Renting a car in Europe - any current suggestions?

[brigcampbell]

@MikeR

Would those of you who rented a car in Italy do so again even with all the issues of tickets and no driving areas within cities? You guys have me a bit scared here to even think about it. We are going to be in Florence the 3rd week in September and are planning to do a few day trips to Siena, Lucca, Pisa and Livorno. Our thoughts are mainly it gives us more flexibility to stop along the way to these places. We were looking at getting a Fiat 500L since you all do recommend a small car.

Absolutely! Don’t let our chatter concern you, more of an education thread so you’re more informed.

Driving in Italy is a breeze and safe with the exception of Napoli (avoid driving in that city). Best way to see the place, IMHO. GPS eliminates many of the driving challenges so it’s worth it if you’re not 100% comfortable. Heck, I’m totally comfortable driving in Italy and every time I’ve found myself in some situation where I blurt out “GPS would have been a good idea right here.” All part of the adventure.

Make sure you hit the rest stops on the autostrada. Autogrill is a common one, the food in the place is amazing. Only in Italy.
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/autogrill.htm

[Mark_Y]

Rented a car before in Florence… do it again in a heartbeat…
so much fun!

[MikeR]

@brigcampbell

Make sure you hit the rest stops on the autostrada. Autogrill is a common one, the food in the place is amazing. Only in Italy.
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/autogrill.htm

Thanks for that link. Who knew you could pick up fresh meat and cheeses at a rest stop!

[brigcampbell]

@MikeR

@brigcampbell

Make sure you hit the rest stops on the autostrada. Autogrill is a common one, the food in the place is amazing. Only in Italy.
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/autogrill.htm

Thanks for that link. Who knew you could pick up fresh meat and cheeses at a rest stop!

I stopped in one on the way to Parma from Alba, oh my! The meat and cheese counter looked like speciality deli.

They had homemade eggplant parmigiana, to go non the less. Place was better than some restaurants we ate in.

[brigcampbell]

Just got a notice from a collection company in California that the city of Parma has ticketed me for $461. They want the money or they’ll ding my credit. Go for it.

Wonder what you have to do in a car to get a $461 ticket?

[Ramon_C]

Contest it.

Why would a collection company send you a traffic violation fine?

First, let your credit card know that you will contest it.
Second, send a letter to the collection company to provide the nature/notice of the violation.

[kristofstevens]

I’m always booking through autoeurope.com, never had any problems with them. They work with respected companies (at least on this side of the ocean) like Avis, Hertz and Europecar and often get cheaper prices than renting directly from the latter companies themselves.

Prices really depend on the season and the traject, in high season it can be 100€/day while in low season the same car can be 15€/day.

[brigcampbell]

@Ramon Cabrera

Contest it.

Why would a collection company send you a traffic violation fine?

First, let your credit card know that you will contest it.
Second, send a letter to the collection company to provide the nature/notice of the violation.

Looks like Parma sold my “debt” to a U.S. collection company.

Not even sure why I got the ticket in Parma but that’s the why italy works.

[Ramon_C]

@brigcampbell

@Ramon Cabrera

Contest it.

Why would a collection company send you a traffic violation fine?

First, let your credit card know that you will contest it.
Second, send a letter to the collection company to provide the nature/notice of the violation.

Looks like Parma sold my “debt” to a U.S. collection company.

Not even sure why I got the ticket in Parma but that’s the why italy works.

That’s the way Italy works? I’m sorry, but that’s not true.

[M.Kaplan]

Brig and Ramon,
Commonplace throughout Europe.

http://www.initaly.com/travel/avoid_tickets.htm

[Robert_Broder]

I like auto Europe. Rented from them many times over the years. Last summer, after USAIR cancelled our flight, AFTER we took off, and we left the next day for a different arrival city, Milan vs. Venice, they were easy to deal with and make changes to our arrangements. Be careful with multi-country drop off charges. Saved a ton of money last Summer by dropping off rental car in San Remo and taking short train ride to Nice where we picked up 2nd rental.

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

I am also a fan of Auto Europe. Have rented from them many times.

Regarding an IDL - you absolutely must have it if renting a car in Japan. You cannot rent without it. That’s the only place I’ve ever been told it was necessary.

[brigcampbell]

Just got a copy of the Visa collision damage wavier for our trip to Spain in April. Nice benefit.

[Steven_Pumilia]

Also check out autoeurope.uk
they often have better rates/throw in more insurance than autoeurope.com
I usually use the UK site to book my rentals.

[Steven_Pumilia]

@Dan.Gord0n

@Marty Glembotzky

Check http://www.kemwel.com

Thanks for the suggestion! They seem cheaper than AutoEurope, even with the same rental companies providing the cars at the same location. Their rates also seem to include $0 deductible insurance. They also have free GPS and the WiFi unit. Almost seem to be setup the same as AutoEurope but with slighly lower prices.

They have an Audi A1 (or similar) for $700…just don’t know if that is too small…Fiat 500L is a bit bigger for $890 and Volvo wagon for $970 which will obviously be big enough.

Are these prices too good to be true or have you used them and they proved reliable?

Kemwel is OK. They are a related company to autoeurope.

[Don_Appleton]

I have used Kemwell several times, good prices, never a problem.