Sicily Car Rental

We'll be returning to Sicily next month, our second visit, and this time we will also choose the no deductible rate, even though it does add quite a bit to the total. The side roads can be a little tough, and drivers are CRAZY (but, I should note that they're no crazier than drivers in Boston :~). Overall, I think it's worth it for peace of mind. When we travel elsewhere in Europe, we generally rely on our credit card insurance to cover any mishaps, and we don't take the additional coverage, however our cards specifically carve out, and do not cover, rentals in Italy.
Have you tried playing with the dates, if you have any flexibility at all? I would also encourage you to try the autoeurope.ca website. For some inexplicable reason, the rates tend to be less expensive , especially given the conversion from CAD to USD. We always use the Canadian site and have never had any issues doing so as US residents.

We rented through Avis when we went to Sicily. We too went with the zero deductible when we picked up the rental, for piece of mind. Fortunately, we didn’t have any issues. We had an economy manual vehicle. Also, check different vehicle classes since zero deductible insurance rates may be different for different vehicles.

I will recommend that if you make your reservations, check back periodically to see if rates have gone down. For my upcoming Scotland trip my current rental reservation, with excess protection, is £1000 less than the original rate I had reserved. Surprisingly, the insurance rate has also gone down with the cost of the rental.

No idea where you’re picking up the rental, but prices are probably different between pickup in Palermo or Catania.

Thank you -- Milgreen2 and Jaimeelsabio!

I will look into your very good suggestions of trying the AutoEurope Canada site and will also play with my dates as I do have some flexibility but prefer the trip sometime in May. The plan is to fly into Palermo and out of Catania but I do not have my flights yet. I also have plenty of time to watch and wait should the prices drop.

I wish I could go with a manual transmission as I did drive one for several years in my twenties but that is long ago and far away. I wouldn't want to relearn this skill in Sicily on hilly and windy terrain. Although on one of our trips to Italy there was a national train strike and I was forced to rent a manual in Venice as there were no automatics anywhere on such short notice. My spouse doesn't drive stick at all. I remember taking an Imodium and a Xanax and kissing the ground when we arrived at our destination! What made it even more intense is that we were never able to figure out how to get the car into reverse. We would put it in neutral and get out and push the car with our own muscle! What an adventure it was.

My question is what does the “inclusive” rate not cover that an additional $100+/day will cover. Do the math. If we’re talking about the very common $1000 deductible, then you would be saving a mere $300 in the unlikely event of an accident.

FWIW, I have driven on two trips to Sicily and didn’t find the drivers there to be any crazier than elsewhere. Also, we have relied on the insurance provided by our cc’s. We actually had two small incidents on trips to Italy. Both were handled reasonably promptly and with minimal hassle.

Thanks Rosalyn, valid point about doing the math (not my forte!) For this particular quote the vehicle deductibles(s) are above 1,000 Euros and are listed as:

Rental includes Theft Protection for the vehicle. Rental limits potential vehicle loss liability to deductible of approximately EUR 2,875.00.
Rental includes Collision Damage coverage . Rental limits potential vehicle damage liability to deductible of approximately EUR 1,875.00.