Renting a car in Italy

G

gallogly

Registered User
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Afternoon all,
Just wondering if anyone can recommend a car rental company for Italy. Have done a search on the site but nothing pops out.

Going to Lake Garda in August and would like to rent a car.

thanks
 
All the usual companies operate there, I've hired with both Avis and Hertz in Italy with no problems
 
I have rented a few times in Italy and have always used Hertz or Avis, and have never had a problem. You seem to be looking for a local Italian renter? My advice would be to stick with one of the big guys!
 
I used http://www.autoeurope.ie/car.cfm for my trip last year. They'll get you a good deal with one of the main rental companies at the airport especially if you go for the refundable excess option. Much cheaper than getting local excess protection insurance in my experience.
 
Word of warning - if your hiring and returning to a smaller type airport give yourself lots of time for returning the car before heading for check-in.

A few years back as part of a package holiday we had a car and got the tip off to arrive early (Verona) and good job a s the Italians don't do anything in a rush for a finish there was near panic with some people afraif they'd miss their flight.

The guy that gave us the heads up told us it was the same across Northern Italy as he had used a few of the airports there.
 
used Europcar to hire a car in Garda a few years ago. Small office, only a few cars available, when i got there they didnt have what I booked so gave me a bigger car instead. Guy in the office hadnt great English (still miles better than my non existent Italian) but we got through the transactions without too much hassle.
 
Just piggy backing on this thread...hope you don't mind

The family are heading to lake garda from bergamo airport in June. As we are arriving in late, we will need a car to make the journey, but are really just looking for the car one way (i.e drop off in garda) but none of the websites I've tried seems to give that option. At most I'd imagine we'd need it for 2 days max. I've used nova car rental in the past but no luck there via the website

Looking to do the same on the way back. I dont think we'd need the car for our 2 week duration. perhaps I should contact the rental companies directly?

Thanks

S.
 
Beware of a particular sharp practice that appears widespread among Italian car hire offices. When you book online you get €X collision damage waiver. When you collect the car they tell you it is Y, a much smaller amount, and they give you the "option" of buying more. If you contradict them and confirm the details of your original deal, they will give in without quibble. If you don't, you will end up paying twice for the same cover.
 
suzie said:
Just piggy backing on this thread...hope you don't mind

The family are heading to lake garda from bergamo airport in June. As we are arriving in late, we will need a car to make the journey, but are really just looking for the car one way (i.e drop off in garda) but none of the websites I've tried seems to give that option. At most I'd imagine we'd need it for 2 days max. I've used nova car rental in the past but no luck there via the website

Looking to do the same on the way back. I dont think we'd need the car for our 2 week duration. perhaps I should contact the rental companies directly?

Thanks

S.
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I really think you need a car to see Lake Garda, I know there's the ferries and public transport but you have such freedom with a car I think it'll make the holiday for you. We went to Verona, the Dolomites and toured the lake during our fortnight, couldn't have done without the car. We took the train to Venice as well.

If you decide that you only need the car to get to and from the airport then I think a telephone call may be required. Have you considered a taxi or airport pickup and drop off by a hackney type company?
 
Pee is right - there is loads to see in the area and it is so much easier to do it all with a car, especially if you have kids. The ferry is fairly regualr & on-time, but if you are paying for 2 adults and a few kids, it adds up. Plus you need to work around the ferry timetables and it takes a fair bit of time to ferry from one side of the lake to the other.
Verona is lovely & well worth a trip. You can take a train to Venice, but we drove....we liked the idea of being able to leave as & when needed. The drive around the lake is fab...all the better to be able to pick & choose which village you'll stop & have lunch in.

Car hire gets much cheaper the longer you have the car so you might save a hundred euro by only having it for the first & last few days....but the freedom of having it for 2 weeks is great!! God, I wish I was going back this year. maybe.....
 
We used Locauto, they did charge us for car cleaning even though we cleaned the car (but hadn't a hoover to do a professional job) so it wasn't as cheap as we thought.
 
I've used a few different crowds in the last couple of years. I would advise against using Cartrawler (the time I used them they gave me a Smart when I'd booked a larger, more comfortable car). I've also used Hertz who are fine in Milan, but a nightmare in Rome airport - the time I used them they had v. long queues and it took hours to get the car (of course none of the other agencies had any queues!). This summer I found Avis the cheapest 798 for an intermediate automatic car for 16 days ex Rome. That was after a 5 % discount for Flying Blue members. Also you don't pay anything until you collect the car which is brilliant.
 
haven't booked yet but am also finding avis good at the moment (compact stationwagon). Also looking to cover the excess with www.insurance4carhire.com (rather than getting the local avis cover which may be expensive)

S.
 
We recently booked through https://www.economycarrentals.com/ for this summer. Have never used them before, but their price was the most competitive we could find, and seems to include all the extras, such as Collision Damage Waiver, etc, so no hidden extras. Read the small print in the T&Cs. Will update on our experiences in July when we return.
 
sosulliv said:
I've also used Hertz who are fine in Milan, but a nightmare in Rome airport - the time I used them they had v. long queues and it took hours to get the car (of course none of the other agencies had any queues!).
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I agree, Hired with hertz early last year (in RomeAirport) and was really annoyed to see the lenght of the queue. All other desks only had a few people queueing. We had to wait over an hour to even get to the desk. Noticed a company called Europacar at the time.
On a return visit hired with them - were great to deal with. gave me an upgrade as car wasn't available - feck all waiting time etc..

Would book with them again (no affiliation at all)
 
At smaller airports particuarly (because they've only got one or two people at the car hire desk) using Hertz can be slower if you're flying on Ryanair or Aer Lingus since Hertz is the car hire partner that they both promote so therefore it's likely there's going to be a good number of people on your flight who are also going to the Hertz rental desk.
 
Just for people to compare, got a medium stationwagon (e.g focus estate) for 2 weeks at €382 with avis which I think is quite good. Will cover the excess with the other insurance

S.
 
You could also compare prices with www.autoescape.fr. I've used them successfully for rentals in Italy (and France, Spain) in the past. The website is primarily in French but an english version is available.

-M.
 
oopsbuddy said:
We recently booked through https://www.economycarrentals.com/ for this summer. Have never used them before, but their price was the most competitive we could find, and seems to include all the extras, such as Collision Damage Waiver, etc, so no hidden extras. Read the small print in the T&Cs. Will update on our experiences in July when we return.
Click to expand...

Absolutely no problems whatsoever with our choice. We got a brand new Golf diesel, no queues at the airport, collecting or dropping off. Would recommend them!
 
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