Should I rent a car before I get to Italy? Why?

I'd suggest waiting til you get there.

The airlines are real sticklers about the weight of your luggage on international flights so renting before you leave and taking a car with you would be damn near impossible.

And watch out for the modifications to the engine. In Italy, all vehicles have a "limiter" on their engines by law. This limiter ensures that the car travels in a speed band ranging from 60 to 95 MPH at all times, apart from when it senses that females under the age of thirty are in the vicinity, then it automatically slows down and causes the electrics to emit a 150 decibel Wolf Whistle as you pass.
If a return whistle is registered by the car, it will slam on the brakes and chuck open the passenger door.
The only other modification is the car horn. This will sound continuously when the car is stationary for more than three seconds at traffic lights.

Cars in Italy don't have brakes. That's what horns are for.

Kicky, unless you're an EXTREMELY aggressive driver, I'd recommend taking cabs while you're there. Believe me, it'll be enough of a thrill.

All depends on when you want it.

Id recomend arranging it now, getting a taxi to the hotel then picking up a car when you have a full day/s to use it.
If price doesnt vary then why not book it now through a travel agent,to avoid any language barriers.

Haha! Very interesting responses!

So is that the only reason why people do it ahead of time then? The language barrier?

If I do book it ahead, does anyone have any recommendations on rental car places, or should I just go online and pick the first one that pops up on a google search?

I have not rented a car in Italy, but have in Great Britain. In general, you may be able to get a better price by renting early or at least have a better opportunity to compare prices of different rental companies. Most likely the same US rental companies will offer rentals in Europe. Go onto their websites for information. Also, I know in Great Britain it was extremely more expensive to rent an automatic versus a standard. Hopefully you can drive a standard. And the car sizes are much different. In other words if you were to rent the smallest size here in the US, it would be 3 grades higher than in Europe - they have some really tiny cars.

I would at least do the research ahead of time so you know where you can pick up a car, how much it will be, and which rental company would be best.

Another thing as others said - drivers Italy are insane. They drive fast and close. If you can take the trains.

I'm only thinking about getting a car for a day or two to use for a drive through the Tuscany area outside Florence, or maybe on the Amalfi coast for a day or two, so I'm not that worried about the crazy drivers. Besides, I can drive like a maniac too.

Thanks for the input so far. I guess I'll check out the rental car rates from the U.S. companies first.

We rented a car on our first trip, after we had been in Italy about ten days. We only drove in the Tuscany area, mostly not on the autostrada, although I did drive the autostrada for about thirty miles. We weren't in any hurry as we tooled along the Tuscan roads - were interested in the details of what we were seeing, and stopped wherever we felt like getting a caffe latte or getting a room.

We had rented the car in Firenze and my husband got to be the one to drive the Fiat Panda out of the garage and into chaos.
Well, chaos didn't arrive for a couple of blocks, but he did find a bit of trouble getting out of some traffic circle. Once south of the city of Firenze we had clear sailing. I still would be chickenshit to drive in Roma. Anyway, we returned the car to Firenze and took the train after that week.

Seems to me you'd have more flexibility if you waited until you got to Italy and the area where you want to drive, but maybe you'd be more comfortable having a done deal.

I have a friend who flew to italy from California recently and picked up a rental car at Malpensa, the Milan airport, and drove immediately on the autostrada to a hotel she had reserved at in a small town about 45 minutes away. Me, I'd never do that after a long flight - or at least I wouldn't until I got more used to autostrada driving. She was fine with it, no big deal.

By the way, I didn't think the italians were bad drivers - they were tuned in and attentive from what I saw. It's my own driving relative to their driving in Rome that would worry me.

Oh, and we rented from Avis in Firenze. Aside from that circle, heh, it was not all that hairy getting out of town and going south.

You might get a better deal at a smaller rental place in
Italy, but if something happens to the car, you're doomed
wherever you are.

Taking Hertz or Avis is always a safe bet, they have a
good support system -should you get stuck somewhere -
and there are many rental stations in every major town.

Play it safe, especially since this is your first trip to Italy.

Excellent. I will do that. Thanks for the help, everyone!

My trip is only ten days away! I have made prenotazioni for all the hotels, apartments and museums, and I will soon decide on the car idea or not.

I'm so excited!!!

Yay!

Do you know if you'll be able to keep us updated while you're there, or do we have to wait 'til you come back?

Wow, ten days until you go? Wonderful!!! I hope you have a great trip.

I can tell you that when I went to Spain the first time in 2000, I rented a car ahead of time and got a great deal. The second time, in 2003,... there weren't any cars available for the first day and we ended up paying over $1000 for less than a week for a much crappier car (thank you Avis) vs. the less than $300 for the ten days on the previous trip.

What a bummer that was (luckily, due to the language barrier, we didn't know until we got back how badly we were ripped off). I'd arrange for the car ahead of time, but it is probably a good idea to give yourself a day or two to acclimate yourself.

I believe you will have to wait until I get back. I'm not taking my laptop with me, and I haven't even checked out whether any of my hotels will have internet access. Maybe I'll get a chance to stop in once or twice, but probably not much more than that.

Sounds smart to do, Piffka..
and Calamity's point about Avis and Hertz help if the car breaks down is really useful..

Yes, Piffka, thanks.

Actually, the drivers on the autostrada weren't bad. It was the city drivers and those on mountain roads.

(From my journal...)

Naples was the worst. They ignored lane dividers, often cramming five cars into three lanes. They drove on the sidewalks. They parked in the middle of the streets, every which direction. I even saw cars jump center medians and drive on the streetcar tracks in the center of the street right in front of the streetcars (which were automated, no manual brakes.) Every stop light was a starting line for a race, and usually they didn't wait for the light to change. Accidents were everywhere.

Machismo rules! Who proceeds through the intersection first? When do you turn left in front of oncoming cars? Where do you park? It is all a matter of nerve. Driving in Italy is not basic transportation...it is sport. Male or female, whoever has the most guts wins. Horns are obligatory. So is screaming at the other driver. Hand gestures are optional.

Mountain roads were fun, too. To increase the anxiety, they make all the mountain roads just slightly narrower than two lanes. Naturally, one side of the road is bounded by sheer rock cliffs. When two drivers approach each other from different directions, someone must pull over halfway onto the narrow shoulder to let the other one pass. If there is a shoulder. If there isn't, someone must back up until a shoulder appears. Who pulls over or backs up? That's right...machismo rules! Oh, and there are a lot of tunnels in the mountains. (Tunnel is "galleria" in Italian, just like the mall.) Many aren't lighted, and people drive screamingly fast in them. Fortunately, we never had to back out of one. My stomach still does flip-flops just thinking about it.

This was who we rented with when we were in Scotland... I was very pleased with them.

http://www.autoeurope.com/

Gag, tunnels! The nightblind one freaks with tunnels here, much less there. I had to pull over if I was driving and trade with John. If I wouldn't drive in Rome, you can bet your bippy I wouldn't drive in Naples...

I only saw one accident, a small one, in Rome, and very few dented cars. Bella figura, you know, gotta have the car looking good.. (have been there about a month if I count up the days in different trips).

Reminds me of the story of my pals, three sisters, taking the youngest sister to italy for her fiftieth birthday. Fine time had by all, those women know how to dine and shop. (Not my thing, or only slightly my thing, but I enjoyed hearing about their trip). Except for when they went to the Cinque Terre. Now I haven't been there but even I know that you don't drive between those five clifftop villages.
They didn't know that, and set out down a dirt or gravel road... much fright happened. They had to back up for quite a long way. Two of them were too frightened to stay in the car and crawled out of it. Marina backed it up...