197 Car Hire - anyone with good links??

I've used Ebookers.com for the last four times I've been over good price, good service at Pescara and Ancona, at Ciampino they do try to get you to upgrade just say no, I got a free upgrade in the end anyway.

[url]http://www.ebookers.com/car_hire_index.html[/url]

There was a thread some time ago on this; you might want to try reading some suggestions/links from: [url]http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=91[/url]

This is a constant hot topic, though (& I'm always looking for a bargain!) so if you find anywhere new/cheaper, it'll be good to hear your suggestions too!

Ciao,
We fly to Pescara, Abruzzo regularly & use a company called Autoeuropa Car Hire. [url]http://www.autoeuropa.it.(Office[/url] in Airport)
The cost of the Diawoo Matiz for 1 week 152Euro.

For those that don't know;
One one trip back to the airport we had a dog run out on us which cracked the plastic wrap-around bumper. (dog OK). I informed the office at the airport assuming it would have been insured. Oh, we were, but the CDW - collision damage waiver - excess to you & me - was a 1000euro, hence the cheap rental. We were told that all dogs in Italy SHOULD be insured & we should have taken the name of the owner for the rental company to claim against. We are now looking at paying for a new front bumper. (4/500euro)
We now pay the extra premium eliminating this potential problem. Always ask
Ciao
Rob

Rob,

If you hire a car for more than about 10 days a year - its worth taking out the annual car hire insurance from

[url]http://www.insurance4carhire.com[/url]

It cost £49 [about Euro 70] for a year and covers the excess charges.

Alan,
Grazie tanto.

Is this just an insurance policy to cover the excess the rental firms insurance don't cover?
Ciao
Rob

Yes - it covers the excess charges that the the car hire company charges a fortune to cover.

Alan,

Just booked it.

Grazie amico
Rob

Many thanks for all the info.
I spent ages rummaging around and eventually settled on Hertz at £134.15 for the week as the quotes I got were all close in price and I remembered I'd had an offer from Nectar for bonus points with Hertz.
Hertz are currently offering a 'world on wheels' promotion but terms and conditions apply - see [url]http://www.hertz.co.uk/spec/index.cfm[/url]

Also with one of the others (can't remember which now) it wasn't possible to confirm whether the desk was 'on airport' and the small print stated that details would be issued after payment and that the service might be 'meet and greet' so I was a little concerned we would be hanging around waiting.

I tend to use [url]www.carhire3000.com[/url] and I have [url]www.insurance4carhire.co.uk[/url] policy too - I saved £50 on my first rental last year

We have booked hertz on line for the last 3 to 4 visits and tried to claim our nectar points. As yet non have ever appeared are we doing something wrong?

Also last time we flew to Rome they up graded something or other and then charged us £40 when we got home. We have quried it but they have produced the signed hire document and we still don't know what we paid for!!

Pescar Hertz are always very helpful (still no points) but we have found a good deal with [url]www.auto-hire[/url] on line.com so might try them this time.

Jackie

I use Hertz too. As I understnad it, the original cost that they take is an estimate of the costs. If there are any other charges (late return / no fuel) they will then deduct your card. I think that the exchange rate difference is also taken this way. If I rememeber right, it is explained on the web pages if you book via the web, but in a weird way!

Hope this helps.

[LEFT]Budget run a loyalty scheme called Go Overseas! where you save your rental agreements and then when you want you 'cash' them in in exchange for a voucher which gives you one free days hire for every five days you cash in. For example we went for 3 days in December and 7 in February and we can now get a voucher for 2 free days or we can carry on 'saving' our days to cash in later. You can only count days rented from the same location and the voucher will be for that location but if you always fly to the same place it does represent a 20% discount for regular renters. We've always found them pretty competitive anyway (although we do always fly to Nice rather than Italy). They also operate a 'Rapid reservation' system that cuts down on the time taken to complete paperwork & collect the car. All the info is on their website [URL="http://www.budget.co.uk"]www.budget.co.uk[/URL] (They were also extremely helpful when we needed to book a car and provide credit card details for the CDW when we had no credit cad because it had been stolen).

