Renting Car Though a "Consolidator"

I've rented through AutoEurope about ten times in five different countries and have never had a problem with them or at the rental counter. I once had minor damage to the car and had problems getting the necessary paperwork from the rental company. One call to the great staff at AutoEurope solved the problem. I highly recommend them. In a short while I'll be picking up rental #11 in Italy. If you're renting in Italy, check on the rental packages that include full insurance with no deductible - usually only available on Europcar - a little bit more expensive but worth the peace of mind.

I've never had any problems renting through AutoEurope.com. And I've got Hertz cars on purpose--when accepting pickup locations I knew were Hertz lots.
Only issue was when I picked up the car, Hertz had added an optional insurance never requested that covered luggage and possessions if stolen. Since my homeowners insurance would apply, it was expensive coverage that I just declined.
AutoEurope can also get you a lease car cheaper than a "rental car"--if you're going to be in Europe 3 or more weeks.

I also used both consolidators and directly, but I prefer through AutoEurope.
I always select the zero insurance deductible option, which basically forces you to choose only Europcar or Hertz, since it is available only when you choose those two selections. But to me they are the best companies in Italy, so I don't mind.

Before you pull the trigger and get saddled with a rental vehicle - just make sure you really really need/want it. Train travel is easy and cheap. And you don't get charged for petrol, parking, insurance, theft, wrecking it, scratching it, etc.

I've rented cars a couple of times and the last one we put a small scratch on the the back bumper with a piece of our luggage...several hundred dollars charged for that tiny scratch - never again.

Here is a whole discussion about AutorEurope, a consolidator. We've used them about twenty-five times in the last twenty years.

We travel in Italy every year and always rent a car through Autoeurope. They usually have the best prices and are easy to work with when a conflict arises. In 2009 we used Autoeurope and took the car from Europecar. I damaged one of the doors and paid the $400 deductible.. Autoeurope stated their damage deductible was $200. When we returned home to the USA I contacted Autoeurope and they refunded the $200 difference. Autoeurope is our first choice when we need a car while in Italy.

Another poster above asked if you really needed a car, which is a cogent question. If you are traveling between major cities you can use the train because a car in a big city is a liability.

Buon viaggio,

We had the same issue as Philip in regards to getting a damage quote from Europcar - I contacted them over and over as we needed a report to give to Amex for reimbursement. One email to AutoEurope and within 48 hrs I had all the pertinent info - wish I'd known that at the start! We've only rented twice overseas, but both times went thru AutoEurope...never any confusion, never any attempts to upsell at the counter...

I can't contribute anything useful to the "consolidator vs. direct from the rental car company" discussion. But if you are going to use a consolidator, look at Kemwel. It's now a sister company of AutoEurope, but I know of three instances for Italy in which they had, BY FAR, the best price for what was needed (in each case, an automatic with no deductible).

The other good thing to know about AutoEurope is that they have a low price guarantee. Even though you pay the full amount when you book the car, if you notice that they later have the same car with the same terms at a lower rate, you can call them and they will refund the excess. I did it twice with our last rental. In fact, the last time was shortly before our trip when I called with a question about our reservation and noticed that we could get the same car at a slightly lower rate, but with super coverage insurance, not just no deductable as I already had, but this insurance included tires, windshield, undercarriage...it seemed like just about everything. They transferred us over to the deal with the better insurance coverage and sent a refund amount to our credit card to cover the price difference. No surprises in Italy, we even got a hybrid with GPS, neither of which we had requested but were very happy to get. By the way, the rental company was Hertz. We've also rented directly with Hertz in France the past with no problems.

Hertz is generally more expensive than Auto EuRopcar and the specs seem similar. Do you know of any advantage of going with Hertz? Thx again.

Just check www.autoeurope.com or www.kemwel.com.
Both are consolidators part of the same corporate group, but I check both as prices may be better with one or the other depending on dates and type of car. They are consolidators, that is intermediaries or brokers, not actual rental companies. The car will be rented from a rental company like Europcar or Hertz, the above are only brokers.
I generally select the zero insurance deductible option (from the filters leave the zero deductible option box check marked).
The best prices, with the zero deductible option, are with Europcar or Hertz. The zero deductible option adds about $4 a day to the cost of the rental, which is very reasonable to me for my peace of mind.
Renting directly from Hertz may be just as cheap if they match the price. However when you rent directly from the rental company, like Hertz, they might get you on the insurance options, so be careful. Make sure you compare apples with apples, that is with the same insurance options.

Roberto is correct in mentioning the zero deductible and the peace of mind it brings. IMHO, it is definitely worth the extra cost. Since 2011 we always select the zero deduction option and it is worth every penny.

Buon viaggio,

And accepting the €0 deductible when you make your reservation is much less expensive than adding it on at the rental counter!