Returning a Rental Car - Why Do They Make It So Hard?

Sophie Butler asks the question in the title, but doesn't provide a real answer. The fact is, returning rental cars to some airports in Italy gets harder every year.

Take the dastardly "fueling charge." The Florence airport has a gas station right at the entrance. Good for them. But forget Malpensa. We've always had a hard time finding something close enough to keep the fuel guage happy.

The real solution, if you're staying for three weeks or more, is to lease a car through what the French call a buyback lease. Then you can return your car pretty much senza benzina and they won't blink an eye or gleefully dig out their calculators to see how much the sucker standing in front of them is going to add to the company bottom line after they squeeze a couple ounces of fuel into the car's tank and charge 30 Euros for the "service." You'll also get full insurance and you won't be dinged if another family member wants to drive the car. Both Auto Europe and Renault Eurodrive (lease direct) offer buyback leases.

For more Italian driving resources, see: Driving in Italy: Car Rentals and Leasing