aussie_10

We haved booked our rental car to pick up on a saturday morning in La Spezia. The rental company is Hertz, I have read some negatives recently for Hertz car rental in Italy.

Does anyone have some suggestions to make this tranisition as smooth as possible. Has anyone rented through Hertz in La Spezia?

aussie_10

Oh my gosh. So sorry for the typo in the title, thats what I get for rushing the post! Wish I could just delete it and start again.

My apologies

bobthenavigator

I would not worry---you will be fine.
Did you book via Autoeurope? If so, do not forget their toll free # to resolve problems.

zoecat

I rented a car a few years ago in La Spezia from Hertz (through either autoeurope or kemwel- I don't remember which one) and had no problems or issues. From the La Spezia train station, I took a 10 minute taxi ride to the Hertz office. The Hertz people were friendly and efficient.

aussie_10

Thanks Bob, we booked through an Aussie consolidator called Driveaway at a travel show that had a good rate. I did look at a suggestion that you gave for Autoeurope but in the end the chance to chat on the phone locally sealed the deal. I took your previous suggestion and hope to stop in Lucca for a few hours on the way to Montepulciano.

Zoecat, we will have luggage to haul so a 10 min taxi ride sounds good. Are they readily available at the train station we will be arriving from Cinque Terre.

zoecat

Finding a taxi will not be a problem.

ekscrunchy

For next time:

You can chat locally with AutoEurope in Australia:

http://www.autoeurope.com.au/contact.cfm

aussie_10

Ah thank you ekscrunchy I did not know Autoeurope had an Australian office.

They have some good rates. Now I have to decide if it is worth my trouble to change, cancel etc.

We have booked a compact car and they say peugot 308 or similar. We will have 4 people for part of the time and I am wondering if we will all fit. ugh!

ekscrunchy

Call AE and talk to them about your concerns. Even if you do not decide to book with them, they can give you the information and then you can decide whether or not to cancel the first booking. AE lets you cancel without charge, so I presume the other booking company will do the same, but who knows....

kybourbon

Did you pay in advance? Hertz does dynamic currency conversion if you pay in Italy.

aussie_10

I have prepaid the total rental amount as it was an earlybird special payable by March 31st in Aust dollars. I read their terms & conditions I think I may be able to cancel without fees (there is a proviso if the third party wants to charge a fee).

I rang Autoeurope Aust but was on hold for 30mins and gave up. I will try another day. According to their online quote the compact car is a c3 citroen which looks quite small. They then have an Astra station wagon which may hold the luggage better - its price is still less than my quote. Oh the dilemma!

irishface

I remember that the Hertz people were pleasant and efficient. I am glad that they told you to take a taxi, as they told us that it was a short walk from the train station in La Spezia. We walked and walked. We went through a market and did pick up fixings for a picnic and then showed the address for Hertz. A friendly fellow walked us part way there through a maze of streets until we were at a straight walk. We spent the next five days exploring byways on the way to Venice where we ditched the car. All went smoothly at the Venice end as well. Hope you have as wonderful trip as we did.

bobthenavigator

Get the wagon---you will need it for luggage.

ekscrunchy

Please keep in mind that the models shown on the AE online site are but a small portion of the models that are actually available for rental. I've booked with AE quite a few times and found that a phone call will yield many options--both car models but also prices and rental agencies--that are not shown online.

aussie_10

Yes Bob I am leaning towards the wagon. We will go into the local Peugot dealer this weekend & try and have a look at a 308.

ekscrunchy I will try to ring them again today. I originally went with the Driveaway people as they were based in Australia and I could easily talk to them on the phone (of course at that stage I did not know Autoeurope had a base in Aust). I think Autoeuropes online quote was with Europecar (this is based on the pick up address and I could be completely wrong)

Irishface thank you for your positive feedback and good wishes for our trip. We also like to wander the hills and byways and hope to do that whilst we have our car in Tuscany. We did that in France last trip and just loved it.

rosco111

Hi guys. I have just been through this scenarios after reading travel suggestions online. It was a NIGHTMARE. DO NOT use Hertz LA spezia. They are hopeless and don't care. I booked and paid for a car 2 months in advance thought Hertz in Australia and when I got to Hertz La Spezia on the given day, they made me stand there waiting for 30 minutes before announcing they had no cars. They couldn't tell me when they would get a car but it wouldn't be for at least 4 days. Then they proceeded to act like they were the victims and blamed head office. It was a 40 degree day, there wasn't another rental vehicle available in the town because it was the height of the season. My lazy 4 hour drive to Orvieto turned into a nightmare 10 hour train journey via Pisa and Florence. I use a walking stick and had to run for trains and drag heavy luggage up and down railway stairs. It was just horrible. I was to make a rendezvous at 4 pm that day. I missed it by 5 hours. The flow on effects from this were immense. Holiday ruined. I got my money back from Hertz finally but no apology, no explanation, no contact. It doesn't matter who you book through, they just do whatever the hell they want anyway. If I was doing this trip again I would plan all my travel by train.

aussie_10

Hi Rosco. sad to hear of your very bad experience.
When we arrived at the Hertz office it was very busy and after about a 30 min wait we were finally served.

I agree not much customer service, But at least we got a car! It was a nice Lancier and was lovely to drive.

We dropped it off at Florence airport, now that was a stressful experience!

sandralist

If you are renting a car in Italy it makes sense to book through a consolidator like AutoEurope, because they deal with more than one rental company and office. So if you show up at the Hertz office and they tell you they have no cars, AutoEurope is then responsible for getting you a car -- you have a contract with them -- even if it means dealing with another office.

In Rosco's case, AutoEurope might have been able to find a car at Pisa or Florence.

nytraveler

Running out of reserved cars is not unknown even in the US. In NYC on summer weekend they often run out of cars and have to drive them in from Philly or somewhere. If you are a gold member they will hold a car for you - but if not - or a walk up - good luck.

Have had to do this twice when DH's car was in shop and mine was too small. Both times saw people just sitting and waiting for car to arrive or be turned in.