Auto Europe

Check out www. gemut.com. They are a US based company that works with Auto Europe and other agencies and guarantees the lowest rate. You pay in $US when you book and the rate is locked in.

I have a very, very, very big problem with Gemut. On several occasions I have asked them for a quote, WITH CDW. I want to compare the cost of rail transportation, without any financial risk exposure to a rental car, without any risk exposure. I have always specifically asked for full CDW. They have always come back with a quote without such protection, telling me instead to use my credit card. Can't they follow simple instructions?

I am waiting on a quote from them. I also checked Sizt, but they apparently only use one of the two Lucca locations and the one they use is not open on Sat when I need to pick up the car and so it would cost me an extra day to pick it up Thursday.

Lee: I am sure they don't make any money on the CDW so it would be a simple matter to check the website of the company they are using and see how much extra the CDW is.

AutoEurope is located in Maine and is only a toll-free call away. I'd suggest give 'em call and ask your questions.

Even without CDW, their quote was two to three times what I figured rail and bus fare to be, so it wouldn't have made a difference, I'm just annoyed that they couldn't quote me what I asked for.

Lee makes a point about CDW with full coverage when renting through consolidators. Get a price for full CDW, no deductible, espeically if you are renting in one of the "I" countries: Italy, Ireland, Israel. When my daughter rented through AutoEurope for a car in Italy last year, she asked for and thought she was getting full coverage, not deductible. Unfortunately, she had to pay 300 euros for a scratch on the vehicle because the policy had that amount of deductible. I don't know whether there was miscommunication or AutoEurope does not offer full coverage, but my point is: For Italy, be absolutely sure you are getting full coverage. If not, walk away from the deal. American Express and some other cc companies refuse to insure vehicles in Italy for a reason: Auto repairs for minor scratches and dings are a major part of the country's economy. Based on repeated reports on this and other forums, for Italy if you include a deductible, there is a good chance you will pay it, yourself.

To make another price comparison, check with Kemwel. They also have an online site that gives quotes. They are also associated with AutoEurope, however, this past fall we actually got a lot better price from them. The one catch, however, is in their cancellation policy. It is not as flexible as AutoEurope. Roy makes very good points about insurance. To be FULLY covered, we purchased insurance from Travel Insured International (if you are a USAA customer you can get even better rates). Like others pointed out, there seem to be loopholes in the credit card and CDW insurance coverage. For example, no coverage for Loss of Use.

Good points. I went ahead and booked thru Auto Europe UK for about 40% less than the US site, with full coverage and no deductible. I did call the US customer service, who verified that it was fine for a US person to do that. I had also called Kemwel, who tried to scare me away from doing it, saying it was possible that the rental agency would refuse to honor the reservation when they saw my US drivers license. I haven't seen any posts about that, so hope it's not a real issue - maybe I'll post that question to see.