR for many people, but I'll simply add this: if you are renting for more than a few days, or take frequent trips, having a credit card that provides good insurance can save you a ton of money (US$30 a day or more...add that up across several long trips and it becomes serious money). I've used my credit card for primary insurance, to get zero-deductible CDW at no extra cost to me, for probably 100+ days of rentals across a half-dozen countries in the past couple years. It is a significant savings. For me, it's ideal. YMMV.

wbfey1 If you read the fine print on AutoEurope's zero deductible insurance, I think you'll find that damage from accidents in parking garages is not covered.