Hello,

Has anyone used Autoeurope for car rentals and how do their rates compare to Avis, Hertz etc. What insurance should we take to have 0 deductable. We will be paying using American Epress Gold.
Thanks

Sorry we will be traveling in Italy.
Tuscany region.
Robdeb

Try a search in the text field for AutoEurope. Many people have asked the same question and you'll be able to see the dozens of responses, most of them favorable.

Numerous participants in the forum have used AutoEurope and most, including myself, have reported favorable experiences with the company.

Check with your credit card company to determine if they automatically provide certain types of rental car insurance coverage. With my Platinum Visa cards, I usually don't have to buy any CDW.

AutoEurope is fabulous. As others have said, do a search on this forum and you'll see.

Amex Gold does not cover all insurance in Europe as of several years ago - at least mine doesn't. My gold Mastercard does, and that's what I now use.

We've used AutoEurope a couple of times and find the rates better than booking directly through Hertz, which both bookings were through.

My one attempt to rent through AutoEurope was a disaster. The rental office (Kenning in Dover) refused to rent the car (a beat-up Fiesta) without a £10,000 credit card deposit (to be billed immediately) when I insisted on declining their CDW.

Since then I've never been tempted to try them again, especially since I've always been able to rent directly from Avis or Hertz for much less. Our 15-day rental in France this May was $272 from Avis; AutoEurope wanted well over $400.

Rented a small Fiat from Avis through AutoEurope before trip to Italy last year, with absolutely no problems. Rate quoted was the absolute final total with no sneaky add-ons later. Picked up car from Avis in Siena ultimately dropped off at FCO, which was a horror story in itself. Drop off was not the fault of Autoeurope of Avis, rather lack of good signage at FCO.

JP -

Have you asked Autoeurope if they'd match the rates you've found with Hertz and Avis? I believe it's their policy to do so. They will also lower rates once you've booked if you find something cheaper before your pickup date. But you have to ask.

The problems you experienced sound as if they were with the local rental office, not Autoeurope. And I'm betting they would have intervened on your behalf if you'd called their 24-hour number and asked them to do so.

We've used Autoeurope several times, and it's always been a positive experience. They are brokers, not a rental agency, so often the cars will be from the local Avis or Hertz, or Europcar. And they do advertize that they will match anyone's prices, I believe.

We've used both Nova Rentacar (several times) and Autoeurope (twice) as our rental brokers with no problems.

We have used AutoEurope 3 times now - twice in Italy and once in Ireland - and would highly recommend them. On Karen Brown's web site, there is her ID# 12008470 that you can use for a 5% disc. and occas. free upgrade. I always give them that # after they've quoted me a price. I also always ask for a free upgrade and sometimes I get one and sometimes I don't.
My husband sells insurance for AAA-Michigan and he says our auto insurance will not cover us in Europe so we always opt for the extra insurance that carries no deductible. The $ is worth the piece of mind.