Car Hire in Italy

Kebabkid

Hi,
Car hire is is a pet hate of mine as I get paranoid about it and it's due to over-zealous companies in the past trying to get one over on me with supposed scratches and damage etc and so I end up taking out all manner of add-ons.

Any recommendations for reputable companies from Florence Airport?

Thanks

Revolutions

I've never had a problem with hire cars, esp. not in Europe. For reference, I've not owned a car since 2012 & almost all my holidays are road trip based, so I hire a lot of cars.

Experience has led me to stick to the bigger companies, if only because the cars are usually on the airport grounds. My best advice would be try not to worry & it'll likely be fine. 

I rarely bother to take photos of damage, but obvs in a couple of minutes you can get pictures of every part of the car.

In all the years, I only got messed about by one little company in Crete who gave me a super basic car & then wanted to charge me more for a car not as nice as the original one I'd requested. In the end they refunded me minus the day I'd been using the fiat 500 they gave me. Was a bit sketchy as the guy turned pretty aggro when I ask for the refund, but in the end sorted it without issue.

blobb

I booked one of those Alfa Mito's from Pisa airport a few years ago - the idea being that I wanted to drive around all the pretty towns and not get stuck in the small stretes. They 'upgraded' me to a Citroen people carrier. Absolutely the WORST type of car to try threading between ancient walls. Driving in Italy is fun though. There's a reason why most Italian cars are small and covered in dents and scratches. The hire company didn't appear to be bothered about checking on return 'they all come back scratched up'. 

stickyfiddle

I used Sixt last time I was in Italy’s no issues besides the narrow car park at the airport to navigate in & out of, but that was Rome FCO, so hopefully Florence is easier!

For our 10th wedding anniversary trip we used a “posh car hire” type place for a Z4. On the day the Z4 was actually out of action so we got upgraded to a 4 series convertible. The car was still great but also had a “we come to you” style pickup & drop off. I wouldn’t necessarily pay extra for it but it was amazing… 

Kebabkid

Thanks so far for the recommendations

Offset

Can't recommend a car hire company, but I CAN recommend taking out excess insurance  to take some of the worry away.  Think a policy with these guys cost me £85 pa when I renewed last year.

.https://www.insurance4carhire.com/ppc/ppc-brand

oh_pollo

You're not driving into Florence are you?

stickyfiddle

oh_pollo said:

You're not driving into Florence are you?

Driving in Florence is ok!

 It’s parking, and paying the inevitable fines for going the wrong way that they’ll get you!  

drofluf

stickyfiddle said:

oh_pollo said:

You're not driving into Florence are you?

Driving in Florence is ok!

 It’s parking, and paying the inevitable fines for going the wrong way that they’ll get you!  

This! 

The central zone has a lot of restrictions and is very easy to stray into by accident. The signs are very in keeping with the city so very subtle and you’ve entered the zone before you realise it. 

Also beware of the speed cameras on the motorways/dual carriageways; despite a perception of mad Italian driving it’s very easy to get caught 

Kebabkid

No, we're arriving in Florence and driving to Lucca. Having driven before around Italy, mostly Tuscany, I know when to drive and when to take the train, and the drivers out there are nutters and the narrow streets and parking are the least of my worries. In most instances when looking in my rear view mirror, I couldn't see the bonnet of the car behind me as they were that close....at speed!!!

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Just stick with one of the reputable international companies and you should be fine. Avis is generally my company of choice when I've hired cars in Europe. Used them in Sicily and all was fine. 

Whatever you do, don't try and drive in Naples - the drivers and streets there are f*cking nuts!

Offset

Lucca is a great choice @Kebabkid - it's one of my favourite cities in the world.

stickyfiddle

I’ve never found Italy to be bad for driving. Maybe it’s cos I’m used to the Middle East but it’s no worse than the U.K. in my experience, at least outside Rome

Kebabkid

Offset said:

Lucca is a great choice @Kebabkid - it's one of my favourite cities in the world.

