9637 Car Hire

Try a price comparison site - such as expedia.

Don't pay for dropping the 'excess' down to zero - buy an annual policy [about £50] from;-

[url=http://www.insurance4carhire.com/index.asp?addU=1&refID=955&langID=1&curID=1&gclid=CMuAqri3wZMCFQ2qQwodkGCPCA]Cheap Car Hire Excess Insurance | Insurance4carhire.com[/url]

it works out a lot cheaper.

.

I have been using Hertz at Pisa but linked from the Ryanair web site when booking the flight. Also you need to try to find the "special offers" link in the yellow bit on the left hand side of the hertz .co.uk site . They tend to have offer rates that are for a week or weekend that change quite often. Although I've signed up for the Hertz No1 club it is the link from the Ryanair site which seems to give the best rates and it seems to ignore my No1 club registration. I can't believe that hertz do the best deal however and I'm still trying to find cheaper alternatives. I have asked in the car hire hall at Easycaritalia on a previous trip when we had already pre booked a car. the rates she quoted would have been cheaper but when I have tried on the internet or phoned subsequently they have been higher than I am paying via Hertz.
I also pay the excess insurance via [url=http://www.insurance4carhire.com/index.asp?addU=1&refID=1005&langID=1&curID=1&gclid=CLqXqae5wZMCFQo1QgodxhidCQ]Cheap Car Hire Excess Insurance | Insurance4carhire.com[/url]. This is an annual policy that cuts the add on charges. I always pay the minimum car hire & insurances and rely on the excess policy. I think that costs £49 per annum or something similar.

I also arrange to leave the car full of petrol on return. This needs a bit of planning at pisa as for early morning check-ins the petrol stations on th Fi-Pi-Li are automatic only when the stations are closed. I have had problems getting the unmanned pump to work at pisa airport.

If anyone can point to cheaper car hire alternatives at Pisa I would like to know. Later in the summer I could do with finding a cheap alternative somewhere round Empoli if anyone has any ideas

We consistently find that [url=http://www.holidayautos.co.uk]CHEAP CAR HIRE in the UK, Europe, USA and more - Holiday Autos Rentals[/url] get us the lowest prices, and with major car hire operators. The comparison sites have failed to find anything cheaper that offers the same.

Alan is right though - it is worth buying an annual policy to avoid paying the extra to reduce the excess to £0. We paid just under £50 for such a policy and have immediately saved that on our next batch of car hire in June.

We have found the cheapest prices by using travelsupermarket.com. These have so far been cheaper than the Ryanair website offers. Auto Europe are usually excellent value. Cheap and including free cancellation.

[quote=George F;90284]I am in Italy for 3 weeks in October and need to hire a car from Pisa airport. Car hire seems more expensive in Italy than in other European countries. Does anyone have any advice on where the best deals are? Many thanks[/quote]

Autoeurope:

[url=http://www.auto-europe.co.uk/index.cfm?aff=AUTOEUROPE&c=4885]Car Hire | Cheap Car Rental in Europe and Worldwide - Auto Europe[/url]

Or Nova (brokers: you will probably get Autoeurope but sometimes for less)

[url=http://www.novacarhire.com/]Cheap car hire UK, Europe & worldwide from Novacarhire[/url]

Have always been the cheapest for me. As others have said use [url=http://www.insurance4carhire.com]Cheap Car Hire Excess Insurance | Insurance4carhire.com[/url] and refuse all the offered insurance.

Pip pip

I tried your Novacar link to see if it was cheaper than the car we have hired in June using Travelsupermarket, but in fact the Novacar quote was almost £100 dearer. Likewise a lot more expensive in August (which we haven't booked yet). I haven't checked to see if Travelsupermarket prices have gone up since I last looked)

Just checked and June prices are the same, August prices are cheaper with travelsupermarket

[quote=alma;90307]Just checked and June prices are the same, August prices are cheaper with travelsupermarket[/quote]
Thanks for the heads-up I shall shop around more carefully in future. I usually hire the smallest a/c car for 7-10 days & had always found AutoEurope in Rome. about the best. How did your travelsupermarket quote compare with AutoEurope's own website?

I just did a comparison for one week in July and AutoEurope was £24 cheaper than travelsupermarket & Nova was £10 cheaper. It just goes to show that you have to keep on your toes doesn't it :yes:

Pip pip

One word of advice if you take out your own excess insurance- keep an eye on your credit card bills for the next few months as twice I was charged for damage to cars by car hire firms (there was none) and if you take your car back at an unmanned time the first you will know of it is when you get the credit card bill with the charges on. You then have to mess about sorting out the insurance

I've usually found Auto Europe to be the same on their website, but when I've rang them (I dont like booking without talking to someone) they have sometimes quoted a cheaper price. I'll certainly make sure I try all the sites before booking in future.

I have checked the nova and Auto Europe links for our next trip in June ( 5-9) and they all come our very similar for an Ypsilon with a/c. Approx £95 for hertz & Auto europe. Nova is an extra £5 at £100.

I think you just have to see what's on offer on each occassion as no doubt it depends on their respective sales at any given time.

I have found that the Ryanair link seems to open up a different set of quotes if you book car hire when booking the flight than just linking from the Ryanair site so whether thats what makes the difference or it's just been coincidence on the dates I've booked, I'm not sure.

The key is try all the avenues if you have enough time

For what it's worth I kept a record last year re Italy car hire used by friends and family. Let's agree it makes sense for regular hirers to buy a seperate policy for Insurance as previously suggested. The lowest prices seemed to be gained by comapring Hoilday Autos 2 sites when searching for "best price" quote. Their .com site and .co.uk site. For up to 4 people travelling with 2 medium suitcases, tick the boxes for basic everything (no such hire car exists so such things as air con are standard). Most people liked the Fiat Panda they were given at the airport....others were allocated Lancia's.

Simple method - use holiday autos - watchout for the old damage done to vehicle trick and also the old car not full of fuel when returned trick. complain in very strong terms to HA and you should get a refund - it worked for me. Tho' would have been nicer if it had not happened in the first place!

One thing that the Annual policies don't make clear, is that you must still pay at the time on your credit card, then claim it back from them, unlike the (more expensive) option of using the Hire companies own extended cover.

I also used to use Hertz, but have found travelsupermarket much better value.