Italian Car Rental

[raceboy]

Car rental is not something I'm at all familiar with, on holiday I'll usually sit back and enjoy public transport, in fact for most of this Italian holiday we'll be on the train but one day would be made considerably easier with a car.
Would be picking it up from Bologna train station first thing in the morning, early June on a weekday, 2 Adults no luggage traveling to Sant'Agata, then onto Modena and Maranello
The cheapest small car is going to be more than adequate, I actually quite fancy an Electric Fiat 500
I make the trip to be about 80 miles all in so the range should be ok without needing to charge at any point.
Googling 'car hire Bologna' is my obvious starting point, the big names all appear, but than I see the likes of doyouitaly and Noleggiare who appear to be brokers, at usually less than half the price of the 'big names' reviews of ALL the companies seem to be very split, obviously people with bad experiences always shout louder but there's enough for all the companies to be a little cautious.
Anyone got any advise?

[psi310398]

Can’t help with Bologna specifically but I’m a frequent user of car hire out of Malpensa.

Having flirted with some of the brokers and cheapo renters over the years, I have settled with Avis booked through BA, as the prices tend to be quite reasonable and I’m frequently upgraded owing to lack of availability of the requested model on the day. They are reasonably professional, don’t rape you on extras and seldom check the cars on return for scrapes.

Going through BA as well (especially if booked with flights) also makes it easier to seek assistance if things go awry as they are apt to in Italy.

[Gnevans]

We fly to Bologna most years.

Look at zest car rental.

[Gnevans]

There are also useful threads about Modena.

I would recommend Panini farm collection (email to book)

Also Stanguellini Museum private tour (needs booking)

Antica Moka restaurant is very good

[raceboy]

Gnevans said:

Look at zest car rental.

Zest seemed to direct through Noleggiare for a Fiat 500
It all seems like a complete minefield with pot luck on whether a tiny mark that you didn't do costs you €200

Flights already booked and unfortunately BA don't fly from our chosen UK airport.

I've not ruled out just booking a load of Ubers, but not sure how reliable they will be.

[shirt]

I’ve rented several times via doyouItaly, no issues. I have a separate excess policy but for 1-2 days you’re as well paying for insurance cover at the desk.

[psi310398]

raceboy said:

Zest seemed to direct through Noleggiare for a Fiat 500
It all seems like a complete minefield with pot luck on whether a tiny mark that you didn't do costs you €200

Flights already booked and unfortunately BA don't fly from our chosen UK airport.

I've not ruled out just booking a load of Ubers, but not sure how reliable they will be.

Ah. You can use BA.com just to book car hire.

[raceboy]

Car rental just seems like such a minefield, I know why I use trains usually.
Obviously a lot of the negative reviews come from the people that haven't followed the rules but it does seem a bit hit or miss.
How much trouble can I possibly get in driving between Lamborghini, Pagani and Ferrari

[The Leaper]

I generally tend use Avis whenever I need to hire a car. I'm also a member of Avis Preferred...it avoids queues etc.

I went to Italy in 2018 and hired a VW Golf for a week at Bari Airport. The Avis car hire charge was £311.00 and their comprehensive insurance was an astronomical £219.00. So, just be aware what you COULD be facing.

Also, I'm aware that car hire charges have risen substantially post Covid.

R.

[TTmonkey]

Rented this in Santa Agatha



Rented this in Marenello





Great rates too.

[Jonathan27]

psi310398 said:

raceboy said:

Zest seemed to direct through Noleggiare for a Fiat 500
It all seems like a complete minefield with pot luck on whether a tiny mark that you didn't do costs you €200

Flights already booked and unfortunately BA don't fly from our chosen UK airport.

I've not ruled out just booking a load of Ubers, but not sure how reliable they will be.

Ah. You can use BA.com just to book car hire.

I used Noleggiare at Rome airport last year. I was going to a wedding so wanted something nice, I booked a Range Rover (or equivalent) and when I turned up they gave me a Toyota Rav 4 and insisted it was equivalent. They even had some print out with small print that put the Rav 4 in the same category as Range Rovers XC90s Q7s...

[raceboy]

TTmonkey said:

Rented this in Santa Agatha

Rented this in Marenello

There's a plan....wonder if they do one way
Thrown a bit of a curved ball last night that Uber isn't available in the area, but the rental of the default setting little Italian urban city car is anywhere between £40-£140 for the day depending of who rents it for a comparable service, every firm has bad reviews, but then the angry always shout louder, just going to see who's got an EV and try and abide by all their rules.

