We are having a quick holiday in Majorca in September and will need a hire car from the airport. 2 adults and 2 toddlers so a corsa is fine but a berlingo type thing would be cool if it wasnt too much extra

I’ve been on a few comparason websites but they seem to be a minefield with many charging extra for out of hours collection, paying for a tank of fuel at an undisclosed rate, various insurance exclutions etc. I’d happily pay more for peace of mind that I’m not going to get stung, but the big players seem to be up to the same shenannigans.
Can anyone reccomend an honest and reputable firm to go with? Or have any horror stories to share??

plenty of horror stories.

Twice in Lanzarote now we’ve been turned over. You turn up (booked via Ryanair website) and they charge you 60euro for fuel… but you can bring it back empty. This is on an island you can drive the length of in less than an hour !!!

You’d need to do about 700miles to empty it !!

Only times we’ve been on the right side of it was when we booked via a local company who were run by the people we were renting a villa from.

All of that said…. it only worked out about £20 more when we were fleeced.

Hired a Zafia in France through Sixt, all went well and no issues, although if you’re paying by debit card then they’ll take the full rental out as a deposit, which caught my mate out 😆

Make sure you inspect the car before taking it (take photos of damage) & make sure they sign your car in when you drop it off – same as any other car hire here in the UK really.

Had no issues with Avis in Nice. Booked in advance on the web with the box ticked for “would like to purchase extra insurance”. Extra insurance @ €12/day paid on credit card, no substantial deposit (as the grippier is mainly to pay the excess in case of a prang and the extra insurance reduces excess to zero), just a small hold amount (€45 or so) on the credit card to cover fuel if I brought it back empty.

Nice and easy, went with them because they had the most information available about what would be charged where and would happily do so again.

just use the main companies, SIXT, Europecar, AVIS, ALAMO as they all have relatively straight forward terms and they don’t charge you upfront for fuel irrespective of usage. Avoid Carhire 3000 and Girraffe – bunch of swindling muppets!

I used Centauro booked through http://www.rentalcargroup.com when I was there (Mallorca) last year.
You can book a Fiat Doblo or similar (code CVMR) for about the same price as a corsa – currently looking at a base price of £112 per week.
I had to return it empty, but I think most of them do it, and the price didn’t seem too steep.
As per the other thread, decline all the insurance extras and use a 3rd party car hire insurance provider.

Edit: In comparison, Avis in Fuertaventura a few years earlier were pretty shonky – clapped out car and grotty car seat from a supposedly big name player.

Our last horror story was with Hertz above.

Whatever else you do. Buy one of the independent Collision Damage Waiver insurances. The Hire Car companies charge rip off rates for these services & there are a lot of stories of damage being fabriacted by the foreign companies.

Do not use goldcar

https://www.economycarhire.com

these guys are really good, they have a drop down menu telling you what extra’s are included etc. Try to get one with all the insurances included and not giving you a tank of fuel to return empty – we were charged €100 for €50 worth of petrol on a previous trip

Whatever else you do. Buy one of the independent Collision Damage Waiver insurances. The Hire Car companies charge rip off rates for these services & there are a lot of stories of damage being fabriacted by the foreign companies

We did this for Majorca and they gave us the ‘special’ car from the back of the lot. No fuel cap flap, tape holding the glove box shut, ripped seat. Threw it back at them and they begrudgingly brought out a decent car.

We did this as on another occasion the clutch went on the long uphill drag just before Malaga airport, we had turned down the extra insurance to cover wheels and glass but they had included clutch in this cover. Took €1,000 in total off my credit card which I got back in the end thanks to holiday autos.

Check out all the advice here – http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-car-hire

We regularly use Eurocar when we go to our place in Alicante
I book this through EasyJet whilst booking flights.
All there cars are if not brand new and at a good price.

But in saying that,, just recently someone who I know that has a place in Spain
advised us to use these guys called argus car hire, apparently they too
offer the same quality of cars but cheaper so you can get a larger car for your money

argus car hire

Also tell them you will return the car with full being they seem to charge about 35€ euros
to fill it up for you.

How can a hire car company charge you when the clutch goes ?? Hardly your fault !!

I hired a car in Spain once and the guy insisted it was petrol (I always ask, and make them write it on the hire documents).

It was diesel. Luckily I noticed it drove and sounded more like a diesel, that would have been expensive, and hard to prove as their mistake. We asked at a gas station for a mechanic to confirm as their was NOTHING anywhere on the car that said, not even on the fuel cap, and it didn’t have the wee light that comes on when the plugs are heated. Reckon that was a scam and we were dead lucky not to get taken, and we would have missed our plane as we didn’t refuel until on the way to the airport.

