We had a fantastic experience with Sicily By Car (otherwise known as AUTOEUROPA), renting from Malpensa in Milan. First I screwed up the rental and booked in Linate, but they made the change without charging me, without a hassle, only hours before we were to arrive. The car was quite cheaper than anywhere else I saw. And more than adequate for our needs. Then, we lost the keys to the car near Bergamo. They were extremely helpful over the phone, had me tow the car to their Bergamo branch (much closer than Milan), gave me a new car (and we needed an automatic, not always easy to come by), and charged me a very reasonable fee. We were worried, after reading many negative reviews. Perhaps they've taken customer service to heart. read more

I rented a car in Florence from Sicily By Car. I was warned about the problems with them. No surprise then that they were the cheapest, but I took the risk. I booked them for a few days for about EUR49. Then after arriving back home, I look at my credit card, and there is 4 separate charges of $94 ($376 in total) charged punctually each month of my trip! Apparently, I got a parking fine in Rome somewhere. I never received the fine - despite the rental company having my address. I hear it can take up to 12 months. It appears that the traffic police contact the rental company - every month - to 'ask where I am'. The rental company supposedly then inform me - and charge me $99 for their labour. It does not pay the fine then pass the charge onto me. If it had, I would be actually better off! The fine I can live with. A single administration charge to hand over my address to the 'Carabinieri', I can understand. But I doubt the police are knocking on the door - every month - just to check if maybe I am 'keeping in touch' with my old friends at the car rental company. Once my details have been handed over - that is it. I have no doubt they will continue to charge me until my limit is reached, so obviously, I have had to cancel the card. So basically Sicily By Car (Auto Europa) are unethical thieves to be avoided at costs! Do not under any circumstances rent from these people! They will not accept prepaid credit cards either, if you think you can 'beat the system'. read more

wish we had read the reviews first. totally shitty. they completely over booked themselves. we arrived to the airport to find a massive line of disgruntle people who had been waiting for hours to pick up their rentals. the gentleman in front of us had been waiting for three hours. Initially, we decided to wait until the one of the workers behind the counter started yelling at a customer because he was complaining about the wait time. in the end, we decided to count our losses. we gave up hope of every getting the car we had already paid for and walked over to Avis to rent another one. I will never use this service again. Shitty. Shitty. Shitty read more

I always try to rent with Hertz. But somehow, few days before my booking, rentcars changed my booking from hertz to sicily by car. Since I didnt have time to change or get in contact with RentalCars, I decided to try Sicily by car. My entire experience with Sicily by car was a joke. They were asking a deposit of 1k euros, witch is unbelievable, I rent cars all the time, all over the world and I've never had to give that big of a deposit. I didnt have 1k, so they took 600, because was all I had (at that point I had no money left because of this stupid deposit). When I went to drop off the car I had to pay extra 200 for an insurance because I didnt have the entire 1k deposit. AND, I had payed insurance before (With rentalcars, around $17 A DAY!). When I left the company leaving the $600 deposit, no one ever told me about the insurance and fees for not having the entire 1k deposit. I was thinking I was all set. Anyways, I didn't want to ruined my trip, and even knowing that was not right, I payed the total amount they were asking me. I just wanted to get all the documents needed to get back to rentalcars and get a reembolse. Before I left, I took a photo of the rental stand, so I knew where it was, who was working there and being rude to me, so I could call the company later back in NY, and complain. I took the photo and left. One sicily by car employee started screaming at me saying I was not authorized to take a photo. She started RUNNING after me in the parking lot, and TRYING TO TAKE MY PHONE OUT OF MY HANDS. Again, she didn't try to talk or ask; she immediately screamed and got physical. She freak out so intensely, she blocked my way out of the parking lot, called the parking lot's security guard. He wast allowing me to call the police, not giving me the number. The woman started pushing and slapping me, so unbelievable that I HAD to make a video (please see attached). When I start recording she pushed me with the security guard to a ROOM, they LOCKED ME in a room, when I said I wanted to call the police she said "NO POLICE, YOU ARE IN ITALY, THIS IS HOW WE DO IT HERE - Give me your phone now or you are not leaving this room." At that moment I started to get scared for me life, i was an woman, alone, in the middle of naples with a crazy italian lady trying to punch her costumer and a security guard that wasn't allowing me to call the police. I sent the video and photo via whatsapp to my friends (so I would still have it even if I deleted from my phone) and showed them "I was sorry" and deleted it all on my phone in front of them. Even doing this, they kept me locked for minutes going over all my personal photos on my phone. I fell scared for my life. I had my intimacy being violated, since they took my phone out of my hands and went over all my personal photos and documents. I have never been in such a desperate situation in none of my trips around the world, and again, I am brazillian, I live in NYC, I travel the world for work and I know 5 languages and I've been to many countries. I was never disrespectful with them. When I got in Rome I sent an email to the company with the video and, so far, NO ANWSER. I just got back to america, and before I contact my lawer to see what I can do about this situation, I wanted to contact rentalcars and see what you guys can do about my experience. Please, see the video attached, that shows the face of the employee that attached me, and how the situation was really unreal. read more