We also have the CDW insurance from insurance4carhire which is excellent value for regular hirers. [/LEFT]

:) I have used [url]www.carjet.co.uk[/url] a number of times in Spain at various local airports and have been given a quote for them for a small car in Bari for £270 for 14 days including fully comp. insurance. Only extra is a tank of petrol

They are a booking agent so at each airport you may use a different company, but certianly in Spain I have never had a car that was more than a few months old

[QUOTE=Paj]:) I have used [url]www.carjet.co.uk[/url] a number of times in Spain at various local airports and have been given a quote for them for a small car in Bari for £270 for 14 days including fully comp. insurance. Only extra is a tank of petrol

They are a booking agent so at each airport you may use a different company, but certianly in Spain I have never had a car that was more than a few months old[/QUOTE]

I've used them also through different address: all-inclusive-car-hire.com and it looks like they are connected somehow. Before using them I was a bit suspecting to use them but you don't even have to give your credit card number you can charge when renting, you print a voucher from your confimation and thats it. It seems that they work with two large, local companies in each renting point. Service was good, new car and clearly the best value.

I interprete differently the extra tank (=non extra cost) of gas: normally you rent with full tank and return full tank - in Spain these, at least a-i-c-h, rented with full and return with as empty as possible = same cost.

In Italy (at least in Rome) it's different, this is from the web site, both have the same text:

The fuel that you consume during your car hire is obviously not included in our our published car hire rates! On arrival at the Rome Fuimicino Airport car hire station, you will collect the car hire vehicle with a full tank of fuel against a credit card deposit. At the end of the car hire, return the car hire vehicle with a full tank to Rome Fuimicino Airport to get a refund.

Oh, forgot this, in Rome one week via carjet for Lancia Y is 225 euros and via a-i-c-h 226 euros and you get 22 euro regate for online booking.

Try using Kelkoo for a comparison of various companies' prices at any location in Italy - They aren't a car-hire company - they just list all available options.

The last 2 times I've been to Italy I've used Kelkoo and found some very good prices,

GlenB and others who have used insurance4carhire, has anybody experience from a 'situation' how well it works when needed? Any stories?

Dunno - shall have to let you know.

I was speaking to a friend that had paid for medical insurance for many years - had registered as a Diabetes sufferer -

And had a pain in a foot and eye trouble - and both times it was put down to Diabetes - are insurance companies just crooks?

Mate of mine that I had recommended take out the £50 excess annual cover did so, hired a car in Menorca and managed to prang it on the way to his villa, not badly but a few hundred euros worth. Paid the excess charge, claimed back no prob at all. So they seem to be ok.
Prob with most insurance cos is they will only cover what you have paid not what it cost you to reinstate the holiday at the time - my stepson fractured his skull last year just before we were due to fly to France - no flying allowed for a month. I'd booked Ryanair flights months before, cheaply. Our only alternative was to get the train - tickets were far more expensive, they gave us back the plane fares minus the tax and fees and minus the £40 each excess. I think I got £60 back - Ryanair gave us back the tax and fees minus a £20 pp deduction for admin - ie hardly anything. Train tix were £500+ So much for thinking you are fully insured! And even though the hospital had said we were fine to go away the insurance co said anything that might be blamed on a head injury that went wrong was totally uncovered by them.

I have high BP (prob due to insurance cos) which is completely under control with medication but virtually anything that goes wrong with me abroad they may try to blame on the 'pre existing BP' - eg if I had a heart attack or a stroke I have no cover. Great eh - so many people are on similar medication and I don't think they realise how underinsured they can be in places like the US. Thank god for the E111 in europe..

hey ho. Insurance cos - not charities and very mean if at all possible.

M

I have used [url]WWW.RENTALCARGROUP.COM[/url] many times on visits to Italy and have always found thier rates to be very competitive. They use all the major car rental companies and get the best rate. Service all the airports in Italy.
Good luck

Used Hertz up to now at Ancona and Forli and no problems. As our trips are becoming longer and more frequent have found [url]http://www.carhireworldwide.net/car-hire-italy.html[/url]
which seem cheaper even when I put the wife on.:confused:

I'll let you know how we get on.

Just reserved through this [url]http://car-rental.traveleurope.it[/url] and had a Punto 4d with 2000km on it, about € 29.40 per day with road side support. Europcars own site listed it for about 45.10 per day.

And this included drop-off at another airport. Also bought the 12th month super-waiver coverage from insurance4carhire.com so that made allready a saving of 38 euro.

Dear Lesley, I used a company i found in UK called BRITALY TRAVEL, and always dealt with a lady named Renatta, I am sorry but i have misplaced the number, but think it was Peterborough, or Northampton area Brendon.

There are deffo some good deals around - in the end I looked through the kelko site and their best price was £114 through Avis for a week in a class b car and you don't have to pay anything until you get to Pescara and they open Sat afternoons.
M