Anybody have any insight on renting a car via Expedia for an Italy trip.
Trying to rent a car for Puglia part of my trip, for some reason autoeurope is quoting lot higher than Expedia.
Expedia is quoting 357 for 6 days and Autoeurope is quoting 455 for the same.
I saw in Tripadvisor about horrible bait and switch via Expedia, but the review is over 4 years old..
Any savvy travelers with auto rental recommendations?.. will be renting from Sorrento and drop off at Bari airport..
thanks.
We never book anything thru Expedia
Always use AutoEurope
With AutoEurope you get their 24/7 customer service
With Expedia you get doodly squat
price difference might be because Expedia hasn’t included a 1 way drop off fee or ALL the insurances you need
I also always call AutoEurope and talk to someone about our booking just to confirm everything
They are extremely knowledgeable and helpful
Toll free number, they are based in Maine
I use Autoeurope. In 2014, I had reserved a car from London. When I got to the desk, they told me I had to purchase their insurance. I had purchased my own insurance through a travel insurance company, and they refused to accept it. (I had done this many times with other rentals, including one in France just 2 days earlier. Never had been told that before) The agent had already tried to get us to pay more for other reasons (the intermediate car I had reserved could be very small, I would need a GPS or I would never find anything) but we had resisted them successfully. When it came to the insurance, he flat out said he would not accept ours and would not rent the car to us. I called the Autoeurope toll free 24 hour help line. When I explained what was going on they connected me to someone and he said "this happens all the time". He talked to the man. Then he told me to present my Mastercard (which did have insurance benefits but I didn't trust them). The agent was quite rude (he obviously could have told us our CC insurance would work) from then on but let me have the car without any additional costs. I have talked and read of several people who ended up being forced to take the insurance and doubling the cost of their car.
I could tell you a similar story of booking a hotel room with Expedia and being charged more than I was told. I found no recourse through Expedia. It is more of a buyer beware situation with no help from them.
One more thing, since 2014, I have learned that many car rental agencies are getting very strict on what they will take for insurance coverage. (Last time, I was told if I used a credit card I would need to have a personal letter from Mastercard verifying I had the insurance. The letter had to have been written within the last 3 months) The last few times I have gone, I have used the full insurance (no deductible) from Autoeurope. You may want to look into that, because if you are forced to buy the car rental insurance at the desk, the price goes way up.
Autoeurope will be better than Expedia.
We got a fantastic rental price for four weeks in England and Wales from Heathrow through Autoeurope. However, when we got there, the rental agency where we picked up the car it was Europcar. The car class we booked didn't have the garmin we needed for navigation, so we had to upgrade and Europcar slammed us with the cost. If you find out what the car rental agency is, go direct with them if the price is close.
I will never use Europcar again.
If there is one lesson to learn from the Covid travel fiasco, it's never book a car or plane ticket through an OTA Online Travel Agency such as Expedia. Second lesson, be very wary of all brokers - use only established companies with a good reputation. In the case of AutoEurope, we had fully paid for a short term lease car from Nice. When we cancelled (within the agreed time frame - about 4 weeks ahead), AutoEurope credited our credit card within a week. According to many, many posts, people who used Expedia experienced every manner of run-around. Use AutoEurope and remember the contract is with the car rental firm not AutoEurope so only choose a decent company like Avis or Europcar.
If you use AutoEurope you will have to pay in advance. I will not prepay for a car rental.
The third option is to reserve directly with the major car company.
Expedia also offers reservations without prepayment.
That's a significant price difference in Expedia's favor, but only if it's a direct comparison including any dropoff charge and the same insurance. I've rented several times through Auto Europe and never had a problem, including at least once when I had to make a late change. I don't have much experience with Expedia because I've read of others' problems.
To clarify, Auto Europe is a US-based broker that works with multiple European car rental companies (including affiliates of Hertz, Avis, and other US-based companies). Europcar is one of many reputable Europe-based car rental companies, along with Sixt, Kemwel, and others. Like Expedia, Auto Europe will find you a choice of Europe rentals but your experience at the counter will be with the rental company you choose. As other posters have recounted, Auto Europe has a very good reputation for customer service even "on the spot."
