This is not really an Italy specific question, but I need to know an answer in advance of a drive we plan to do from France into Italy, which is my excuse for posting here so as to get as many people's input as possible.

There will be 4 us in the car, all of us drivers and the drive will be reasonably long. Auto Europe in common with most other car rental agencies that I know of restrict you to 2 drivers only. Does anyone know the reason for this and if there is some way around the restriction? It would obviously be more restful for all concerned if everyone could take a turn at the wheel.

Any thoughts?

I didn't know about the restriction to two; from the terms and conditions of an Auto Europe rate quote I find: "Additional drivers sign on and pay locally. Minimum age for additional drivers is 25." So can there be only one additional driver who signs on this way, or can any number sign on for a price, I wonder?

The problem is that Auto Europe work through other car rental companies and the practice of those companies seems to be that a maximum of 2 drivers applies.

We've had four drivers on a rental in Ireland. We went through AutoEurope. Two of us were leaving earlier than the others and so paid the extra driver fee only for the time we were there. Have you called AutoEurope?

quote:

Originally posted by beebee:
The problem is that Auto Europe work through other car rental companies and the practice of those companies seems to be that a maximum of 2 drivers applies.

I just ran this issue past AutoEurope customer service unit....they said that Hertz, Avis and Europcar have no limit on the number of additional drivers in Italy and France. However, AutoEuropa (Sicily by Car) does impose a limit of one additional driver.

Do you remember where you got the information on the limitation on the number of drivers?

I've encountered the problem many many times when hiring from Auto Europe. That said, the person who told me that they restrict the number of drivers was the person at the point of pick up, so that could have been Avis, Hertz or EuropCar and I never questioned them.

I wonder if there are different arrangements for North Americans. Ok, so now I guess I have to check the terms & conditions (you'd never know I was a lawyer - well, not a good one, anyway )

So, how exactly does the rental car company know who is driving the car (e.g. for the 11 day rental period, all over Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio)?

They don't. But if you have an accident and the driver is not a registered additional driver I would bet it negates your insurance, so the unauthorized driver (and passengers) might be help monetarily responsible for all costs of an accident (new car, medical expenses, 3rd party liablity, etc.) I do not think it would be worth the chance.

quote:

Originally posted by beebee:

I wonder if there are different arrangements for North Americans. Ok, so now I guess I have to check the terms & conditions (you'd never know I was a lawyer - well, not a good one, anyway )

AutoEurope says there shouldn't be any restrictions in the UK contracts...

If there is a problem, the customer should ask the reservations agent to call AutoEurope and verify the situation. Failing that, the customer can call the AutoEurope international 800 number from a landline and try and get it sorted out.

But no doubt, it is a pain when this sort of thing happens. Perhaps it would be good to ask for something in writing from AutoEurope explaining the additional driver provisions to be sent along with the voucher when customers anticipate more than one additional driver.....

A quick update.

I've checked the Ts &Cs and all they say is:

quote:

Minimum driver age 23. Drivers age 21 - 24 must pay a young driver surcharge locally. Additional drivers sign on and pay locally.

I cannot find any more specific terms, but on querying the point with Auto Europe by email, they confirm that they don't restrict the number of drivers. My experience, however, is that when you try to sign up more than 2 drivers, the local car company imposes THEIR rules.

I'd be very interested to hear if anyone else has been able to sign up more than 2 drivers.

We've rented from AutoEurope in both France and Italy using EuropeCar. We've had 3 or 4 drivers and only had to pay a fee of as I recall about $5 per day per additional driver.

They recently by phone told me the same thing.

That's excellent news. We've been told to pick up the car from National in Lille, which in my experience is unusual (i.e. I've usually been directed to Avis or Europecar) so we'll see if we encounter a problem or not and I'll report back.

Thanks very much for all the input.