Car Rental in Italy
 

We will be in Sardinia for 9 days in July and are looking up car rentals (we need an automatic so I'm trying to plan ahead). I found a good price with Sardinya but am not sure about adding on the SuperKasco and theft insurance or having the 1000 "credit card lock" and paying less for the car rental. Whenever we rent a car within the US we decline the insurance since we have our own insurance but I don't know how it works in Italy.

Thanks

I'm pretty sure that theft insurance is mandatory, though Sandra may be along to advise.

SuperKasco?

Yes I think Super Kasco must cover damage? This is how they worded it in the email to me.

I remind you: since you have not requested the special covers Superkasco and Supertheft (in order to eliminate the excess of euro 1000,00 for car damages, theft and fire), you must release a guarantee, only with a lock on your credit card of euro 1000,00. Because of a recent italian low (LAW. ART.12 D.L. 201 06/12/2001- maximum payment by cash euro 999,00), it is not possible to give the guarantee of euro 1000,00 by cash. You can remove this responsability including the Superkasco (euro 12,00 per day) and the Supertheft ( Euro 5,00 for day). Only in this case the deposit would be euro 300,00 (cash/credit card) and the total amount of the rent would be euro 639,00.

You US auto insurance covers nothing in europe. For many countries your credit cards provide coverage - but it depends on which specific card you have. And very few cover either Italy (due to high incidence of theft) or Ireland (due to high incidence of accidents) and so you really must buy insurance from the rental agency.

Do check your credit cards - I know AmEx has an option but not sure if it covers Italy - and it may not cover a higher priced car (and cars are much more expensive in europe than in the US). Some limit insurance to $30K - which will cover a small car but may well not cover a medium sized automatic.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...e-in-italy.cfm

http://www.reidsitaly.com/planning/g...r_savings.html

note that different car rental companies may have different deductibles related to car damages, ranging from $125-$1180 (according to Autoeurope.com)

Yes, theft insurance is mandatory in Italy.

Can they absolutely guarantee you an automatic? I've never known a European car rental outfit that can do that (though most people seem to get them if they reserve in advance from large rental outfits at airports and train stations).

Be very careful when hiring a car on the Italian islands. I have rented 16 cars on Sicily and Sardinia. We have had issues with 5 rentals, none of which we down to our actions.

On Sardinia we have experienced attempted surcharges for scratches that didn't exist, scratches that existed prior to our rental and wait for it....a e50 cleaning charge because there was sand in the car.

Generally, in Europe the customer service levels in relation to car hire are far lower than those in the US.

For Europeans, AutoEurope always work out to be very competitive. It may not be the same for US residents who rent in Europe.

I would always suggest limiting your total insurance liability to either a predefined excess or to a zero excess.

Thanks everyone!! I will ask my credit card company regarding insurance (we have Chase). I did contact AutoEurope as I have used them for a rental car a couple of years ago in France but they said that the automatic car would need to be brought in from Rome so that didn't sound very promising. Sardinya Rent a Car said they have an automatic on-site so even though their price is slightly higher I feel more confident about actually getting the automatic. They have very high reviews on trip advisor and have been responsive so far via email.

Perhaps the rental includes the mandatory theft insurance but "Supertheft" is something additional? When they wrote me it said:

I remind you: since you have not requested the special covers Superkasco and Supertheft (in order to eliminate the excess of euro 1000,00 for car damages, theft and fire), you must release a guarantee, only with a lock on your credit card of euro 1000,00. You can remove this responsability including the Superkasco (euro 12,00 per day) and the Supertheft ( Euro 5,00 for day).

It might be wise to get their terms in Italian rather than in their imperfect English. Then a decent translation may give you more accuracy to help make your decision.

It sounds like a simple insurance policy for a potential loss of you excess on the main policy.

And the cover doesn't reduce the excess/deductible to zero but only to 300 euro. See whether you can do better with your credit card cover or another, standalone policy. There are many such policies in Europe, but many are only for EU residents. https://www.icarhireinsurance.com/ covers US residents.