Vintage car rental in Milan Italy advice

[JB630]

My wife to be and I are travelling to Italy later this year for our honeymoon and are looking to rent a classic Alfa/Lancia in Milan to drive around Lake Como and up to the Dolomites for a few days. Does anyone have experience renting vintage cars out of Milan and have any recommendations? It has been troublesome verifying companies. I am currently speaking with a company called "Classic Car Rentals" that have a Fulvia I am interested in renting. I have been speaking with them for a couple weeks and after figuring out all the logistics they sent me bank account info to wire money to. I am admittedly pretty ignorant about the cultural norms here so perhaps this is normal but wanted to get some input from the experience of everyone here. The website of the company in question is: https://www.classicrentalcars.it/

I greatly appreciate all input and advice here. Just don't want to get scammed.

[JB630]

Update - They have provided an option for paying with a credit card which gives me some piece of mind but would still appreciate any and all insights.

[David]

I'm sure you'll be fine especially in Northern Italy. We did a vintage Fiat 500 wine tour in Tuscany a few years ago. Yes they rented us a car and then took us on a drinking tour of wineries! Welcome to Italy!

We stopped at a scenic overlook for a picture and an older Italian guy pulled up in a Ferrari 456. He came up and started a conversation with me in Italian until I told him I didn't speak Italian. He switched to heavily accented English and told me he used to have a '65 Fiat 500 just like mine, white with red interior and he was going to buy a new 500 just like it. I complimented his Ferrari and his parting comment to me was, "be careful, that's the most dangerous car ever made"

[JB630]

Thanks David, I appreciate your input!

[wilnj]

Following since I’m going to Portugal in May and was trying to find something similar.

The websites I found were all exotics, luxury or rare classics.

I hit up a couple enthusiast pages on IG but go no response.

[JB630]

I'm having the company owner send some pictures of the car I selected that weren't on the website to try and get more comfortable. Supposedly the car is in for maintenance and he needs a few days...

@wilnj - My searches were vintage car rental (city I'm staying) and classic car rental (city I'm staying) but this is probably more common in Italy than Portugal. I wish you luck!

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by JB630

I'm having the company owner send some pictures of the car I selected that weren't on the website to try and get more comfortable. Supposedly the car is in for maintenance and he needs a few days...

@wilnj - My searches were vintage car rental (city I'm staying) and classic car rental (city I'm staying) but this is probably more common in Italy than Portugal. I wish you luck!

The results are disappointing.

2055€ for a week with a Mk1 Golf Cabriolet?

https://www.bookaclassic.pt/vw-golf-cabriolet-fatima/?event=sightseeing&pickup_date=09.05.2025&pickup_time=12%3A00&dropoff_date=15.05.2025&dropoff_time=13%3A00&delivery=no&rental_type=self_drive

[JB630]

Unfortunately I am facing the same cost issue albeit for a different category of cars. Looking at around 2500€ all in for 3 days in a Fulvia 1.3 and of the 4 companies I've reviewed, that is the cheapest quote.

[Cajundaddy]

This was a while ago but I attempted to rent a Ferrari for a day in Sorrento and the price came back @ $2000 E plus insurance waiver. More than I wanted to spend.

For reference, I rented a Corvette convertible on the Island of Hawaii for a round island tour and it was $180.

[JB630]

All the vintage Ferraris I have found for rent are just way too far out of reach. Ultimately my parameters were pre 1980 vintage, Italian (Alfa, Lancia, Fiat), and enough power to tackle mountain passes.

That sounds like a fun way to tour paradise!

[zakthor]

Can you imagine handing the keys to your pampered Italian classic to some stranger so they can bomb through the mountains jamming gears and missing shifts? How does the rental company know that you know how to treat a car well?

I just dont see how the business model can work unless the rental price can pay for an engine and transmission rebuild.

Sounds like a dream. I can’t wait to read a follow up with pictures.

[JB630]

These companies are definitely betting on most of the drivers knowing what they are doing. The company I am planning to use rents their cars out for vintage racing events as well. What I am paying is certainly enough for a clutch replacement and they are probably making enough every 3 drivers or so to rebuild a transmission. They are rolling the dice a bit but I bet most people that are signing up for this know how to row their own. Biggest risk is probably someone downshifting too early with an unfamiliar car and putting a piston through a valve. We're not going until October but I'll do my best to remember this thread and add some pictures!

[David]

I found this video of the rental company's maintenance after Robert Kubica drove the Nurburgring pretty interesting. I watched the video a while ago but I think they mention maintenance intervals on Kubica's driving vs the average rental driver:

[JB630]

Thanks for sharing, I'll have to check that out when I get home from work.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by zakthor

Can you imagine handing the keys to your pampered Italian classic to some stranger so they can bomb through the mountains jamming gears and missing shifts? How does the rental company know that you know how to treat a car well?

I just dont see how the business model can work unless the rental price can pay for an engine and transmission rebuild.

Sounds like a dream. I can’t wait to read a follow up with pictures.

I agree with you, but go ahead and explain Turo to me then ;-) Never understood those people (also anytime someone new touches my classics something breaks, with me ? never)

[unclebilly]

I don’t really get it.

Why not rent something new, sporty, and cool?

A few months ago, I rented a Alfa Romeo SUV and taught myself how to drive on the left in it in England… it was a great experience and not at all what I had planned to rent when the shuttle bus from Heathrow took me to the car rental place.

It was modern, comfortable, powerful, and every bit as cool as some rented old classic car. Oh, and comfortable.

[Bill Douglas]

Sadly dishonesty is rife in the rental car industry in Italy. So take a whole lot of photos of the car before you drive off in it. And let them see you taking the pic's. When you return it fill the gas right up to the cap. They will still charge you for extra fuel, this will show up in a week or two on your credit card, but it's better than paying a couple of grand for a dent.

[Brian Cameron]

No specific advice on rentals, but if you should be so unfortunate as to get ticketed or pay a fine, do not dispose of the receipt for at least 2 years.

My rental car was towed in Florence (didn’t see the sign saying no parking Thursday nights for street cleaning) and i paid the fine and towing charges in cash at the impound lot. I did get a receipt but about 6 months after returning home i tossed it.

Not quite a year after the incident, got a charge on my visa from the car rental company for the fine - the commune of florence double dipped and charged them despite my having paid the fine on the spot.

No point in contesting it since i no longer had the receipt for the cash payment.

Renter beware.

[JB630]

unclebilly, different strokes for different folks I suppose. I love vintage cars and driving an Italian classic in its homeland is a bucket list item for me. I just don't get the same thrill from modern cars.

Thanks for tips Bill and Brian!

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by JB630

unclebilly, different strokes for different folks I suppose. I love vintage cars and driving an Italian classic in its homeland is a bucket list item for me. I just don't get the same thrill from modern cars.

Thanks for tips Bill and Brian!

That definitely sounds like a great adventure. I would just worry about the reliability and maintenance on a vintage Italian car. Rental companies could make it look beautiful, but mechanically, it is a pig.