Well, that's interesting. They're by far the favorite car rental outfit of folks here on Fodors. I'v

My wife and I have changed our plans once again (and probably not the last time either). We are thinking about flying into Venice for a few nights, then taking the train to Florence where we will spend a few nights as well. Then we were going to pick up a rental car and drive to Sienna and stay for 5 or so nights. rental car in london We wanted to then drive to Orvieto and spend a night and drop the car off. After that we would take a train to Rome for a couple nights and fly back to the US.
We are having trouble finding a car rental company that would allow us to drop our car off in Orvieto or Chiusi (sp?). The only one we have found for Orvieto is Hertz, however we are only able to drive automatics and it does not seem as if they have any for when we are looking. We are looking rental car in london for May of next year. If they cannot guarantee an automatic given 9 months advance, I am assuming they will not have one closer to our travel date.
I must be missing something. Are you being told that a car rental outfit in FLORENCE can't guarantee an automatic? First off, I've never dealt with a car rental agency anywhere in Europe that can absolutely guarantee an automatic rental car in london (I don't drive automatics, but I do read the fine print on the agreements), but surely your chances of getting one in Florence are decent, as it's a fairly large place. And assuming you get one in Florence, what does Orvieto not guaranteeing automatics have to do with anything - you're just dropping the car off; what does it matter whether you're dropping off an automatic or a manual?
The searches are leaving me with messages saying that I cannot drop a car off in Orvieto, unless I go through Hertz which does not have any automatics to offer when picking up in Florence AND dropping off in Orvieto. Other companies offer automatic for pickup in Florence, however they will not let me drop the car off in Orvieto.
Well, I've never heard of anything like that before (and have done a load of Italian car rentals). I use AutoEurope (call them and speak to a rep instead of relying on the website to answer all your questions). Good luck.
Well, that's interesting. They're by far the favorite car rental outfit of folks here on Fodors. I've rented rental car in london from them more than 100 times and have never had a single rental car in london problem. Their customer service is exemplary, IME.
We always use AutoEurope and have never had a bad experience. We have rented in Florence and dropped the car in Orvieto twice in the past 5 years. Not sure what bad things you have heard but many on this forum use AutoEurope.
We've used AutoEurope for years and never had a bad experience with them. Most recent experience was renting a car for 21 days last Fall, picking it up in Orvieto an returning it in Milan. When you drop off a car in Orvieto, you will be within walking distance of the train station. It is a piece of cake. While we don't rent automatics in Europe, I don't know why you shouldn't be able to do so through AutoEurope. Sometimes you will end up with a car from Hertz or Avis, or more likely EuropeCar. But they make it easy for you to get what you need.
(The last two points rental car in london were important when we disputed additional charges. In one case (Avis in England), a charge to our credit card was refunded immediately. In the other (Europcar in France), a call by the agent to the AE toll-free number resolved the problem on the spot. For me, this service rental car in london is worth a great deal.)
It also could have to do with the time of day you enter in the return information. If you have entered a time when the office is closed (after lunch, for instance) they may show that service is not available, rental car in london but not tell you why.
There are some bad reviews out there on Auto Europa, which many people confuse rental car in london with Auto Europe. As other have mentioned, rental car in london Auto Europe has great service as does there sister company, Kemwel. I usually find better prices with Kemwel. Be sure to look at the deductibles rental car in london offered when making your choices.
It also could have to do with the time of day you enter in the return information. If you have entered a time when the office is closed (after lunch, for instance) they may show that service is not available, but not tell you why.
When trying to search on AutoEurope, you must match locations (Hertz address in Florence with Hertz drop-off address in Orvieto)or it will say not available. rental car in london AutoEurope just lists all possible pick-ups which can be either Hertz/Avis/EuropCar. Not only are most locations closed outside of big cities between 1-4, they are also closed rental car in london after 1 on Saturday and all day Sunday.
We almost always use Hertz - since we have a special corporate rate with them - and have never h ad a problem getting an automatic. But - we usually get a mid size or larger (which have larger percentage of automatics) and always pick up at a major office (Preferably large airport - which has a much larger selection of cars.)
