[Closed] Car Hire Spain

Because the price comparison sites leave out essential bits like "tyre and underside damage" cover. In my experience, you'll end up paying what the big boys charge regardless. Queues are big for Goldcar too.

Do not use a company that charge you for a full tank of fuel and say 'bring it back empty'. It's a toal scam. Invariably you will no be able to bring it back empty and they will not refund you.

I hired a car in Portugal and our villa was only 30k from the airport, we did a bit of mooching around during the holiday but probably only did about 150k in total. They would not refund me any money despite the fact that there was still 3/4 of a tank of fuel in it. I paid €80 in fuel to do 150km. They only tell you about the no refund policy in the very small print.

Europcar have always been good for me wherever I've needed a car.
Just google them. Most airports have a depot.

Do not use a company that charge you for a full tank of fuel and say 'bring it back empty'. It's a toal scam. Invariably you will no be able to bring it back empty and they will not refund you.

yep, avoid 'record go' for that very reason, they also insist you take our their own expensive excess insurance and a couple of other extra charges (like insurance in case the clutch fails)that you hadnt bargained for once you get to the desk (even if you paid up front for fully comprehensive insurance/collision damage etc). Car hire in spain is a minefield, so having been stung once already, if I was hiring blind, I'd choose one of the big firms with a good reputation.

its a big scam, you think the price you're going to pay is quite good, but when you get there and its too late to choose someone else, they add on various extra compulsory charges so that you end up paying the same as one of the big companies.

All of the car companies will have excesses on their insurance, but some will be a lot worse than others. How much you want to cover is up to you (the standard CDW cover versus windscreen and tyres), but I would definately read the T&Cs including the excess amount. Have a look around before you go to get "car hire excess insurance" online. Well worth the cover in case you get a few scratch marks and the hire company don't want to play ball, because at the point of returning the car all you are thinking of is catching your flight home.

If you are booking online you can usually get cashback from one of the many cashback sites.

I would also note I find it easier driving an automatic LHD car rather than a manual, if you haven't hired a car abroad before. And make sure you know the legal requirements, speed limits etc before you go, since the hire company won't tell you any of those things.

[i]Do not use a company that charge you for a full tank of fuel and say 'bring it back empty'. It's a toal scam. Invariably you will no be able to bring it back empty and they will not refund you.[/i]

The majority of hire companies in Spain do this although some will put half a tank in if you only hire for a weekend. I've also never found the charges particularly excessive for the fuel. In October I was charged 64euros for a full tank which wasn't excessive. This is about the usual charge.

Some companies we've used have refunded unused fuel but as we usually hire for a week or two then its unlikely we have much left in the tank anyway.

I've used loads of different agents, goldcar, centauro, plus a few others I can't remember the name of, all have been fine.

Last hire was in October and although we booked through an agent we picked the car up at the europcar desk at the airport. Probably the poorest customer service from any car hire company I've used.

Don't take the insurance excess cover, sort your own out before you go as its a lot cheaper.

[i]its a big scam, you think the price you're going to pay is quite good, but when you get there and its too late to choose someone else, they add on various extra compulsory charges so that you end up paying the same as one of the big companies.[/i]

This isn't the experience I've had, but I just say 'no' to any extras they try to sell. I've never been asked to pay any extra compulsory charges.

Used several and never really had an issue (touch wood).

Make a note of the fuel when you get in, and look at the state of the tyres - there's loads of tracks round Alicante!

We always got Berlingos or similar. Cheap, slow, economical, great turning circle (we go into the hills - switchback-tastic) and great shape for getting bikes in.

Cheers.

I have seen that Sixt only charge extra if under 23. Any experience of this company?

Sixt in the have been fine with me.

Get a car with return full fuel policy, think Martin Lewis website tells you which companies have this.

Get separate excess insurance and just take the absolute minimum insurance for the car hire. Covers you for more, and is chepaer. Again Martin Lewis website covers this.

Get a Citreon Berlingo or similar. Loads of space for bikes and kit chepaer than a big estate or a 4x4.

Sixt it may be then with a Peugeot Partner van car hybrid thing. But that could all change upon further research

[i]Get a car with return full fuel policy,[/i]

Which generally means going with one of the big hire companies, which generally means paying a lot more to hire the vehicle. So yes spend an extra £50 to save £10. Is that on the Martin Lewis webiste too?

We used Solmar in April this year, booked through doyouspain, friends we went with ended up using goldcar.

We'd booked an 'ibiza or similar' for 70 euros for 10 days but ended up with a chevrolet tin box, although the booking was for return empty we upgraded to their premium package for about 30 euros which included all the extra insurance and changed to a return full policy.
Their depot is a 10 min drive from the airport, the car had 60k on the clock and every panel was scuffed but it drove ok (if you ignored a slight misfire until the engine was warm)

Our friends queued for nearly 2 hours with goldcar, had to pay extra for the full insurance and were stuck with a return empty policy. They had also booked an ibiza or similar but got a new yaris with 8k on the clock.

I'd use them again, and it was nice to be told that they didn't care what state the car came back in as we had the premium cover.