Drivalia Italia Reviews 15,929

The customer service at the counter was extremely slow and it took almost 1 full hour of waiting in the line. The car I received was a slightly better model but had a rather long list of "remarks". As I was in a hurry I could not verify them one by one and anyway no one assisted me when accessing the car at the parking lot. The interior of the car was very dirty: steering wheel was scattered with dried snot droplets and the gear stick was brown dirty. I had to buy some cleaning material and clean that myself as both steering wheel and gearstick were horribly sticky.
Although I took extremely good care of the car during the period and of course never hit or scratched it, when returning the vehicle the inspection staff went suspiciously straight to point out two marks that were apparently not flagged in the car log. I argued that I had not done it but I was quickly dismissed and charged more than 100€ for them.
Perhaps worth mentioning that the car had barely legal tyres (very worn out), only one break light working at the back, the battery of the key was exhausted and the drivers' side floor mat worn out (with a hole!).
Overall an horrible experience with Drivalia. Never again for me.

I rented a car in Nov and Dec both times I received the same car and both times was the same issue the windows were dirty and there was no fluid in the wipers. I said nothing the QST time and the 2nd time I was told to go to the mechanic down the street to have it added. What should have been done was given me a different car to drive.

My partner booked a car from Drivalia and payed for it beforehand. When we arrived to take the car, they didn’t give it to us, because we didn’t have the physical credit card. So we didn’t get neither the car or the money. Even if they have this conditions written down, it is not right legally and this kind of condition is illegal. After many calls and written emails, we were left with nothing and they even didn’t try to reason with us or compensate us any way. I have never seen this anywhere, if there is a problem, the company should always refund the money!! They are stealers! I am a lawyer and although the terms and conditions state that the credit card should be physical, they still should have had to refund me. First there is the law and then there are the terms and conditions that have to follow the law. I will proceed this legally!

Great service, great costs

I rented an Opel during 20 days, from Fiumicino. Everything went well until I returned the car. He found two damages and a missing tire repair kit. I jag my car parked on my own yard with no other cars parked close by. Unfortunately I didn't take photos when renting, but these things didn't happen during my rental. Never rent from these guys!!

I decided to give them a second chance despite an awful experience earlier this year. Unfortunately, the bar somehow got even lower.

First, I had a very rude interaction at the counter. But I'd say that was expected knowing the company.
Then, I was given a car with a tank that was not full. I was explicitly told that I was expected to return the car with a full tank. Assuming this meant I would be reimbursed for the extra fuel—just as I would be charged if I returned it with less fuel—I returned the car with a full tank.

Unsurprisingly, I later received an email stating that fuel reimbursement was not possible.

Excellent service received all over and very friendly people

Car brake pads was exhausted and metals literally rub against each other . so we where on highway with an infant with that car . and after they changed the car (they tried to give us lower category) we took that car dirty (we didn't have time to wait in our short vacation for an hour more to tak clean car)and all around damaged! also we paid for out of hours but the stuff only take advantage of our absence and makes up excuses (like there's no some fuel card or something that i don't even seen and been told or given) and charges fraudulently . don't take cars from this kinde of companies without insurance! especially from Napoli

I am writing this as a serious warning to anyone considering renting from Drivalia at Heathrow (Rental 3444222). My experience has been so concerning that I am now formally escalating this matter to an independent ombudsman.
​Key issues during my rental:
​Failure to Provide Reserved Vehicle: I never received the automatic SUV I originally reserved and paid for.
​Hostile Environment: The staff behavior I witnessed at collection was appalling. When I attempted to address my concerns during the return process, the counter staff remained hostile and refused to help.
​Total Communication Blackout: Throughout the rental, Drivalia ignored every attempt at contact via phone, email, and text. Most alarmingly, staff at the Heathrow office explicitly stated to me that they do not answer customer calls or respond to emails.
​Obstructed Complaint Process: After being directed to their website contact forms, the system automatically informed me the matter was "already closed" or that a decision had been made, despite no one ever speaking to me.
​It is deeply concerning that a company operating with these "predatory" tactics remains an approved Heathrow supplier. I believe their practices breach basic codes of conduct.
​Verdict: Avoid at all costs. I will be pursuing this through regulatory channels to ensure an independent review of their operations is conducted.

1 star – Extremely disappointing and unfair experience

We had a 9 day car rental booking fully paid in advance. When we arrived at the desk, the rental company cancelled our booking on the spot because the booking was in my husband’s name and we offered my credit card instead of his.

Despite the fact that we offered a valid credit card, they refused to release the car, cancelled the reservation, and kept 100% of the money. No car was provided, no alternative solution was offered, and no partial refund was given.

This left us stranded after arrival with no vehicle and no booking, despite having paid in full. Customer service later repeated the same explanation and refused any refund.

