Car Hire in Italy

My family and I recently traveled to Sicily to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and matrimony renewal ceremony. Unfortunately, what was intended to be a special family holiday got off to an extremely frustrating and disappointing start due to our experience with Avis at Palermo Airport (PMO). Excessive Check-In Delay We arrived at Avis PMO on July 29th to retrieve our rental vehicle. The counter was experiencing extremely long delays, and we waited nearly three hours before completing the rental process with a representative. I was traveling with my wife and our three young children, who were already extremely uncomfortable and exhausted after an overnight flight from New York City. Despite the circumstances and the significant delays, there appeared to be no effort by the Avis team to expedite our process or make the experience more manageable for families traveling with young children. At one point, my children were sleeping on the airport floor while my wife and I continued waiting in the queue. After approximately two hours, I finally reached a representative. At that point, the electricity at the Avis counter went down and the rental system had to be rebooted, creating an additional delay. By the time we were finally able to complete the rental process, our family was exhausted and extremely frustrated. The delay caused us to miss a prepaid excursion that we had specifically planned as part of our family vacation. This was an unfortunate and unnecessary way to begin a trip that was intended to be a very meaningful family celebration. Upgrade and Additional Charges My original reservation was for a 7-passenger automatic vehicle with unlimited kilometers and collision and theft protection. During the check-in process, the sales representative told me that a 7-passenger vehicle would not be sufficient for our family of five and our luggage, and that I would need to upgrade to a 9-passenger van. At that point, I had no practical ability to inspect the vehicle or determine whether the original vehicle class would actually accommodate our family. The vehicle retrieval area was a significant distance from the check-in counter, and leaving the counter would have meant losing our place in an already extremely long queue. Given that we had already been waiting for nearly three hours with three exhausted children, we were simply trying to get a vehicle and leave the airport. Reluctantly, I accepted the larger vehicle. I was also charged approximately €40 per day for Super Damage Waiver and windscreen protection, despite my original reservation already including collision and theft protection. The representative did not provide a clear explanation as to why this additional coverage was necessary or how it differed from the protection already included in my reservation. Additionally, I was not informed that the vehicle being provided was diesel-powered, despite my original reservation being for a standard petrol vehicle. This resulted in additional out-of-pocket fuel expenses throughout our 14-day trip. Under the circumstances, there was very little opportunity to properly question or evaluate these charges. My family had reached a breaking point after the prolonged airport delay, and our priority was simply to leave the airport as quickly as possible. Vehicle Condition and Lack of Transparency When I arrived at the vehicle retrieval area, a different Avis representative escorted me to the rental vehicle. I was shocked by the condition of the van. It had extensive visible damage and appeared to have been involved in multiple prior accidents. I found it particularly concerning that I had been charged for additional Super Damage Waiver coverage while simultaneously being provided with a vehicle in such poor cosmetic condition. I immediately asked the representative whether I could see a vehicle from the class I had originally reserved — a 7-passenger automatic vehicle. I was told that none were available because all vehicles in that class were currently occupied. At that point, it became apparent to me that the counter representative had not been transparent about the circumstances surrounding the upgrade. Rather than clearly explaining that Avis could not fulfill my original vehicle class and offering me an appropriate alternative, I was presented with the larger vehicle as though the upgrade were necessary because of my family's size and luggage. Had I been told upfront that the original vehicle class was unavailable and that I was being placed into a larger vehicle because of Avis's inventory limitations, I could have made an informed decision. Instead, I felt that I had been pressured into accepting a more expensive vehicle under circumstances where I had very little ability to challenge or investigate the situation. Poor Vehicle Condition and Faulty Air Conditioning This vehicle was our primary mode of transportation for the entire 14-day trip. We traveled extensively throughout Sicily and stayed at multip

Terrible. Being charged for damages that do not exist and items like destination fees that were never disclosed

The pick up at airport was fine. The car had some issues in first gear and made it a bit scary when you needed to accelerate quickly, it had a major lag. But the biggest issue was the return location. It was completely innacurate address in Bruneck. I wandered around on foot in the peak heat of the day trying to find it. Asking multiple people for directions. They need to update this, it really ruined the whole experience. It took over an hour to find and return the car.