Well, I went ahead and bit. I changed my reservation from AutoEurope to Car Rental Express. I LOVE AutoEurope, but I just could not justify the differential between the 2 companies in costs and insurance coverage for the same thing. I'll update the board when we get back to let you know if I got doinked by CRX. I admit, I'm a bit leery about this, but I'm also willing to take a chance.

Here is what I had...(AutoEurope) 9 days, Rome to Palermo, $455. CDW deduct.- $125, Theft deduct. - $300. Inclusive of all other fees, no additional drivers without additional fee.

Here is what I changed to...(CRX) 9 days, Rome to Palermo, $297. CDW and Theft deduct. - $0. Additional driver allowed no cost. Inclusive of all other fees.

So, I'll see how it goes and let you all know. Anyone else have any dealings with CRX? Oh and the actual rental company is Cars Italy and Tours. AutoEurope rental company was Eurocar.

Dave

Hey, I'm on YOUR side. I love AutoEurope, too, but for my upcoming car hire in the UK I got an insurance-inclusive deal through BA on Hertz that AutoEurope couldn't match. Didn't give it a second thought and am sure your deal will work out fine.

I don't have any experience with that company, but I too am an avid renter with AutoEurope we just made a leap to a different company.

We just got back from Croatia, and before our trip I inquired about a car rental for 4 nights. AutoEurope quoted me almost $400. I found a recommendation here for Economycarrental.com and checked it out. Same days, same insurance, and the price was under $200. I was nervous about using them, but everything went without a hitch. We were actually quite impressed with the service and would definitely use them again.

Anyways, I think its always good to shop around. While I love AutoEurope, I couldn't justify spending double and in the end it worked out great.

Good luck!
Tracy

Yeah, a $155 difference in rental cost is one thing, but when you add in the $0 deductible, well that can be worth a few more hundred there (especially in Italy). The additional driving also adds another $75 to the AutoEurope quote.

I admit, I did not call them to see if they would match the price. I figure a quote is a quote and I'm sure they won't match the insurance.

We'll see...

Dave

Hi D,

AE isn't always the cheapest.

However, did you call and ask them if they could meet CRX's price?

I looked at the CRX site. They don't seem to offer drop off at a different location.

How did you do Rome/Palermo?

I used CRX in France and had no problems. Autoeurope is not necessarily the cheapest, but it may fit your bill better than others. For example, only Autoeurope would rent me a car that I would pick up in Porto and leave in Lisbon that would allow me to decline the CDW, and the agencies that offered an inclusive price lower than Autoeurope's would not offer a one way rental.

For Ira...

The CRX site is a pain in the butt. First you do the starting place and date, then they give you rental company options, then you choose the company, then you put in the place(s) and date(s) then you choose the car.

Oops, actually I missed a couple of steps and hit enter before I was finished.

After you choose the company, then you select the car. Then you change the information, which gives you a screen that allows you to enter the other locations. It's all crazy, but it works.

I need some help with the car rental express website. Before I put in my credit card I'd like to know if there are any one-way fees. The "rental terms" discuss this, but it refers to "alpha" & "numeric" rates...what is that?

Nor can I find a phone number.
Anyone out there who's rented from them or can help?!

There are normally no additional fees with CRX. The price quoted is the price. The Alpha classes are relating to your type of car, almost every car they rent works in the best categories.

dave

It is brave people like you that encourage others to think outside the box.

Bravo.

Enjoy Italy.

Dave,
There is no phone number on their site. If something goes wrong on the road (don't say that!), do they give you a number to contact them? Or are we left to the tender mercies of the---as yet unknown---rental company?

Sorry to be a pest. It's not that I'm a worry-wart...I just like to have all my facts lined up before I give someone my cr card info.

JeanneB.
I am pretty sure car rental express is a broker much like the other companies mentioned here, i.e. Kemwel, Auto Europe, etc.

They place you with a company such as Avis, or Budget which probably has a number of the local office.

Thanks, Sher. Car rental is always the hardest part for me. I just looked at the map and it makes no sense to drive Pienza to FCO. We have to bypass Rome and drive a long way out west to the airport.

But CRX doesn't provide drop off in the small towns like Orvieto. I guess my other option is Rome-City (yikes!). Perhaps I'll go ahead and put that in and learn in the final quote just exactly where the city drop off is. Here goes....

Disregard the last post. After studying the map, it's not that far out to FCO. And the map of the city convinced me NO WAY I'm driving there!

We're going to go ahead with CRX. I'll report what I find out.

Yes, CRX is a broker, like AutoEurope. AutoEuropa is an actual car rental firm, like Hertz or Sixt. When you rent the car you do have phone #s to call in case of an emergency.

AutoEurope is an excellent broker, their customer service is fantastic. I simply used CRX because their prices were unbeatable and I learned their service was also very good.

dave

JeanneB

My first time in Italy was with my daughter. We flew into FCO and took a train to Termini and then a train to Florence.

On the way home, I drove from Florence to FCO. It was not that bad at all.

I wouldn't really want to drive into or out of Rome. I know people posted here that they have done that. I applaud them but I guess I am a chicken.

Now when we rent, we are careful but we go for a good price. We are sort of mid budget travelers and $300 or $400 difference on a car rental means something to us.

Good luck.

Dave. Have a great trip. And don't forget the trip report when you return for all of us that would like to be in Italy now but just cannot.

Kemwel seems to work exclusively with AutoEurope.

Oh and in Nice, I waited about an hour to get to the counter. There was only one person working the line and taking forever with one particular client and then about 30 minutes in, they finally had someone else at the counter serve the queue.

Does CRX have good prices on automatics?

scrb. When I have checked AutoEurope for automatics they always want to put us with Europcar. That may change.

And normally I find that their prices for automatics are way off the chart and they do not match because they don't have that particular size or the insurance is different or something.

But I try every time.

I just tried CRX for Ireland in October, but I can't figure out how to request an automatic. Does anyone know?

Ta