SimonTam

Flying into FCO Rome and would appreciate recommendations for a reputable car hire company, please.

Thanks.

ononno

Hertz.

BRIAN 1

We haven't rented a car in Italy for 6 years,but use Firefly(Hertz subsidiary) at STN quite regularly.There seems to be a few too cheap to believe companies popping up.They use the hardsell for extras and charge for nonexistant damage.All I say is go over the car with a fine tooth comb and take photos of every ding and scratch nomatter how small and get them signed off.We have a yearly excess insurance policy also.Bottom line is cheapest is not the way to go,cheers,Brian.

SimonTam

Thanks guys, I'd decided on Hertz or Europcar, or Auto Europe who apparently only use Hertz, Avis, and Europcar.

Turns out these guys are the three dearest in Italy!

As ever, you get what you pay for eh?

chris120

I booked a car for FCO a couple of months ago through booking.com I ended up with a car from Centauro Rent a Car who are off airport in Fiumicino village which you get to by free shuttle bus in 10 minutes. I cannot fault them, they gave me a brand new Nissan Qashqai with just 7 Km on it, 3 day rental was €48 all in, no extra charges and no shenanigans about damage or fuel etc. afterwards. i take minimum insurance as I have my own annual policy

jack78

Many of the operators, most of which come up on "cheap car hire" broker sites quote a low rate, eg 14€/day but compensate with a whopping supplement for the insurance.
You should be able to avoid paying this extra insurance, with one of the more reputable hirers- e.g. Goldcar. You need to scrutinize the site carefully to ensure you are not ticking that box.
For the additional insurance cover, there are companies in the UK which offer an annual cover for as little as 30 GBP/year for car hire all over europe. I am told the service is perfectly efficient although
you do need to pay upfront for damage and make a claim subsequently.
Avoid Ryan Air's car hire offer.