What if you are in Italy and decide to rent a car to visit small Italian villages?
The majority of car rentals in big cities generally have employees who speak English. So you usually don’t need to worry about your knowledge of Italian when renting a car in Italy.
However, just in case, I’m going to list here some of the most useful Italian sentences you can use when renting a car in Italy.
ENTERING A CAR RENTAL IN ITALY
When entering a car rental in Italy you usually get right to the point:
Buongiorno, vorrei noleggiare una macchina
Hello, I’d like to rent a car
If they don’t have any cars available, the employee will just tell you something like:
Mi dispiace ma non ne abbiamo/Mi dispiace ma non abbiamo nessuna macchina disponibile al momento
I’m sorry we don’t have any cars available at the moment
If they do, instead, the employee will ask you further questions.
CHOOSING THE CAR
The employee can ask you:
Quale tipo di auto vuole/desidera?
What type of car would you like?
And you can answer:
Vorrei un’auto compatta/media/grande
I’d like a compact/midsize/full size car
Vorrei un SUV
I’d like a SUV
Vorrei un minivan
I’d like a minivan
Vorrei un’auto di lusso
I’d like a luxury car
Vorrei un auto col cambio automatico/manuale
I’d like a car with an automatic/manual transmission
Vorrei una macchina a benzina/a gasolio
I’d like a petrol/diesel car
The employee usually will say something like:
Abbiamo una macchina media e un Suv
We have a midsize car and a Suv
La macchina è a gasolio mentre il Suv è a benzina
The car is diesel-powered while the SUV is petrol-powered
Non abbiamo auto con il cambio manuale
We don’t have cars with automatic transmission
Now it’s your turn to ask:
Quant’è la macchina/il SUV?
How much is the car/the SUV?
The employee will answer:
La macchina viene 38€ al giorno mentre il SUV 80€
The car is 38€ a day while the SUV is 80€
Once you’ve decided the car you prefer you say:
Prendo il SUV
I’ll take the SUV
MORE DETAILS
Let’smove on to other sentences that might come in handy when renting a car in Italy.
Once you’ve chosen a car, the employee will ask you more questions. Let’s see the most important ones:
Per quanto tempo vuole noleggiarla?
How long will you be renting the car?
And you’ll answer:
Fino al 20 gennaio
Till the 20th of January
Another question the employee will ask you is:
Vuole fare un’assicurazione addizionale?
Would you like an additional insurance?
Before deciding, you can ask:
Cosa copre e quanto costa?
What does it cover and how much is it?
Viene 200€ e copre tutto, senza franchigia
It’s 200€ and covers everything regardless of fault
Now you can say va bene or no grazie – ok or no thanks.
FINAL DETAILS
The employee will tell you the final price you’ll have to pay:
Il totale è 600€
The total will be 600€
Then he will give you information such as:
Può ritirare il veicolo al piano inferiore. Basta che mostri la fattura all’addetto
You can pick up your car downstairs. Just show the attendant the invoice
Il serbatoio è pieno. Deve restituire la macchina col serbatoio pieno. In caso contrario, le verranno addebitati 2€ per ogni litro mancante
The gas tank is full. You should fill it up before you return the car. If you don’t, we’ll charge 2€ a liter
L’auto deve essere riconsegnata per le 14.00 di venerdì. Le verranno addebitati 8€ per ogni quattro ore di ritardo
The car has to be returned by 2pm on Friday. We charge additional 8€ for every four hours that you’re late
That’s all. These are the most common sentences you generally use when renting a car in Italy.
If you want to know how to ask for directions in Italian, have a look at my article.
Credits
Original image by MarleneBitzer
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