This felt completely unreasonable and unethical. Taking full payment for 9days without providing a car or even a partial refund is unacceptable. I strongly advise others to be extremely careful, especially if the credit card holder is not the same person as the booking name.

Avoid Drivalia. The car we were given was already covered in damage all the way around—there was not a single area that wasn’t damaged when we picked it up. Despite this, we were later charged for damages that we did not cause. This feels unfair and dishonest. Make sure to document everything in extreme detail if you use them, or better yet, stay away and choose a more reliable rental company.

Friendly staff and check-in/return process was smooth.

Do not rent with Drivalia!
These are criminals disguised in drivalia outfits. Rented for 1.5 days in Barcelona. The shuttle took half an hour. When we arrived staff was not even at counter and taking break for 15 minutes, of course car was not ready when we finally managed to talk to someone , then the manager started huge argument with his colleague. Car was not clean and had over 15 recorded dents but we needed to leave anyway. When we returned the car a day later the manager tried to pin 3 scratches to us. Luckily I had proof for 2 of them being their prior but they disputed the proof of the 3rd. As we needed to catch our flight I could not call the police and risk losing it so paid the 204€ extra charge.
Pls pls do not rent with this incompetent and criminal bunch
22 Jan 2026 update: shared my details with this bunch of thiefs and still no follow up: I rest my case

Absolute crooks. I booked a car through them from Venice airport via doyouitaly. The instructions on the voucher clearly said not to call them until you had your luggage so we didn’t. Security was horrendous so it took 1.5 hour to get through. I called them once we had our bags and they told me to get on a shuttle which we did. Then we get there and they say that because they hadn’t heard from us they had given our reservation away. We were now in the middle of nowhere and the only way to get a car was to pay 4 times what we had agreed. This was twice what was on their own website and they wouldn’t even price match with their website. Absolute crooks. Do not use.

Having rented a car for a week I tried to extend the rental for a further 4 days. As per instructions at pickup I personally passed the agency to make this request.

Nevertheless I received a threatening notification two days later that I failed to return the car on time. After laboriously clarifying this with customer service I was charged double the daily rate for the extra days, compared to what I would have spent had I rented the same car anew.

Customer service refused to budge inventing every possible excuse indicating that it was my fault and/or common practice.

Better to rent with real companies such as Hertz who have always applied fair rates to extensions.

On a positive note, the car was clean, in good order and the local staff at collection friendly.

Cancelled reservation while I was at check in counter. No refund given.

I rented at Venice airport. The staff seemed pissed off they were working. There was no one at the desk when I arrived and I had called them 15 mins before arriving. I called a number they had on the door and the lady responded with an angry voice saying “What do I want, there was a sign saying she would be back soon”. After 20 mins she arrived. They gave me a car that was not the one I booked even though there was a model I booked parked there. Supposedly it was reserved for someone. I asked for insurance advertised at 250 euros a week on the desk and the lady said it would cost 340 euros, when I asked about a cheaper option she said 410 euros, then I asked about the advert and she said it was wrong. And said it would be 380 euros. I asked why does the price change all the time and she asked do I want the insurance or not it was what the system told her. The car they gave me was full of dog hair. I asked them to clean it and the lady said it was not her job. When I pressed her to treat me as a customer and offer a solution she threatened to not give me a car and call the police if I did not leave. I asked for the manager. After 30 mins he came. After an explanation in Italian from the lady he started to say to say I would have to pay for the car cleaning as the dog hair could cause allergies. I told him I was picking up the car so why does he say I should pay. He only then realised I was not returning the car. I told him his staff was rude and even misleading him on the issue. He said it was not her fault she isn’t responsible for car cleaning or state of the vehicle. He gave me 3 possible solutions I wait 2 hours for car to be cleaned, I clean it myself or I leave with no rental. He did not offer me the car that was waiting which was the model I booked. When si pressed him he said it was for another client who was going to arrive. I waited. They gave me the car with the tank half full, tyre pressure at half indicated, and after a few kms the add blue light turned on so I had to pay for add blue as well. Frankly the worst experience I have ever had renting a car. Fo not rent drivalia at Venice airport the staff are awful.

This was our first time renting and using an electric car. When we picked up the vehicle, we disconnected the charging cable but unfortunately forgot to take it with us, which meant that we did not have a cable during our rental period. No one informed us at the time that we needed to take the cable along, and this was not clearly communicated to us.

When returning the car, the situation was handled in a very unprofessional manner, as if we had intentionally taken or stolen the cable. This felt uncomfortable and unjust.

A more appropriate response would have been for the staff member to simply check with colleagues whether a cable had been found or returned, and to help resolve the situation in a constructive way. Unfortunately, this level of customer service was not present at Drivalia (Mr. G.V.)

I could not easily book a reservation online because I was booking with US phone number. I found a customer service email and they were good enough to help me book a car. It was quite easy once I was able to get to the right email department.