What Barriers to Renting a Car in Italy & France if You Are Over 75?

Better yet, contract the rental company in Europe that you intend to rent from and ask. That is the point of enforcement if they are going to limit 75 plus rental. In CO we now have to present the results of a doctor's eye examination if over 80 and renewing a driver's license. Got to get those blind drivers off the road.

get hold of the rental company you would like to rent from and ask. It may even be on their webpage. The US companies are not necessarily the same company even though the name sounds the same.

As stated above, it varies by the car rental companies.

If it doesn't say anything about it on the website, just do a dummy quote from each insurance company, and during the question process, it will ask for your date of birth (or age).

Try …

https://www.autoeurope.com/?aff=googleusmobile&c=108556&ca=9763334849&ag=100105202139&ak=kwd-269951633&kw=m&mt=e&ds=S&ad=428912752999&ap=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI16mAzs___gIVldzjBx3RWwd3EAAYASAAEgKxXvD_BwE

Click on info

Last May, when my husband was 78, we rented a car two times in France. We used economycarrentals.com. They ask the ages of the drivers before showing their offers. Prior to that we rented cars in Romania and Bulgaria in 2018 and also had no issues. Because Economy Car Rentals is an aggregator it's possible rental companies that don't want to rent to those past a certain age are just filtered out. It's possible the car or the insurance costs more. I guess we could do a dummy request using a younger age to find out but we've not tried that.

Thanks all very much for the many suggestions, and I welcome more especially from people 75+ who have had direct experience of renting a car in Italy or France.

You did not say how long you will be using the car. If you are looking at 21 days or loner, checkout the Autoeurope leasing options. The only age requirement is that you are over 18. There are a restricted number of pick up l;locations, you will not be dealing with a franchisee who makes up his own that are contrary to what corporate te3lls you. The car will be brand new, insured to the hilt, and equipped as you reserved it ( especially important if you need an automatic) and there will be no cost surprises. The price is set and paid before you even get to the counter. The only warning is reserve early as supplies are limited and you can change your dates very easily. Worked fine last year at 81.

Last detail: Since you looking at Italy DO NOT SHOW UP WITHOUT AN IDP they work on a different business model than the rental operations who could care less about what happens to you if you get caught.

This last April, we rented cars in Greece (for the Peloponnese for 9 days) and Italy (for Siena and Umbria for 11 days). First tried outfits we have used before in EU and North America. Erratic results as at first no older age criteria until ready to commit and then find out either no go for 80 yo or 10 to 20 euros a day extra. Tedious. Found some sites for us older folks. Settled on https://www.airportcarhire.com/car-rental-for-over-75s.html#/searchcars. Their prices and terms often were better than dealing with the rental agency direct. For Greece, rented thru SixT at airport. Very professional and easy to get & return car. For Italy, rented thru OKMobility. Professional check out but harder to get & return car (this appears to be a condition of FCO, not OKMobility). Paid extra for Allianz insurance both times. We'd rather spend the money than deal with any hassle. OKMobility still put a $1200 hold on our CC until safe return. Both cars returned okay. Both countries fuel now self-serve. Gas/petrol cheaper and more common than diesel. Beware - pump handles different labels and colors than US! Recommend gas/petrol cars now as you will need the acceleration in Italy.

My husband will be 75 when we pick up our rental car in Florence in September, reserved through Autoeurope and picking up at a Hertz location. His age was entered when I made the reservation…no problem showed up
In the confirmation. Autoeurope has been wonderful in past rentals, and I would think it would have been clear if there was an age issue. And yes, it could be rental company specific.