If you are renting a vehicle to drive aroud in Italy, whether you rent in advance from the States or at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome, beware of Auto Europa / Sicily by Cars tactics and the drive-worthiness of the vehicle. The problems arose when we were enroute to southern Italy. Every hour, like clockwork, a beep would sound and a warning sign would flash that the oil level was correct. However, the engine power would diminish and the air conditioner would cut off. The wipers operated, but no water squirted. Upon checking the water reservoir, we discovered that it was cracked and did not hold any water — no sooner you added water, it would flow out. We resorted to pouring water from a bottle directly on the windshield, when needed. The concave and convex side mirrors were reversed. The passing car was actually on you when you thought it was ten car lengths away. The fuel gauge was inoperative, and it always showed 3/4 full.in short, it was a dangerous vehicle when you tried to pass. We adjusted to the situation and let the other cars pass us. When necessary, we eased toward the side to let the speeding cars pass us. We did not call the Auto Europa / Sicily by Car because we did not know what their answer might be — were we required to return to the airport for another car? Would they bring another car to us? Would they send us to a mechanic? Would we lose a day or two in the process?
When we stopped to pick up the car, the clerk had us give her the credit card to keep on record to charge up to $500 in case any damages by us would be over what their insurance would cover. That was a poor start. Upon returning the Peugeot, the attendant went directly to look under the front left side for any scratches, as if she knew she would find scratches there. Sure enough, there was a scratch. When I told her that we had to tell the "pickup" attendant to record missed items and that I had photos, she asked why we didn't tell him about that scratch and did not want to see the photos. This is a first: you need to look under the car to report missed defects!? At this point we thought it best not to report any of the problems that arose along the way for fear she would hold us responsible. We will contact the credit card company to report a possible dispute in case they try to collect for gas and phantom damages. We filled the tank immediately before we returned the Peugeot and told her about the faulty gauge. She said they would have to check the fuel amount the following morning
Never again will we use this car rental company!!!
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