Sixt was good for us in Majorca. Make sure you book on line and all the waivers etc are included in the price.

Watch out for companies that charge you for a full tank of gas and expect you to return it empty. Not easy somewhere like Majorca.

Give Amigo Autos a go, I have used them for donkeys and never ever let me down, cheap too

€140.00 odd for a week for a C3

I’ve had several excellent experiences now with holidayautos.com

Every time it’s been one of the big hire cos that you end up.hiring from, but always cheaper than going direct.

I think ultimately they are all local franchises and can be borderline sheisters.

My only 2p worth is book via Holiday Autos (we do this around 3 times a year for the last 10 years) and pay the optional “full” CDW via their website. If you have a ding (and then read the t&c’s) – you should get this back. It’s always been painless for us.

Only things of note for us-

I managed to “ahem” park a Passat sideways in a ditch. Damage excess was refunded no problemn (from HA) – but a towtruck fee of 100 euro wasnt.

With sixt and we got caught on camera in Italy on an “illegal circulation” and that cost us a 30 euro fine. Plus a Sixt admin charge of 100. Plus even more if we didnt pay the initial fine.

So on balance – we’ve been unlucky and in retrospect been treated fairly. So that’s where our bookings go now.

#Edit – “unlucky” isnt the right word – “incompetent” is more like it!

Oh – and I just remembered in Africa – it’s customary to tip the guy that inspects your car on return. We didnt know this. Cost us nothing but paperwork, but it would have saved me getting me wound up.

Do not use goldcar

Why not?

Call me strange, but I’ve never had a bad experience with European car hire companies. Some have been more or less expensive, but I’m not going to let the odd 20 quid here or there ruin my holiday.. Just a thought like.

don simon – Member
Call me strange, but I’ve never had a bad experience with European car hire companies. Some have been more or less expensive, but I’m not going to let the odd 20 quid here or there ruin my holiday.. Just a thought like

It’s the principle of being thrown an expense you were not expecting.

When i booked through ryanair i did so becuase i asusmed using Hertz was using a ‘proper’ company, so a “what you see is what you pay” type scenario. To then turn up and be met with “you have to pay £60 in cash for fuel” was a kick in the nuts. However they have you over a barrel as you’re in an airport, they’ve already got your £100 for it and then they hit you with a £750 deposit on your CC and things start getting all a bit stroppy. IT’s hot, you’ve been up since 4am and you just want to get to your villa and sit by the pool.

hels – Member
How can a hire car company charge you when the clutch goes ?? Hardly your fault !!

Correct, but google Spanish hire car clutch for some horror stories.

Hi, hope you don’t mind a newbie giving some advice? I’ve lurked on the forums for a while, but this topic gave me the incentive to sign up at last.

I have worked in a car hire company for years, so hope I can help.

I agree with the points above on fuel and insurance so would just add that if you want an airport car hire, double check that it’s actually on the airport, and doesn’t involve a shuttle bus to some dodgy industrial estate.

Hope this helps? As a fellow biker, I’m more than happy to go through anything else if you contact me directly (I can’t figure out how to do that yet? 😕 ) Might even be able to sort out a good deal for anyone that’s interested.

Can I just recommend the excellent service I’ve had so far from Holiday Autos (sitting in Austria trying to avoid German-flavoured telly at the moment).

My credit card ‘malfunctioned’* in Venice hours before due to pick up at the Airport, and their emergency service squared it with the hire company to use my wife’s card instead. All sorted while standing next to a canal in about five minutes.

+1 for the independent waiver insurance though – you never know what they’ll try to sting you for. A lot cheaper than buying it through the firm.

Also employ a nine year old boy to check for scratches and dents. Mine spotted about three I’d missed completely, including a massive gouge above the wheel arch.

*user forgot new pin, and clearly didn’t write it down properly on his secret crib sheet… 😳

Be warned, some companies end up using others to actually supply the car.

I know, as we booked our Spanish car through Avis which was fine, no problems, return it full etc. etc.

We left a couple arguing with the Avis desk as they’d booked through Europcar (I think) who weren’t at the airport so they palmed the rental off to Avis. They also returned the car full (needed a full tank apparently) but the T&Cs for their car said return empty so were asking (in vain I suspect) for 60 euros back for the fuel they’d put in as they were apparently told to return it full.

I’ve used Centauro, goldcar, malaga car hire (no use to you obviusly. We used Centauro in ibiza and although we picked the car up with a full tank they gave us a refund for unused fuel when I handed the car back. Malaga car hire gave me the car with half a tank. Goldcar had a full/empty policy so probably wouldn’t use them again. I would use Centauro.

Definateky get excess waiver insurance, its only £20odd for 2 weeks.

thrifty or hertz if your worried.