Car Rental Prices

[artnbarb]

We always rent thru AutoEurope or their sister company, Kemwel. Kemwel is usually cheaper, but not always, so it pays to check both sites - or call them on the phone and they'll check both for you. I'm always disappointed by how expensive rentals are in Italy - this year we paid $2315 for a 78 day rental, manual transmission with zero deductible. I know the zero deductible drives the cost up, but I can't imagine the nightmare it would be trying to file a claim with the credit card company. If anyone has a happy experience to share, I'd love to hear it, but otherwise I'm still going with zero deductible.

Periodically AE or Kemwel sends email offers, and I usually check them just out of curiosity. Even tho we're still 8 months away, today I checked the rates for our almost-definite dates, and found that they were $360 cheaper than last year - for the same number of days! I sent the online quote to my email, but I must have changed something and the rate wasn't the same, so I called Kemwel directly. The rep I spoke to was able to take an additional discount, and the rental is now $833 cheaper than last year! Needless to say I went ahead and locked the rate in - if something changes we might have to pay more if the rates go up, but it's fully refundable, and I'll continue to monitor both sites -and I'm really happy with the rate!

 

[NoSpin]

I got this tip from the old Slow Travel website and never looked back.

If you need a car for at least 21 days, you can lease a car through http://www.renaultusa.com/ or https://www.citroen-europass.com/en/ or https://www.peugeot-openeurope.com/en/.

I've used Renaultusa.com 4 times in the last couple years. The key advantages over renting are you select the exact car you want. Rental companies say things like "Rolls Royce or similar" and when you get there the car they give you is a Kia (well it does have 4 wheels just like a Rolls Royce ). If you rent a Renault Megane Estate, that is the car you get. It will be a brand new car. You can select the transmission (manual or automatic) and type of fuel (gasoline or diesel). You can't select the color, but GPS is standard.

You get unlimited mileage. Anyone in your family can drive the car, and anyone else can drive it as long as you are in the car with the person. You get full 100% coverage on the vehicle and your personal contents in the vehicle.

You do pay in advance, but when you arrive you simply pick up the car and go. When you return, same thing, drop it off and go. Since any damage is covered, it doesn't matter if you put any dents in the car.

The customer service with Renault is outstanding. Once our noon time arrival turned into a midnight arrival. They accommodated us with no problem. We usually arrive in Nice and then travel into Italy. If you pick up outside of France there is an additional $250 charge. Once we picked up in Nice and returned in Rome and paid the charge. This spring we are picking up and returning in Paris. We are traveling through France and ending up in Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

They require a 21 day lease period (it can be more than 21 days, but that's the minimum), so it is not suitable for everyone. My understanding is this is a program instituted by the French government to aid the French auto industry. Taxes on new cars for French citizens are very high, but lower on used cars. This way the lease car you turn in after 21 days is now used and the taxes are much less. In order to lease you must be a resident of the US, Canada and I think New Zealand and Australia (you cannot be an EU resident).

If you are going to drive in countries like Italy and Ireland where even American Express doesn't want to know you, this is your best option!

 

[Alpinista]

We had a car this summer that was found to be damaged when we returned it to Europcar. The best guess is that it was damaged by a valet service at a hotel we stayed at, but who knows? We use our credit card insurance and have now gone from the middle of July to date without getting reimbursement from the credit card. There is a seemingly endless stream of documentation needed to satisfy the reviewer. Europcar has been very good in providing us with additional information, photographs, and the like, but Chase Visa is being a pain.

BTW, the break point for cost for leasing versus renting is around 60 days, which is the normal length of our trips, so we've never done more than a casual check of the advantages. However, you might want to look at leasing as a way to hold down cost.

We also only put one driver on the contract (my wife loves to drive and grew up driving in Boston, so is immune to Italian driving practices) and we get smaller cars. We broke our trip this summer with two weeks in Croatia, but paid a about $1100 for 51 days of rentals in Italy.

 

[artnbarb]

We did the Peugeot buy-back program last year, but there are a few catches. Firstly, you can only pick up and drop off in airports - and only a few airports - and any pick up outside of France is charged a premium. And unless Peugeot happens to run a special, as they did the year we participated, it costs several hundred dollars. One ways cost even more. We wanted to pick up in Barcelona, and drop off in Rome, and the only way it made financial sense was if those fees were waived.

This year for our 78 day rental. and likewise for next year, renting came out cheaper than the buy-back programs, and the added benefit was that we could pick up at FCO and drop off in Civitavecchia without a one way fee.

Anyway, all I'm saying is check all your options - every time! I'll be checking back with Kemwel over the coming 8 months, just in case the price drops again.

 

[artnbarb]

We broke our trip this summer with two weeks in Croatia, but paid a about $1100 for 51 days of rentals in Italy.

I think you got a much better price than we did!

 

[NoSpin]

I never used Peugeot. Renault has quite a few sites in and out of France, and the fee for outside of France is only $250.

For me the biggest problem with rental cars is the liability. When you read the fine print of your credit card coverage you may be surprised how it works and what you might be liable for in case of an accident. Alpinista's experience is just what I don't need, 6 months and still no resolution, and I have a Chase Marriott Visa, but I wouldn't use it to rent a car.

When I rent in the US, I use the American Express Platinum card with the extended coverage (an additional one time $19.95 charge). If you don't use this, you have to file under your personal car insurance. If your insurance company has to pay, in Massachusetts your insurance rates go up for the next 7 years. The same would apply if I rented in Europe and my insurance company had to pay a claim.

Of course every bank is different and one should read al the fine print, but most of them only provide secondary insurance, not primary.

The great thing about Renaultusa is you have zero liability for anything, and if the car is stolen or broken into, you can file a claim for any valuables lost.

 

[Alpinista]

I think you got a much better price than we did!

First part of trip was a 19 day rental for $403; second part was 32 days for $654 (a larger car). We usually make our reservations in January and then keep an eye on rates to see if we can take advantage of anything better -- which seems to happen only rarely.

On credit card coverage, will tell a mostly off topic story, but one that I still remind my friend of from time to time. I had a co-worker who was on a business trip to Jamaica and using a rental car covered by his company credit card. One night as he was going through the lobby of his hotel, a young man came up to him and said he was from the rental car company and was there to do a quality inspection of the car to ensure that all was well. That, of course, was the last my friend saw of the young man or the car. He was then assessed a $45,000 charge to his bill to cover both the cost of the car and lost rental revenue (this was several decades ago, so nowhere near the original cost of the car). It took him about 2 years to get the charges resolved and to avoid payment.