EDIT: Tom's suggestion is also good -- rent directly from the rental company. At least if they match or better the price from Auto Europe.
Our experience with Autoeurope is exactly as Christine notes in the first response. They have always been helpful. Never a problem. If the rate decreases after arranging the rental, call and they will adjust it. I keep a weather eye on the rates and call as they won’t change without your contact. Good luck and safe travels.
I once rented a hotel through Expedia...my error, my mistake. There was a problem and we had no recourse. Zip.
Car insurance is required in Italy. So when you compare the price between AutoEurope and directly from the car agency, include the price of full insurance. Expedia is a non-starter for me.
Does Italy allow credit card insurance? I have used my AMEX insurance in other countries, but I thought there were restrictions with Italy.
We’ve usually used Europcar’s Website, comparing it with other rental companies, and going directly thru them has given us the best apples-to-apples rental. Occasionally, Hertz or another, smaller company has had a better price.
Sixt has entered the market in parts of the U.S.A., but they’ve positioned themselves as a luxury model provider here; use them for that BMW convertible in Florida. In Europe, they offer a wide range of vehicle types, and we’ve rented from them when they had the best quote. Either way, we’ve gone directly with the rental company. See if any companies offer better rates than Expedia’s 357.” If everybody’s giving you a higher direct price, then either Expedia has a secret deal of the century, or I’d be suspicious that their quoted price isn’t the final price.
Using credit card insurance is not straightforward with AutoEurope since the charge is not processed as a car rental.
A hybrid option is to choose a rental that includes basic required insurance in the base rate, then use the credit card insurance to cover the deductible. Read carefully for Italy exclusions though. Traditionally cards exclude Italy but some cover it.
AutoEurope prepayment never includes the drop fee, it’s paid at the end. Note that AutoEurope will only estimate the drop fee, you won’t find out what it will be until you see the contract, and by then it’s too late to cancel and get a refund.
First of all, as to using your cc for rental car insurance, one should always check, by calling the cc customer service number, what the current status is on that issue. I know Amex excludes Italy. Other cards may or may not. I can attest that I have used my Visa card for insurance and made claims in Italy and had no problems. However there are lots of different Visa cards, so you must find out exactly what yours will cover.
When you reserve with AutoEurope, you actually get your vehicle through one of the rental agencies. That’s who processes all the paperwork at the pick-up point. AE can’t control what scam an agent tries to run on you, but they do have a 24/7 number you can call to get that person to adhere to the terms of your contract.
Italy does have mandatory liability insurance, so all rental prices will include that. However, there’s a lot more to the insurance question; for example, damage to your vehicle, or injury to someone in your vehicle, or theft. Read the fine print. The deductible may be huge, like $1000. Or, “no deductible” may exclude damage to windows and tires.
The reason I prefer to insure my rental cars through Amex (outside of Italy) or through my Visa card is that they have some leverage over the rental companies and don’t accept the games some of them try to play. Additionally, if there is a problem, it is easier to reach customer service of a company in the U.S. than one in a foreign country.
Like flights, I book directly through the rental car company. If there is an issue you’re dealing directly with the rental company rather than having to go through Expedia. I use Expedia, Booking, Hotels, etc., when renting hotel rooms but not flights or rental cars. Even then, if I can book directly through the hotel I will. I’ve always received great customer service renting from Avis.
I work with Auto Europe quite often. Here are a few advantages of working with AE:
Some disadvantages to using AE
Car rental insurance is something you need to study. Even the $0 deductible AE coverage does not cover everything - so ask questions at the time of booking and supplement the insurance as you feel is necessary, Some folks do that with the credit card; other's through their third-party travel protection, and many... at the rental counter. Each situation is different so know your direction before picking up the car.
Expedia, like many OTA's, struggled mightily in the early COVID days. There are innumerable posts of long waits, unanswered phone calls, and poor service as they were overwhelmed by cancellations. Again, AE answers their phones!
