>According to their (AE) website, you can rent a car for one day in Florence. <

So, you can.

Thanks, ek.

I don't get all of this.... AutoEruope (based in the US) covers all of the insurance. We have never been asked if we wanted enhanced CDW. We brought back a dented car and told them at the desk. The agent said, "Don't worry, you're completely covered."

The original poster mentioned he rented a car from AutoEurope in Florence.....unless he made the reservation before, he couldn't have rented from AutoEurope. He said he did get all the necessary insurance. AutoEurope already comes with theft, fire, CDW, etc, ect. You don't have to purchase more.

The OP said he would post more info when he had a chance to look at the letter again. I personally think we should just wait til he does (or doesn't ) so we know what really happened.

I forgot to mention that when we called AutoEurope to tell them we had dented the car, they told us we had to deal with the rental company. Even though they cover you with all of the insurance, they purchase it through the rental company at a greatly discounted price. We never paid a penny for the dent and that was a year ago.

Ira: Just so you know for next time, you can rent a car from Auto Europe for less than 3 days in most locations. We have done it several times in different countries...

Now, back to the subject at hand....

Here are all the facts.
I rented through AutoEurope before I left the U.S. I was told to pick up the car in Florence at the Auto Europa office in downtown Florence.
The registered letter I recieved three weeks later was from a broker called ASC broker- Sicily by Car. I did have the CDW ins. I made sure of that. It was included in the quote I recieved. The letter stated that "the charges were due to damages occurred to the not insured parts of the rented vehicle". The box for vehicle plates was checked.

Ok, Got it. Good luck with your claim and let us know how it turns out so if it happens to us we know what to do.

I know everyone says to take pictures of the car when they ok it. I have to say....I never do and I guess we should.

I like that..."oh, you wanted the licence plate insured? I'm sorry, that's XXX euro more". What nerve

I used AutoEurope last week to rent a car in Florida (provided through Dollar), and the license plate was so twisted I thought it would fall off the car.

Auto Europe contracting with Auto Europa is a new one on me.

I would call Auto Europe Customer Service and tell them your story. You may be getting scammed by Auto Europa, and I'm sure Auto Europe would be interested to hear about it. I would also write a letter to Customer Service and document the facts (no embellishments) and tell the CS person you will FAX it to him/her as a follow up. I had a similar problem this year, and a FAX seemed to break the "logjam".

Licence plates for 600E??? - wow - I would like to see that plate.

Stu Dudley

I did call Auto Europe in there U.S. office yesterday and they are going to investigate it. The agent I spoke to sounded amazed when I told him the letter said the damage was to the licence plate.
When I get an update I will post. Thanks

Call Auto Europe late next week to see if there is any "news" from Auto Europa. I would still FAX them an "information" document. My communication floundered a bit with them this year until I sent a FAX after one of my subsequent follow-up calls. On two occasions, Auto Europe did not receive any supportive info from the rental agency (Auto Europa in your case), so they refunded the money to me themselves.

Stu Dudley

The information on Auto Europa's website states:

CAR PROTECTION PLUS INCLUDES :
- total elimination of the damage penalty ;
- total elimination of the theft penalty ;
- accessory services include :
- exempts the customer of the payment of the cost to reinstatement of: windshield, glasses in general, tyres, parts beneath the vehicle, roof ;

CAR PROTECTION PLUS does NOT include:
- Loss and/or damages and/or theft of the car papers. In such cases, client will be charged for a supplement of 200,00 + 20% VAT;
- Loss and/or damages and/or theft of the car keys. In such cases, client will be charged for a supplement of 200,00 + 20% VAT;
- Loss and/or damages and/or theft of the registration plates (or even just one of them). In such cases, client will be charged for a supplement of 360,00 + 20% VAT.
-
- It is NEVER possible to eliminate the responsibility regarding damages to tapestry and interiors, to mechanical parts caused by negligence and /or carelessness of the driver.

- damages to the vehicle for violation of the Traffic Regulation Code.

According to this info even if you did damage them or they were stolen, the charge should be 360,00 Euros plus VAT...this information should also be in your rental contract. It seems to me like they are gouging you in excess of their written policy.

I've always had very good customer service with Auto Europe and I'm sure if they can help you solve the issue with Auto Europa they will do their best. They are however only a broker or middleman.

Good luck...I hope it gets resolved.

A slight update. After having two conversations with C.S. rep a couple of weeks ago I recieved an email from Auto Europe asking for copies of what I recieved from Auto- Europa. this is the email I recieved.

Your fax was received, and thanks for sending this to me. I will advise you as soon as the matter has been settled, and I deeply regret any inconvenience

..good news Mike.. As a suggestion, I am really quite neurotic about looking at any car I rent with a fine tooth comb when I pick it up. I make sure any little dings are noted by the agency. When I return, I insist on another walk around with the agency so no surprises...I even once took a picture of a rather odd scratch that had 2 components..and sure enough I had it on the camera when the agency walked around with me.

I am not as easily convinced about this whole thing.... and meanwhile we have a post that keeps popping up entitled "Auto Europe car rental- Beware!"
Has the OP admitted to:
the fact that the culprit is not Auto Europe? that if the letter came from Italy it was Sicily By Car (aka Auto Europa!!!)
A broker named ASC ??? more probably a reference to premium location drop-off (airport) and that broker paid it... that is usually what ASC means
that AutoEurope is fulfilling their obligation... they are investigating and apologized for the agency and said they have never heard of such a thing

...meanwhile the title of the post lives on

Travel Bunny: We also take pictures of before and after. Sometimes there isn't (as in Palermo airport) an agent in the lot where you drop the car off. So it is very important never to delete the before and after pictures for a very long time.

As I mentioned before, we rented through Auto Europe in Sicily and had an Avis car. We didn't buy the extra insurance. We told the agent inside the airport that we had a dent. He said it was ok because we were completely covered. That was over an year ago and I haven't heard another word. We have kept the pictures.

I agree with robjame.

mike, you should ask the editors to remove this thread because the title is clearly an unfair and misleading attack on Auto Europe.

Jim

I agree with deleting this post because AutoEurope is an excellent company. The original poster mentions that they are trying to take care of it. If you search AutoEurope on this site you will see the vast majority of people swear by them. I wouldn't rent from anyone else.

Well, when this problem first occured I did not realize Auto Europe was just the broker. I was so angry to get a bill for over 900.00 dollars for something I did not do. I just new that is the company I made the reervation with. When this matter is resolved I will HAPPILY praise Auto Europe.