Betsy

I'm helping a friend with rental car rates for Italy in September. There are five adults traveling. Here are the rates he's been quoted (USD) for a two-week rental, and they seem astronomical to me. The first car I ever <i>bought</i> cost half of some of these quotes for a two-week rental! Any advice on how to pare down the cost? Will ask him if this is for manual or automatic and add the info to the thread.

Hertz - Ford Galaxy Van $2360,Opel Zafira $1884, Ford Wagon $1185

Avis - Renault Laguna wagon, $1244 only available

AutoEurope - Fiat Ulysse Van $2239, Ford Galaxy Van $2239, Opel Zafira $1388, Renault Laguna wagon $1337

Bauer Car Rental Italy - Passat Wagon $982, Volvo Wagon $1188

Affordable Car Rental Italy (voucher to Budget) - Full Size Van $1466

Rental Car Europe - Fiat Ulysse Van $1585

kmoncrief

hmmm we paid about 500 for one week,large enough to fit five adults,but not luggage,so that might be correct..

Betsy

Quick update. All are manual except the Volvo.

FlyFish

Cars, especially larger cars, tend to rent in Europe for much higher prices than here in the States. Italy also tends to be one of the more expensive European countries for car rental.

Those prices, particularly the price on the Laguna at Avis (we have a corporate account and I checked quickly) look about right, and I'm virtually certain that most if not all of them would be for manual transmission. I wish I had some clever advice for you, but I think you're not going to find much that will help.

FYI - I've rented both the Passat and Laguna wagons, and the Laguna is quite a bit more roomy - the Passat is a lot more fun to drive, though.

ira

Hi Betsy,

Your lower rates are reasonable.

See http://www.novarentacar.com/

Also try the UK site for AutoEurope
http://www.auto-europe.co.uk/

Marilyn

Hi Betsy! I think it's the van-size car that's driving the rate up. Perhaps your friends would like to check into the price for 2 smaller cars. It might actually be cheaper, as well as giving them more flexibility in their activities. Of course, 2 cars will be a little more expensive for gas and parking (if necessary), but they still might come out ahead.

Betsy

<i>Exactly</i> my thoughts Marilyn!

sandi

...... and realize that in Italy the rental cost includes the CDW insurance. you can't rent a vehicle in Italy without taking the CDW, that's the way it is.

bobthenavigator

Betsy, does not surprise. A car that size is often $100/day. Airport pickup is always higher--what are the assumptions? Autoeurope will always match any other quote--I am a big fan.

mari5

Yes: We rent a car in Europe almost every year and this year I am finding the prices quite a bit higher than before. We have the car rental firmed up for France, but still working on Portugal. (if you can prepay it in the states and walk up to the counter with a paid voucher in had, it sometimes saves a lot of hassle)...and sometimes ,I think it is AutoEurope, will give an extra 5% off by paying right away...and you always get a discount by mentioning your AAA membership) Italy is ALWAYS higher because of the CDW which they insist on, and is built into the price. A few years ago we rented in IReland and were told Ireland and Italy are two of few countries in the world who insist on the CDW...but at that time we got out of it by having a letter from Mastercard saying we were covered. I'm wondering if that works in Italy...certainly worth a try. With 5 adults you do need a larger car and that would account for some of the high prices. But your prices are not too far off for THIS year, I don't think. It's still wonderful to have a car for the convenience and fun and going where you want.....IF you have a good map person and navigator.
We've always liked Hertz (they have a good customer service dept. to adjust any problems when you get back, and AutoEurope is a nice Co. to work with..open 24 hrs (however they sometimes, at the counter, try to scare you into more insurance etc.

vinorosso

I agree, the rental car this year is so much more than last year. I got a quote from Avis for the same car as last year from them, and the price was tons more, like 200-300 more.

jh6000

Hi, Betsy,

I rented a minivan (for 4 people and luggage) back in May through AutoEurope for our September trip (Sept 19- Oct 3). Our rental (9-23 to 10-03 -- 10 full days) is $1388.53. This includes a web-based promotion they had providing perhaps a 10% discount.

Also, I posted my itinerary on the TravelTalk thread about September travelers to Italy. If you are going to be anywhere in the same area at any time, do let me know.

John H.

Betsy

An update from friend Chris. He looked into the AutoEurope UK site and found the following: For a FIat Ducato - largest van available:
Auto Europe UK website - 14 days $1512.29
Auto Europe USA website - 14 days $5109.76!
Italy by Car website - 14 days $1366

Stay tuned...

bobthenavigator

Forget the web site--call Autoeurope at 800-233-5555

Marilyn

Hmmm...this is very interesting. Why would the AutoEurope UK rate be SOOOO much cheaper than the US rate? There must be a catch somewhere...

Patrick

I'm curious about those rates from Auto Europe. How did you get that US dollar price from the UK site? Are you sure it wasn't that many pounds? Or if you converted to dollars, what exchange rate did you figure?

And yes, I agree with Bob the Navigator. The AutoEurope site is fine for initial planning, but I've never failed to call them to confirm before booking and have ALWAYS ended up getting a better price from them when I did.

Betsy

I've passed the info and the URL for this thread along to Chris. Stay tuned.

janis

Perhaps the AutoEurope website is an error. Could be a transposed number. (I find mistakes on-line all the time and the companies are always grateful when I tell them about the errors. I usually get a discount or some other freebie)

But in any case -- I would definitely recommend renting two small cars. They would be cheaper, plus the petrol for two small cars might even be less than a mammoth van. And they would have a lot more flexibility. being connected at the hip 24/7 and being stuck in the back of a minivan on winding Italian roads would NOT be my idea of fun.

rex

I agree with calling autoeurope.com on the phone. They always gave me at LEAST an additional 5% discount for &quot;rent with <i>me</i> today&quot; (I assume that the telephone sales staff work on commissions, or quotas).

The website www.its-cars-hotels.com has $1366 for 9 passenger vans (can be low on creature comforts, in my experience) or 7 passenger Citroen/Renault (FVMR class); $1108 for Volvo 5 psgr wagon, automatic.

In a wagon, I think they might have to be prepared to tie some luggage on the roof. This sounds silly and Beverly Hillbilly-esque - - but I always carry a large (empty) canvas duffel bag (waterproof lining) as a way of consolidating luggage for the return trip (usually buy wine, in 12-24 bottle quantities) - - and more than once, it has served as a make shift rooftop carrier for me. With good use of rope (buy there), I had no problems securing it to the point of causing no problems to the driving, nor to the contents.

Best wishes,

Rex

Patrick

Rex, what a hoot. And if Granny is going along to Europe you can take a rocking chair and strap her to the roof too!!! LOL