To add to RnR’s thorough post, if you change credit cards between booking and pickup, let Auto Europe know beforehand. When we rented a car at Hertz in Naples through AE, my Visa had been compromised and a new card issued. Since the card info didn’t match, it became an issue at pick-up and enough of a language barrier to explain easily. It was my fault for forgetting to notify Auto Europe but something to remember for future rentals.
Hertz/Naples was very accommodating with I returned the car with 3/4 tank full of gas. We got lost, ended up at the docks instead of the airport and were very stressed. They said there would be a surcharge. I said I don’t care, I’m not driving any more and the gas’s station is on the opposite side of the freeway. They took pity on us.
I beg to differ from jaimeelsabio on the wisdom of booking directly with a rental car company. We once booked with Hertz for a car in Italy. The local agents scammed us in a couple of ways, starting with trying to force us to take additional insurance. We resisted. They assured us that there were no service stations near the return site, so we had better prepay for gas. We resisted. (There two within 5 km of the office.). They also used DCC, which only appeared on the final bill with a notation that we had agreed to it, printed in miniscule type, in pale orange letters, on a beige background. We were never asked. I don’t think I was being paranoid in believing that their intent was to squeeze a few more euro from the customer. They succeeded in that I only noticed it after I had signed the bill. I tried to complain to Hertz, only to discover that Hertz/ U.S. is a different company from Hertz/Italy and would/could do nothing for me. The email address provided didn’t work. I decided to forgo any further aggravation and not try to reach them by phone.
Nick— AutoEurope.com needs to be paid in dollars and the non-EU renter is exempt from some of the EU taxes. There areAutoEurope websites for EU residents, AutoEurope.eu, or autoeurope.fr, or others but the prices will be higher.
Non-EU residents can rent directly with EuropCar, Sixt, Hertz, but, again, they need to be careful which website they use.
Additional comment: I haven't used an expedia reservation (not prepaid) but I have used a Priceline reservation many times, also not prepaid. Since these reservations can typically be displayed in the relevant website (e.g. the Priceline reservation for National shows up when the confirmation number is inputted on National.com) I would not have any reservation using Expedia for a non-prepaid reservation if the same is true.
If you are looking at AutoEurope, look at Kemwel as well. They are now under the same corporate umbrella, but can have different prices. From a few years ago, I know of three stories (mine, a friend, and his friend) where Kemwel had a MUCH better price.
Do be sure you're comparing apples to apples with each company's price quote. Particularly for Italy, which has mandatory insurance requirements, make sure the amount of insurance in your quote:
1) Meets the minimum required (failing to include this is a sure way for them to give a lower quote, but you'll still have to pay for the minimum).
2) Has the deductible you want. I insisted on a zero deductible; some companies had as high a deductible as 2000 euros (yes, two thousand).
3) Covers the things you want covered. In my case, coverage for certain things like the windshield was extra.
Booking travel these days is far more complex than it used to be. And car rentals are a great example. Using Hertz and Italy as an example, when you book through 1-800-HERTZ, hertz.com, or hertz.co.uk, you believe you are booking directly with the operator. But that's not true as your reservation is shifted to Hertz Italia. And as mentioned in a couple of posts, they are a totally separate entity that Hertz USA has no control over - and Hertz will tell you that. In addition, many of the Hertz pickup locations in Italy are actually franchisees - so you've added another layer to your booking (I'm starting to feel like six degrees of separation). So even when you think you're booking direct, you might not be booking direct.
Many of my car rental experiences have been in Italy where I found that my Hertz President’s Circle elite status - acquired through my USA rentals - meant nothing. I also discovered that many franchisees had a NO-ONE-WAY rental policy on specific models. These cars were their money-makers - with amenities like incorporated GPS - which allowed them to earn higher rental earnings per day. They did not want to give up those cars (to other franchises) so many created one-way restrictions. I learned - the hard way - for a one-way booking to always got the drop-off fee in advance, and in writing.
Thus, sometimes it's good to have an advocate (and better to have one with buying power/influence). Unfortunately, OTA's are not the best advocacy option. They are geared for one thing: SALES. They provide a low-cost option with limited support. SERVICE - and advocacy - are not their strengths. They just haven't built a staff for this because it earns them no revenue.
