nikib27

Hello!

I am new to the travel world and I am looking for a car rental in
Italy from the 18th of Dec to the 25th pick up at FCO and drop off at
LIN then again picking up from PMO on the 25th and dropping off at CIA
on the 30th.
I was wondering if you had any suggestions on a cheap car rental and/or
where to search for cheap ones.

Lauren

aBroadAbroad

Since your question pertains to travel in Italy, your post has been moved to the Italy destination forum where it will hopefully receive more expert attention.

Safe travels!

~Moderator, Information Desk

Perche

Are you taking the ferry to get the car from Palermo to Rome?

JMN57

I'd start by pricing out with AutoEurope to see what is reasonable. If those numbers work for you, then you are done. If not, then you can dig around for other options.

One thing to pay attention to are the insurance coverages and deductibles. You need to explicitly note those as often times the really cheap rentals come with sky high deductibles. If you don't get into an accident, that's fine. But if you do, you won't be happy to find out that the deductible is 8000E.

YVR Cockroach

Hertz and Sixt have always offered me the best OW rates within Italy. Standard AAA discount code for Hertz, platinum code for Sixt.

Up In The Air

It'd be sensible to seriously consider using a global company.

Using local companies, or going through comparison sites or brokers might seem attractive, but you really do need to read the small print. (You sometimes might be asked for a large deposit before they'll give you the car – and this might not have been clear at the time of booking.)

Global companies also get up to tricks. Never use the fuel pre-purchase option in Europe. Always opt to bring the car back full. You may also be asked if you wish to purchase extra insurance to reduce your excess in case of theft or damage. These insurances are very useful, but can be purchased through specialist insurance companies, whose premiums work out much less than those offered by the car rental companies. I use http://www.insurance4carhire.com which I find excellent – but there are other companies that offer similar products.

stefanaccio

Got cheated last month by Hertz concessionaire at Pescara airport in Italy. Before you turn car in take a photo of the dashboard showing the mileage and gas gauge; also a couple of photos of the outside of the car. You will not be sorry if one of my fellow co-nationals tries to pull a trick on you (more common if you use a USA credit card).

Perche

But it happens just as often in the US. Avis tried to pin a huge collision repair bill on me, plus charge me for loss of use of the car while it was being fixed. Luckily I had photos, mailed them to my credit card company. They protested the charge, and I won. I would just hope that people don't think this is an italian thing. Like purse snatching, it can happen anywhere.

Hawk Circle

FWIW, I've started escalating my fraudulent charge protection by taking a quick smartphone video in addition to photos when returning rental cars.

lhrsfo

Sadly, you are correct, but I do believe that it is much more prevalent in Italy than in the US. Car rental in Italy is far less common and heavily tourist-orientated, which allows them greater latitude in getting away with it.