Thanks to the referrals of many forumites, I called Auto Europe for a quote on a rental car for Italy next spring. Their customer service so far is great! When they came up with a much higher rate than what I had found at Budget's Intl website, they ran the numbers through the site themselves and then offered me a few Euros less that Budget's rate. Because I understand their service to be great if needed when in country, I definitely would like to use them if we can work it out.

The guy told me that the price was inclusive of all the taxes, fees, etc, including CDW and theft. However, it comes with a deductible of 1800 Euros for CDW and theft. This is a lot of money! Is this typical for a rental in Italy? Should I be looking elsewhere or doing something different? Is this something typically covered by a Visa or Mastercard? I seldom rent cars and have never rented overseas, so this is all new territory to me.

They did say that they have specials coming up with no deductible, so I could call then and they would change my reservation if I wanted to.

Thanks for your input!
karen

Credit cards will not cover the deductible for Italy.

You might try getting a World Mastercard. This type of card covers Ireland when no other car will do so.

OOps! that's supposed to be "no other card."

sounds very high.

That is very high. Have you tried Auto Europe's sister company, Kemwel? I have found that lately their prices are better and have no deductable. Kemwel will provide the same service as AE.

http://www.kemwel.com/index.cfm

<i>Kemwel will provide the same service as AE.</i>

Not always. I found a lower rate weekly from Kemwel for a rental in Norway, but the rental agency Kemwel contracted with added a one-way fee which raised the rate considerably above AE's. The funny thing is that the agent on the phone was the same person.

Italy is a special case. Insurance is seldom (ever??) covered by credit cards. Try Kemwel and then follow up on the specials AE mentioned. I don't see a reason you must book this far ahead so unless Kemwel has a great rate - I'd wait and check out the special/sale later. Then go w/ whichever (AE/Kemwel/Budget/whoever) has the best rates.

Car Rental Express, while I'm not a fan anymore due to an overcharge, does a $0 deductible (or used to) in Italy and their prices were often lower than AutoEurope. HOWEVER, they ticked me off by overcharging me $200 the last time I used them and never answered any of the multiple emails I sent to them.

dave

I would recommend considering purchasing the zero deductible coverage. This will increase the cost for your car by up to 30%, but we have found it to be great peace of mind. Also, when you call Kemwel/AE, ask them to check the price as though it was booked from the country in which you will be travelling. Do NOT misrepresent your nationality, but just ask them to compare the price that would be quoted to a European traveler. On two occasions, they have matched that price for me.

Hi; I don't understand what AE means when they say they have 'specials' coming up. What they have quoated you is mandatory insurance in Italy, 'WITH EXCESS'. No excess means a high deductable in Italy. You need to find insurance with 'NO EXCESS' and that will cost you extra per day. That will greatly reduce the deductable. I usually e-mail the company to find out exactly what the deductable will be. Try these companies. They are similar to AE in that they deal with many major companies. Richard www.novacarhire.com/ or www.economycarhire.com/ or www.carrentals.com/ to name a few.

A mistake. 'With excess' means a high deductable.

"<i>I don't understand what AE means when they say they have 'specials' coming up. What they have quoated you is mandatory insurance in Italy</i>"

Sometimes AE runs sales/specials w/ extra perks -- lower rates, free upgrades, or sometimes things like excess included in the rate. I'm assuming that is what the AE agent meant - that they have some rate/insurance coverage specials coming up.

Hi; I agree with everything 'janisj' said. However the point I was trying to make [poorly] was that the Agent should have been able to quote two rates. One that was quoted, 'with excess' [high deductable] and another that was not quoted, 'no excess' [low deductable]. Richard

Thank you, everyone, for your helpful posts. I'm so glad I asked! I'm convinced that we want the insurance to eliminate the deductible, so I'm going to have to figure out the wisest way to do this. I did submit a request for a quote to Kemwel, so hopefully they will have something back to me tomorrow.

I was wondering, does anyone know if there is a reputable company that issues travel insurance (baggage, delays, etc) that also includes coverage for car rental excess/deductible? Is this even a good idea?

thanks!
karen

Hello karen. Go to insuremytrip.com and reveiw all the insurance companies and the coverages they offer to see if you can find one that suits what you are looking for. You should see toll free phone numbers to call if you have additional questions.

1200 euros is average - from a UK access to AE we receive quotes for hire with and withour excess - the quotes without excess are usually around 5%. Most hire companies also offer additional policies to ensure against loss of excess.

I would personally never hire with a liability for an excess it leaves you open to abuse.

try mycarhire.com - german outfit and with good rates and Budget deals with no excess.

I looked around and I found some companies who sell excess insurance. Here is an example: www.worldwideinsure.com. It's fairly cheap compared to what the car rental agencies want. Does anyone have an opinion about if this is a good way to do it?

At first glance, it appears that they only insure citizens of the UK and EU, but for the excess policy the insured can live in any country.

thanks!
karen