Would the bus be OK with two large suitcases? Does anyone else recommend waiting till Siena to pick up the car? Kybourbon, why do you recommend doing that? I would guess the car rentals in Florence would have a larger Selection of cars on hand.
It seems you are beyond that discussion now . . . But honestly, your reasoning makes no sense. No rental agency can 'guarantee' an automatic months and months ahead. Heck -- the cars in their fleet now and 9 months from now will be entirely different. How could it be easier to guarantee any specific car nearly a year from now? After all, they aren't going to hold a car for you from now til then.
But in any case, there are NO 100% guarantees re automatics. Unless they only have automatics in the fleet. What if they have 2 automatics on inventory on your date, and one has mechanical issues and the other is returned late? If so, you ain't goin' to get an automatic.
I took the advice of the Board some years ago, and took the bus from Florence. The luggage went down below in the cargo hold of the bus. I did this because I did not want to drive the car in/out of any complicated area. In fact, I did not want a car until after I left Siena. When I left Siena, I took a taxi to the car rental rental car in london place.
I used Autoeurope rental car in london and I was able to get an automatic rental car in london transmission at Siena ultimately dropping off at the Florence airport. Calling Autoeurope is easier because of the frustration you are finding with the website when you picking up and dropping off in different rental car in london locations.
I just called them yesterday, for the trip I am currently planning, because it was so frustrating using the website with the different address rental car in london options. A real live person answers the phone - and no phone trees! Then they e-mail you the quote. This will be my third time using them.
If only I could learn to drive a manual rental car in london transmission here in the states, I would save a bundle in Europe rental car in london over the next few years. In fact, I was going to look for a driving school that might teach me - I did drive a manual transmission once in my early 20's.
I'm sure there are videos on youtube. It's really not hard and most people learn the basics in a few minutes from a friend (pre-youtube days). I will admit hill towns will be tricky if you have to stop on one when you aren't used to it.
As for the bus(7 ), your luggage goes under (your job to put it there, not the bus driver). If you have two large suitcases and rent a small car, your luggage won't fit. Most small cars won't hold two large cases.
rental car in london Kybourbon - the first time was Tuscany and I didn't want to do it then. The second time was Ireland and no way could I try it then! For my upcoming Rome/Umbria trip my husband has agreed to drive - in prior trips he preferred not to drive. He can drive manual somewhat and he did it a little bit in a huge van in Portugal last year. I explained the price difference and the difficulty of getting automatic transmissions in smaller towns and he agreed. YAY! But, seriously it is so worth learning - the cost differential is huge.
Janis: they offer a car OR ONE SIMILAR. I am guessing they could figure out a way to guarentee an automatic 9 months from now. It would not be the exact car but one similar as their disclaimer suggests.
By that logiv I should just forget about driving in general as you are suggesting there is no guarentee regardless of when I book. If a company cannot guarentee a car per your contract with them then they have a terrible business model. If they cannot guarentee a suitable car they should mot accept my payment. If this is a possibility then I will have to rethink our trip.
Worm -- I hear you on learning on someone else's car- unless it was a total junker -- there is no way I could ask. I tried to see if I could rent one here and but when I looked into it that didn't seem possible from the major car rental places. My next step was to look up a driving school- which I haven't done yet.
Or similar means another car that also automatic. But janis is right; there's always a chance that they don't have an automatic, especially in a smaller town. You can increase rental car in london your chances by picking up at Florence's airport, which is easy to get to by bus and out of the city near the autostrada.
I so often wonder why people don't learnto drive a stick shift. It's fun! More importantly it's a good skill tohave in life, obviously. Yu have many months to learn and practice. Think of the money and hassle youwillsave on your future trips.
If you MUST have an automatic, you need to collect the car at a major location like an international airport, not in a small town. Major airports will have larger inventory and you are almost guaranteed rental car in london to get what you want.
I'm curious. How do the rental agencies adjust the rental price if an automatic (usually more expensive) is not available? Do they offer a refund? Does the new rate for the standard shift car reflect the walk-in rate or the possible discount for what may have been an early rental?
Secondly, I wholeheartedly disagree with you. If a company takes money as a payment for a future service that they cannot guarantee, then yes,