[Closed] What Spanish Car Hire

I use Kayak for best price (but never use Goldcar). Any of the main players (or their cheap side brands). I then have separate excess insurance. I rent a car in Bilbao 3 / 4 times a year.

Check milage and take photos / video of car on collection.

Thanks
Where do you get your excess insurance from?

Just back from Spain,
We used Holiday Autos and got excess cover through AXA. The company we chose was Firefly. Certainly no complaints. We paid £25 for car hire and £25 for insurance for a week. Got a brand new Citroen C3 and didn't get any excess charges so overall a very positive experience.

Found Excess insurance... Money Supermarket

Which airport are you flying to? I've used Drivalia several times and their service is great, though they are definitely not the cheapest. They don't serve every airport however - Alicante, Bilbao, Valencia, Girona, Palma and Santiago.

In the Med I prefer to use the local suppliers as they invariably meet you at arrivals (no queue), don't charge excesses / extras and are less inclined to rip you off as they have a stable business advertising the going rate rather than a cheap headline cost + claw back on the extras. Once you know your airport Tripadvisor is a good source of local car rental recommendations invariably by people who've being going back and forth for years.

The cars can be a bit more shonky but assuming you're not going far and just want the convenience it works well. I've done this 4-5 times now mostly on the islands and its always worked well (so far).

Based on what I've heard and read I would never ever use Goldcar and Europcar / Keddy are also on my shit list due to trying to charge me for some random unknown thing that I got the credit card company to recover.

For Spain I've used Zest (used to be Economy Car Hire) a few times now. Take out their excess insurance and you are covered for anything. Took a car back and got charged £250+ for an alleged small scratch on a bumper which they recovered straightaway, this was possibly Goldcar so would echo what others have said.

Goldcar is universally hated, avoid. I tend to use Hertz or Avis but they're probably not the cheapest. Obviously double check the car before accepting it, and make sure any and all scratches (however small) are noted.

Do you Spain normally the cheapest. Just get the excess insurance from someone reputable over here (think we used Zurich last time and got an annual policy)

+ 1 for using a local company. You can find one with no excess, pay with cash etc. Yes, the cars may not be brand new, but who cares?

never use Goldcar

Goldcar is universally hated, avoid

Good advice.

Made me think of Barcelona airport a few years ago
Saw a car carrier delivering cars for Enterprise, he unloaded 5 cars into a space for 4 - he just used the 5th car to shunt the four he had just unloaded and another car parked behind them until he was off the lorry.
Clutch smelt a bit.

On this topic, I've hunted around online but not found an answer. Do most of these offer hassle-free cross-border driving? So if I rented in Spain, I could head to Portugal (say) for a day without any issue, as long as I returned the car in Spain?

Ref cross-border it'll vary but it tends to be an issue in / around Central and Eastern Europe where there are lots of borders and heavier disparity between 'standards'. I can't imagine the Spanish and the Portuguese are bothered. You'll need to ask the rental companies though.

Goldcar ... and another local one ... firefly. Don't touch with a bargepole (or at least read the reviews before you do).
I used Budget the other week , and they were really good ...

Firefly is Hertz's budget offering just like Keddy is a Europcar brand. As far as I can tell in both cases they're the same outfit with a different pricing structure to reflect a more bear-bones, everything-extra service.

We used our Spanish car hire in Portugal without issue.

If you take the motorway across the border into Portugal you will need to swipe a credit card at the first tolls. There are signs and booth on the road side. Some toll sections in Portugal have only number plate reading cameras and just bill you as you pass.

If not, you have to do it over the internet later the same day and it's very painful.

I am going to Girona.

This has been v useful thanks folks.

Big player with all the insurance. I don’t need the hassle and am happy to pay for it. I’m also a member of the don’t queue because you’re special club. So no waiting. The opportunity cost when it invariably goes pear shaped with a small local is not worth the stress. Been there once, never again.

Then drive it like you stole it with impunity. (Not really)

I fly to Gerona 4/5 times a year,& always book firefly through the doyouspain website,easy drop off,its a doddle & cheap..

Hired a car three weeks ago in Barcelona.... via Budget / Hertz. Returned the following day ... and checked over, given the all clear ....
So off I go ...
Credit card has a 280 euro charge from Hertz for damage! We are currently discussing ....

Did you have excess insurance?

Has anyone experience of claiming back such excesses using excess insurance?