We rented at the Florence location through rentalcars.com. The men at the desk claimed they had not received our request but said they have a car available that was larger and of a higher price. The customer service was terrible, the man was rude and if I was not desperate for a car at that point I would have walked out. As it turns out, we were charged over $370 USD for a 2 day rental when we were told it would be $238. It is also a hassle to find the car rental garage and then after waiting for 20 minutes two men came in another car and took us to a different location. I would never use them again and will probably never see my money back. read more

I rented a car from Sicily by Car in Milan through Dollar in the US. Today, a year and a half later they have sent me a letter charging me $75 for file handling fee's saying I had a missing toll fee and attached was a third page that totally in Italian saying I owe $600. No email or toll free number to call, a year and one half after when I rented the car. I am going on my third hour trying to figure out what the heck it is and how or even whom wants $600 for a missing toll fee. What a pathetic company. read more

Wow what a horrible company. Saw a guy in line get screamed at because they gave him a car with broken engine and he wanted a substitution.

We had a car rental at 8AM and the representative did not show up until 8:50AM. We had a business meeting to attend and now we were late. In addition, we rented a sports car class and we were issued a van and told we could take it or leave it because that was all they had left. Since we prepaid they were not willing to refund us or provide us with any other option. Very disappointing that we did not get the car we booked but most important, we were late for our meeting. I will not use Sicily by Car again. read more

If I could give it 0 stars I would. They rented us a complete unsafe car with summer tires in the dead of winter with kids in the car.

Be aware of this company !!.They over charge costumer on their credit cards and they bill them for damages on the rental car with fake claims with staged pictures and they refuse to communicate with costumers on not returning phone calls or Emails. They make you feel like you got a good deal but at the end you got taken by these dishonest crooks. One of the counter employees, in Catania airport, bold headed guy, is rude and he could use to learn some manners towards costumers.You got warned. read more

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY!!!!! THEY ARE SCAMMERS!!! Trust all of the other negative reviews you read online...this company is a complete fraud! As an Italian, I'm completely embarassed at the way this company conducts business! I rented a car for 3 wks in Italy and returned it with no damage, and a full tank. A month later, I see a charge on my credit card for $218? When disputed, Auto Europa came back stating that the car was missing 4 litres of gas. Mind you, 4 litres of gas = roughly 1 gallon of gas...for $218??! And a month later??? I worked this out with my credit card company as it was a fraudulent charge but I am absolutely disgusted. I wish I read the reviews before renting!! read more

Please search Sicily by Car on TripAdvisor - you will find a very interesting thread. You can decide if this is worth the risk. Below is my personal experience. I rented from Sicily by Car (through Thrifty) in May 2012. Upon return, they told me "there was a sign of forced entry" i.e. the driver door lock was damaged. Frankly, it looked like someone tried to put a screwdriver into the key hole, but I have seen many locks like that on older cars. The car has a remote, so how often does anyone looks at the lock itself? I asked an attendant if I had an insurance would it be covered and was told yes, so I just signed the return paperwork and left for the airport. Several weeks later my CC was billed USD994.88 and charge was by Sicily by Car. My credit card company started a dispute investigation and after several months and numerous letters they had to notify me that the charge was legit because I signed a rental agreement that apparently had a provision that various parts of the vehicle are not covered by the warranty. I guess I can blame myself for signing something in Italian, but how often does anyone read a fine print on the rental agreement? By paying extra and purchasing a warranty I thought I will be protected from exactly the problems that I received. Hopefully others can read this reviews and avoid Sicily by Car. read more

