Italy car rentals - Hertz - pricing question
Jul 2nd, 2012, 12:47 PM
#1
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Italy car rentals - Hertz - pricing question
I'm US-based, planning a trip to Italy in the fall. I see that car rental prices are considerably lower if I try to book something on the Hertz.it site, as opposed to the Hertz.com site (like, about 50% less). Is there a downside to doing this (liability maybe)? Maybe the system would reject my US credit card in the payment process at the outset and it's moot, or maybe this is a loophole that they haven't closed yet. Any thoughts appreciated.
Jul 2nd, 2012, 01:36 PM
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If I were you, I would book through AutoEurope or one of the other reliable consolidators. Renting in Italy is tricky. You credit card- associated CDW (Collision Damage Waiver)most likely is not recognized and you will have to buy additional insurance. Some credit card companies (I believe AMXCO is still one of them)won't even let you charge the rent on their card.
Jul 2nd, 2012, 02:21 PM
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I think you're not comparing apples and oranges. The cheaper site includes certain insurances that you would need to add anyway. I used Hertz.com a year ago for Italy and again a few months ago for France. I booked my reservation, but continued to check the site. As the trips got closer, I found the same car at a lower rate. I would book and then go back and cancel the earlier reservation. This defies logic, but it happened on both trips and I saved a lot, especially on the trip to France.
Jul 2nd, 2012, 03:06 PM
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If you plan to visit neighboring countries anyhow, it's cheaper to rent a car outside Italy. You rent a car in France, or even Switzerland, and drive into Italy. Yes, as mentioned, many CC companies are still listing Italy in their "black list" when it comes to CDW insurance coverage.
Jul 2nd, 2012, 03:21 PM
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To add to my previous post: If you do take my advice, renting a car outside Italy, you better check in advance that you can drive into Italy. Last year when I was shopping around, at least one car rental agency would not allow traveling their cars into Italy... Sounds weird, but it did happen.
