Umbria in June 2011 - How far in advance to arrange for a rental car?
 

Having never rented a car in Italy, one of the questions I have is how far in advance is it advisable to reserve one. We're not going until June, so I assume that sometime after the first of the year would be alright, but I'd like to know what you do. Is there a time frame in which prices are better?

We'll possibly rent and return at FCO, but that's certainly not set in stone. I have read that it is cheaprer to rent at non airport locations, so I am thinking of how to make that work too. All of that will depend upon where we fly in and out of and I won't know that for a while.

Any ideas?

It used to be that Italy was less expensive to rent a car at a non airport or non train location. There was a 20% airport fee attached to the rental and sometimes even at the station. But I haven't rented in a while.

I always make my rental reservations as quickly as possible. You have to check with the rental company. Some charge a fee for a change in reservations. It is a very small fee but it can be charged.

Once you make the reservation, you can always contact the company if you see that there has been a reduction. I know Auto Europe/Kemwel will adjust the cost if this happens.

Some companies will not rent quite a bit in advance. It is just trial and error. I have never found a rental cost to be cheaper really close to the date of travel. Maybe some others have. And sometimes you can get a better price if you prepay. But maybe you don't want to tie up your money for that length of time.

Read all of the fine print to compare apples to apples. There can be a lot of variation and sometimes the difference isn't immediately noticed especially with insurance in Italy.

You have lots of time and can shop around for a good deal. Good luck.

Another question I would ask when you check around is when your credit card will be charged, and the cancellation policy or penalties in case you need to change your plans.

Do you need an automatic? Sometimes they are only available from airports, and they are not as plentiful as manuals, so if you need one, you might want to reserve early rather than late.

Where are you going in Umbria? There are rental offices in Orvieto, Foligno and Perugia, all of which are easily reachable by public transporation from Rome airport. Even if you pick up a rental at an airport, you can drop it off someplace else if that's more convenient (or vice versa).

Thanks for the quick responses so far.

Sher, you're right I have lots of time to get this right, but thanks for the tips. It helps.

Thanks zeppole. We don't need an automatic. We will be in Spello for several nights, so Foligno might be a good choice to pick up the car if we train in from Rome. Orvieto is on our to visit list, so picking up the rental car there after a day of seeing the city or perhaps after spending the night there might be a plan as well.

I bounce back and forth between picking a car up at the airport and hitting the road immediately or spending the night some place and getting a fresh start the next day. It was suggested to me to pick up the car at FCO. Drive to Orvieto and spend the night and then head off on our adventure the next day. All of those details will work themselves out in time I suppose.

I guess I need to nail down departure and arrival airports/cities and then start looking for the best deals.

Any other input about when to start looking?

It doesn't matter when to start looking if you don't need something special like an automatic or a child seat. I've rented months in advance, and a day or two before I traveled. Auto Europe, which is the outfit I always use, will refund you the difference if the exchange rate changes dramatically or they have a major sale that you notice, or if you find another company that has a cheaper rate, so it's always safe to rent from them.

Next June is a long way away. I wouldn't even be thinking about the rental at this point.

ttt

We will be renting a car the first week of July 2011 in France. I don't plan on making the reservation until at least March. I think 4 months is sufficient time. I have been tracking prices through AutoEurope and Kemwel every few weeks just for an idea for our budget.

Thanks trvlgirlmq, that's sort what I've been doing and what I had in mind as well.

One can think about somehting without acting upon it.

I will give you my standard response: I always take the train from Rome to Orvieto, a one hour non stop trip. I arrive lunchtime, take the funicular to Orvieto Alto, walk to I Sette Consoli for lunch, take the funicular back to the station and walk 1/2 block to the Hertz office. (Make it a long lunch since the Hertz guys may close for the early afternoon.) I guess I've done this a half dozen times.

If you don't need an automatic, it might be better to rent a car in Orvieto. I can see the appeal of just getting a car at FCO and avoiding taking train into Rome and then train to Orvieto, but there is a hefty airport surcharge. We are going to Umbria in September and are picking a car up at FCO because my sister cannot/will not drive stick and we could not get an automatic in Orvieto but it works out fine because she can drive straight to FCO to take a flight. We reserved a car many months ago.

Thanks DRJ and SAB.

Bill- When we get a car a FCO we make reservations at a couple of different car rental. Why? Because having been in the car rental business we know that many cars are not returned when they are scheduled but the car rental companies make reservations as though they are, i.e. cars are booked on expected returns. One time at FCO the automatic we reserved was "expected" back very soon--after soon became an hour, we just went to another provider who cost more but had the car.

Another tip, if you need to use a coupon or voucher (which we usually do) they are usually only honored by a "corporate held" location. Independent, franchise location often do not honor them--they don't have to.

Thanks for the tips SAB.

I would have to disagree about the airport surcharge. When you consider having to take a train from FCO to Roma Termini, then Termini to yet another destination, the cost of two pairs of train tickets is usually more than the charge to pick up the car at the airport. I have done it both ways and find that just getting the car at the airport saves both time and headaches.