Yes, we've stayed there before and it's a good base.

@stickyfiddle - Mike, it's the worse and most dangerous driving I've ever experienced. The constant tailgating at speed, the moments and places they choose to overtake and I've seen at least 4 serious accidents in the few times I've been out there. I just don't get it.

Anyway, I've got some recommendations and Avis sound like a good shout as I've never had an issue with them in different countries.  

Grazie mille

Revolutions

Offset said:

Can't recommend a car hire company, but I CAN recommend taking out excess insurance  to take some of the worry away.  Think a policy with these guys cost me £85 pa when I renewed last year.

.https://www.insurance4carhire.com/ppc/ppc-brand

Oh yes, this. Good shout. 3rd party insurance is something I buy annually & it's super cheap vs what you'll get charged by hire companies.

nero1701

A walk around the car with your phone recording is a good shout. 

I had one last year from AutoLegera, at the check out desk, they put a hard sell for me to upgrade to the next size up, I'd ordered something 1 series/focus sized. I declined, again...we can give you the next car up for 10 euros extra per day.. again..no thanks.

I got to the car. They'd given me a Peugeot 5008. I think it was always going to be the car, they just wanted a the extra cash.

The return was easy enough, they barely looked at the car.

Snap

get an excess insurance - I got reducemyexcess policy fopr 45 quid. Just go on a comparison site and see what turns up. The add ons at the desk are expensive and pointless.

I hire cars on trips almost every time. I will choose one sited in the terminal if poss, no shuttle bus fannying around. The best ones are usually the more expensive ones - Enterprise, Europcar, Avis etc. Another upside is that one of these will usually have a small or no queue. Cheaper ones are more popular, and often the first ones to come up on comparison sites and the queues can be hideous. I'm happy paying a bit more for less hassle. It's a holiday, not a pain in the arse. Sometimes it's also better to book direct from their own site - you might get faster pick up, online checkin or an upgrade. I got a good upgrade in September and I'd booked a little car, went direct to RecordGo - they are fine, but not sure they run in Italy.

On pickup take loads of car photos and film it, all round, from every angle. Time well spent, no matter how tired or rushed you are.

Whitecat

As far as the majors go: "Anything but Avis" is generally my motto.

They are super aggressive upsellers at the counter and in my experience the bill is always higher than what was agreed - went through a huge kerfuffle with them when we booked a BA package to Tenerife a number of years ago and they charged us for the child's car seat that BA assured us was "free" as a perk of booking... getting a refund took forever.

Had another bad experience where we hired from Avis in Canada and they charged us for a whole bunch more extra insurance than we never agreed to. Like, I think they just put it on and hoped we wouldn't notice. Some fighting got a refund on it, but still.

For some reason too, whenever we use a third-party booker (Auto Europe is our favourite) Avis always adds a few pence onto the bill. They take a card hold for security when we collect the car but it also charges for like 5p or some trivial amount. They claim it's "currency adjustment" but it can't be, we bought and fully paid for the voucher ahead of time and NO other firm does that. I think they're doing that on every invoice and across thousands, well, it adds up!

We're at the "never again" point with them now after those two bad experiences.

Stratavarious

Check the small print.  You may have to have a credit card not just a debit card otherwise you might get forced into top insurance add ons.

Snap

I joined Hertz gold member thing, they are usually good value in America, can be a bit steep in Europe though. Sixt also worth a look. 

@whitecat - re Avis, can't blame you on that, but I've not had an issue with them, might depend on airport or location, staff etc

Kebabkid

Stratavarious said:

Check the small print.  You may have to have a credit card not just a debit card otherwise you might get forced into top insurance add ons.

Yep, done the credit card and additional insurance. I'm not looking for the cheapest and my main issue is the aggressive companies that try and claim on 'supposed' damage/scratches. Croatia was the worst (Sixt) followed by Spain (Gold) and Cyprus was just a breeze. A lot of the time, we arrive in the evening and even if you do a once over around the car, you can't pick up everything.

Thanks once again for the recommendations