I would suggest AVOIDING renting a car from ''Sicily by Car'' aka ''Auto Europa'' at ANY cost. They offer a low cost for the basic rental but then they try to trip you up with a multitude of catches any one of which will make renting from them more expensive then any of the big rental companies. I recently rented a car from ''Sicily by Car'' at Milan, Malpensa Airport between the 10th to the 18th of October, 2016. This was my first and last time renting from them I assure you. Firstly they are located in terminal 1 which is a bus ride from terminal 2. All easyJet flights go into terminal 2. So you need to allow an hour to get through immigration customs and get to the other terminal (excludes collecting a checked bag). When I got to the office in T2 there was a few people ahead of me all of whom were being served which is fine but the rental process was lengthy and when I eventually got to the counter took a phone call mid transaction and spent 10 minutes chatting while one of his colleagues swept the floor (not to bothered about the ringing phone). Then the car I ordered was not available, it seems they don't have any Nissan Qashqai even though they offer them? Not unusual you might say as they offer car categories. In this case I think its sharp practise as its a norm rather than an unusual circumstance. They tried to pawn a Jeep to me without telling me the Nissan Qashqai was not available? but when I complained they offered an Opel Mokka which was fine. I took the car at 1330 for 8 days. The car was clean, it had no window wash fluid and all four tyres needed to be pumped as per the permanent car warning display on the dash. Something they clearly just ignore. So that was the first thing I had to get done after leaving the airport (all four tyres were down 6 psi from recommended levels). If you return the car less than full of fuel they charge a penalty of €30 euros plus the cost of the fuel at a premium rate. They also take a charge on your credit card of €1200 euros for security if you do not take ''all the insurance''. There is no obvious release of this charge after returning the car and now I don't know if it has been released or not? They do not advise that did if you return the car more than 60 minutes from the time its collected they charge a full days rent at a premium rate. Not being aware of this and being used to renting from the larger companies I returned the car at 1600 2.5 hours after the collection time 8 days later and they charged me €78.29 euros for late return. read more

Beware of this fraudulent company! Charging you extra insurance which is not stated on your online booking form! Six months passed since I rented a car from them, now they took 61 Euros from my credit card, no notification why! I found out online, apparently I was fined, somewhere, but it is not the fine! Sicily by Car charges you 61 Euro from every fine you get from the police! So you end up with a fine from the police and from the rental company as well! Never again! After reading fellow travellers stories, I count myself lucky! Typical maffia business! read more

This car rental company should be criminally prosecuted. After reading many negative reviews I feel I have to add my story. Rented a car, drove it without incident, returned it to the airport and flew home to the States. A few weeks later I received an additional charge on my credit card for $400.00. After contacting the company I am told there was damage to the car. I ask them to provide a photo - which turns out to be a dent on the undercarriage of the car. I protest that I was the only driver of the car and that I most certainly would have known if I damaged the undercarriage (which I did not). They refuse to rescind the charge. I contact my credit card company to protest the charge but since the insurance was included in the rental of the car (of which I could not decline), my CC insurance was void. And it just so conveniently happened that there was a $500 deductible on the rental company's insurance policy. After thinking about is situation, it occurred to me that these low-lifes probably charge each and every person who rents the car a fee for undercarriage damage over and over again. Who the hell checks UNDER the car for damage when renting? Shame Shame Shame!! I beg you not to use this company. read more

Warning!!! I did not believe the reviews. And what a mistake! It really is fraudulent company. They charged me extra money one month later from my credit card and 2 months later again. I had to cancel the card and now I am in cooperation of my bank trying to get money back, but no reply to me or bank! Be careful!!!! read more

beware from this company we made a reservation for two cars they were both defective,problem with the engines and above all they are charging money from the credit cards like it their own! i rented a car six month ago, and yesterday they charged me 61 euro again... ,they are telling (after i called to see why!)me now its for a traffic fine after six month! and they didn't told anything not email not phone ,nothing!,i just so the billing! above all its not for the fine it's just for telling me that there is a fine ,that they didn't even bothered to say. even that the car was defective we needed to go to the airport and burn the day to replace the cars they didn't want to give us the cars to the hotel so we lost a day and money on highways ,they also charged us for full tank 68 eur they didn't want us to move the cars,and also the cars was almost full and we picture and show them they still charged us full tank also the cars was defective and we couldn't move them!!! their customer service do not apply to nothing!taking your money and that all! they charged 3 time 61 eur for nothing! i left also a baby safety seat and that also "disappeared" do not trust them!!! read more