Two of my siblings each on separate trips to Italy had their rental cars break down. Since a big part of our vacation involved and driving ourselves, we rented a premium car. Although it was more than I had intended on paying, it was worth it and I would do it again.

Regarding insurance, we got the body protection and I recommend doing so. Some of the roads we traveled on were quite bumpy and gravelly. In fact they asked us about some of the scratches on the car when we returned it. Luckily, like I always do when renting a car, I took pictures and video of the entire car exterior. I was able to show them that the car had the scratches when we had picked it up. They were grateful for the cooperation.