[Griffith4ever]

raceboy said:

Car rental is not something I'm at all familiar with, on holiday I'll usually sit back and enjoy public transport, in fact for most of this Italian holiday we'll be on the train but one day would be made considerably easier with a car.
Would be picking it up from Bologna train station first thing in the morning, early June on a weekday, 2 Adults no luggage traveling to Sant'Agata, then onto Modena and Maranello
The cheapest small car is going to be more than adequate, I actually quite fancy an Electric Fiat 500
I make the trip to be about 80 miles all in so the range should be ok without needing to charge at any point.
Googling 'car hire Bologna' is my obvious starting point, the big names all appear, but than I see the likes of doyouitaly and Noleggiare who appear to be brokers, at usually less than half the price of the 'big names' reviews of ALL the companies seem to be very split, obviously people with bad experiences always shout louder but there's enough for all the companies to be a little cautious.
Anyone got any advise?

I'm a serial cheap car renter (I go to Europe several times a year, Spain, Italy, Greece and the likes). I'd consider myself an expert :-) I've never paid a penny in damage or other charges.

- take out your own car hire insurance in the UK if hiring for a week or more. Wont work out for just one day.
- photo the car all round and on top
- pay for full-full when booking .
- be nice to them. :-)
- take a credit card with you NOT a debit card, for the security reservation if you don't take their insurance extras.
- all cheap hire companies have aweful reviews because barely anyone can do all of the above.
- there ARE some stinkers out there, I've only run into one, gold car Pisa. I had to show a photo of the full fuel gauge to them to stop a charge for not returning full. Other than that in many many rentals I've not had an issue and had cars for as little at 2 euros a day for a week.

[raceboy]

Griffith4ever said:

- take out your own car hire insurance in the UK if hiring for a week or more. Wont work out for just one day.
- photo the car all round and on top
- pay for full-full when booking .
- be nice to them. :-)
- take a credit card with you NOT a debit card, for the security reservation if you don't take their insurance extras.

Cheers, that's pretty much confirmed what I thought/hoped, and hoping to avoid the full/full/petrol issue with electric, as long as they don't expect that back fully charged

[djc206]

Griffith4ever said:

I'm a serial cheap car renter (I go to Europe several times a year, Spain, Italy, Greece and the likes). I'd consider myself an expert :-) I've never paid a penny in damage or other charges.

- take out your own car hire insurance in the UK if hiring for a week or more. Wont work out for just one day.
- photo the car all round and on top
- pay for full-full when booking .
- be nice to them. :-)
- take a credit card with you NOT a debit card, for the security reservation if you don't take their insurance extras.
- all cheap hire companies have aweful reviews because barely anyone can do all of the above.
- there ARE some stinkers out there, I've only run into one, gold car Pisa. I had to show a photo of the full fuel gauge to them to stop a charge for not returning full. Other than that in many many rentals I've not had an issue and had cars for as little at 2 euros a day for a week.

I will add 2 things:

Keep your receipt from the petrol station you fill up at prior to returning the car.

Make sure your fuel gauge photo also includes the odometer

[shirt]

The Leaper said:

I generally tend use Avis whenever I need to hire a car. I'm also a member of Avis Preferred...it avoids queues etc.

I went to Italy in 2018 and hired a VW Golf for a week at Bari Airport. The Avis car hire charge was £311.00 and their comprehensive insurance was an astronomical £219.00. So, just be aware what you COULD be facing.

Also, I'm aware that car hire charges have risen substantially post Covid.

R.

My excess policy via worldwideinsure cost (iirc) €110 per year. I had to claim once, was straight forward and low hassle. Their website is tragic but the product is good.

[raceboy]

Think this question is for another thread but I make the journey about 80 miles (although I imagine I'll get lost at some point so lets call it 100), what's the real life range of a fully charged Fiat 500e, can get one of those for £60 all in from Noleggiare and you don't have to bring it back fully charged.

[djc206]

shirt said:

My excess policy via worldwideinsure cost (iirc) €110 per year. I had to claim once, was straight forward and low hassle. Their website is tragic but the product is good.

I pay around £50 through Questor

[GT03ROB]

djc206 said:

shirt said:

My excess policy via worldwideinsure cost (iirc) €110 per year. I had to claim once, was straight forward and low hassle. Their website is tragic but the product is good.

I pay around £50 through Questor

Yeah thats more like what I paid. Think it was 45 quid just before christmas for the year.

[psi310398]

raceboy said:

There's a plan....wonder if they do one way
Thrown a bit of a curved ball last night that Uber isn't available in the area, but the rental of the default setting little Italian urban city car is anywhere between £40-£140 for the day depending of who rents it for a comparable service, every firm has bad reviews, but then the angry always shout louder, just going to see who's got an EV and try and abide by all their rules.

You can abide by all the rules but there’s a reason that so many cars in Italy look like they have been banger racing. Italian drivers drive and park like twunts. If you need to park a car in public, chances are it will be dinged.

Anybody hiring in Italy would be deranged not to carry full excess insurance. Like others here, I have an annual worldwide policy (including the US) for not much more than Avis would charge me for a week.