My husband and I are traveling to Northern Italy in September and are planning on renting a car for 12 days (picking up the car at Malpensa and dropping it off in Venice). The cheapest Autoeurope is charging for a compact car is almost 1100 dollars. Is this a routine rate? It is almost double what we paid last year when we rented a car in France for a similar amount of time. Does anyone have any suggestions on renting less expensively?

Also, where is the best place to drop off the car in Venice? We are staying at a small inn near the Rialto.

Thanks.

Hi just,

Italy now requires CDW.

Try www.novarentacar.com

If it is significantly lower, ask Autoeurope if they will match it.

Thanks, Ira,

I just looked at Novarental amd the price was almost half of Autoeurope- about $600. The best deals were quoted from "auto europa." Have you or anyone else dealt with this company? It sure sounds like a good deal. It looks like we'll have to return the car at the airport in Venice and take transport from there. What's the best way to make that connection? Again, thanks.

Italy has mandatory CDW and the tax on rental cars is (I believe 20%). You have to know what is included to compare between offers.

In Europe, 7 day rentals get a discount. I recommend that you price the your rental at 14 days as well.

We paid Autoeurope a little less than half that for seven days in a compact (Alfa 147 I think).

AutoEurope should match that $600 rate you found through Nova. Are you renting an automatic or stick shift? Automatics are usually much more expensive than straight, so you may want to learn to drive a stick shift since you're not leaving until September.

Thanks, Doble and Betsy.

I compared manual compacts on both sites. Since I'm going for 12 days, I think the suggestion of pricing 2 weeks makes sense. I'll try that. I'll also try getting autoeurope to match. What is this auto-europa? Is that a European Hertz?

I know that there has been much discussion about the size of car to drive in Europe, but wanted to ask again what Fodorites think. A smaller car makes sense because of driving small and winding Italan roads and parking in little villages. It is more economical in terms of gas and the price of rental. Yet, a larger car has more power for the mountains and would be safer in an accident. So, I guess my question is what do you rent when abroad in Europe?

Also, has anyone used a navigational system in a rental? Someone suggested I try it, but it seems expensive and could add incentive for theft.

Thanks, Margret

Margret,

We returned last week from Northern Italy. We picked up our car at the Venice airport and returned it to Malpensa.

I looked around for rates and got the best deal from Thrifty. Dollar is also in those 2 cities. We paid about $88USD/day. We had a compact automatic Mercedes Smart Car. My husband is 6'4" and was able to drive in it and fit fairly comfortably. A few times I had to get out out of the car and help him maneuver through some small passageways.

I don't have the contract in front of me, but we took the larger deductible which was about $1100 - so maybe that kept the rate down.

Good luck and enjoy the trip.

There are smaller acrs then the Alfa that we rented. The Alfa was a 1.9 liter turbo diesel. Horsepower (torque) was plentiful. Probably due to the turbo.

It was a four door and we were able to put our 24" tall cases/backpacks in the trunk. A much larger siutcase might have to go in the backseat.

We took the car through one pass in the Italian Alps. The car performed fine.

Margret:
Auto Europa looks suspiciously like Auto Europe to me! I just entered that name into Google and got an Italian language website, including the Auto Europe icon. You might want to get back to Auto Europe and find out why their affiliate in Italy is charging so much less than the stateside version. Additionally, Auto Europe is forever running some kind of discount -spring, summer, etc. which ought to apply to their original rate.

We will be picking up an Audi A4 in Munich and leaving it in Italy, a 15 day rental, priced at $1320. No CDW required by Germany (we charge with a VISA gold) but there is a $500 drop off fee. I think you can argue for a better rate.

Mestre might be a good drop off point. It sits just outside Venice, the airport is located there, and you can get a water taxi to take you and your luggage into Venice. Just count your change when you buy the taxi ticket!
Carol L