No one books an OTA for service - it's primarily about price and ease of booking. And this lack of a "service priority" became VERY apparent during March & April 2020 with multiple COVID cancellations. Just go read Expedia's reviews during this period. OTA's are great if everything goes "right" but if there's a "bump" you'll quickly find yourself working your issues out alone. Moreover, getting a refund or return from a disputed rental is far more difficult when working through an OTA. The car rep will say, "That's not our booking, call the OTA." And the OTA often says the opposite - if you can get them to answer the phone.
Hotels also have franchisee units or management companies operating them - even $1000+/NT 5-star luxury hotels - and far fewer issues than the car rental industry. For many reasons, the rental car industry seems to be more ambiguous than other franchisee and corporate travel options. Thus, buyer beware - Find an option you're comfortable with!
Just going to say ditto to the above, I purposely booked my car in Dijon through Avis just for simplicity and comfort's sake. I had an issue and called Avis when I returned to the US, they said Oh yeah, they're not REALLY Avis ...
Expedia typically does not include minimum required insurances, so I'd bet when you add those in the Expedia cost will be higher than Auto Europe.
By-the-way, are people still paying out-rageous daily rental fees for GPS in a rental car?
Smart phone, $7 car suction cup phone holder from amazon, google maps, download your area offline to your phone, been doing that for 10 years all over the world.
So I looked at Expedia more careful after all your feedbacks.
Here are the breakdowns for Expedia..
Car Rental for 6 days (59.14/day) = 266.06
Taxes and Fees = included
Basic Collision protection = included
One way drop off charge = $88.80
Total: $354.86
It appears Expedia is renting it through "Ecovia" - which I never heard of before...
It is still lot cheaper than AutoEurope... am I missing anything here (any other hidden charges I should be aware of)??
thank you for your helpful feedbacks..
From their website:
Ecovia is a company operating in the “automotive” sector specialized
in car and van rental, we are present throughout Italy to support and
innovate corporate and individual mobility...
Thus, they are a local company. Reading the details on their FAQ page:
Reviews of Autovia on Trustpilot
So maybe there are some "additional charges" once you pick up the car...
LOL RnR
That review was something else...
Hmmmm, price seem too good to be true??
It seem spending extra$100 to book through autoeurope is the way to go?
These trips are expensive, so I understand wanting to save when possible. But here, everyone wrote to avoid Expedia. It's $100 but keep in mind the old "penny wise pound foolish" dictum.
Some of us who answered learned our lessons the hard way. Others have read a lot of complaints about Expedia.
$100 is about $16 a day for your 6 day rental
To me that is inexpensive peace of mind
Bets: I did not say to avoid Expedia.
People are conflating buying a plane ticket thru Expedia and booking a car reservation thru Expedia. They are completely different animals. One is prepaying for a service the other is making a reservation. Sometimes Expedia (like Priceline or Hotwire) gets a person a discount, like using a coupon code, and a savings on the reservation so there’s nothing wrong with doing that. There’s no need for customer service from Expedia in this instance. One doesn’t need costumer service from Costco or aarp when using one of their coupon codes when making a reservation.
The reviews on this company, ecovia, are quite poor, however. I always try autoslash.com to find the best deal.
As I personal policy I never prepay for car rentals. The small savings is not worth the risk, there’s no potential loss to insure, and I always want the ability to walk if the car is in poor condition or there’s no car available, and not have to follow up with a refund request.
We booked a car for our Italy trip last September. It was a four day rental, pick up and return in Siena. Of course we didn’t go, so we have a voucher to use.
Looking at AutoEurope for the same number of days this year- the price is five times higher. Yikes!
If we get to go and the prices don’t come down, we’ll go back to trains, buses and tours.
With Autoeurope, even though you prepay, it’s refundable up to 48 hours of rental. If you find a cheaper car later with AutoEurope, easy enough to modify reservation. And you will be refunded the difference. We’ve saved hundreds of dollars with this option.
Also use Kemwel, sister company of AutoEurope.
