>has automatic transmission
Except for those rented in France :-( Quel Dommage!

I don't think any US credit cards cover CDW in Italy at all.

So you are paying for some coverage with the rental and then you can pay extra to not pay a high deductible.

I guess in Sicily it would be a similar situation?

Like others, over many occasions I have not had any problems renting automatic transmission vehicles from larger cities in France; I would consider Caen in that category. My rentals have been Europcar or Avis through AutoEurope.

However, my one experience reserving a car in a smaller location -- Chartres -- did have a couple of glitches. (So OP, IMO I'd avoid picking up a rental in Amboise.) Like others have mentioned, the main issue was that the agency's only automatic was not available despite my having a reservation in hand. (In my case, the car was in the shop for repairs.) Despite my fluency in French, I was very happy to be able to speak to an AutoEurope operator as intermediary, who sorted everything out and made sure a solution was found. We ended up being delayed by an hour or so, but it wasn't a deal-breaker for us on that trip.

OTOH, we had a very pleasant surprise once in Paris, where the cheapy Renault or Citroen that we had reserved was not available and we were upgraded to a brand new Mercedes diesel. dutyfree, I so agree that it's my favorite rental - now I am spoiled!!

One last tip: make sure when you make the reservation that you know where the office is located in relation to "centre-ville". Sadly, I never seem to remember this myself - and on more than one occasion (Chartres, Rennes) have had to take a taxi to get to my rental! LOL

thanks everyone for the excellent advice - a lot to consider! (:

Don't be misled by "I don;t think car rentals in europe are esp expensive" Car hire in France can be 5x more expensive than in Spain. Don't forget: "Europe" isn't a country, any more than "South America" or "Asia" is.

To rent an auto you will be hiring a bigger car than a "normal" local would (about 95% of small cars in France are manuals) so although autos are not much more expensive than manuals of the same size, as a rule you have to be hiring a bigger (and more expensive) car.

You may get an auto in Amboise, but probably not. Amboise is a little country town that survives on bus tours and it only has one car rental place, about a 30 minute walk from the station.

Americans always want automatics. When I rent in Europe, I prefer a diesel with manual transmission. The diesels get great gas mileage and manual transmission helps me get the best performance from otherwise undersized engines.

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