Car hire in Spain (or anywhere for that matter)

[Notters]

I've always used one of the big brands previously (Budget, Hertz, Europcar, etc.) but can't really afford it this time.

Wondered what experiences people had had with the lesser brands, particularly Centauro, who seem to have reasonable ratings and are roughly 1/2 the price?

I always take out third party insurance etc. before I leave so won't be paying for any extras.

This is from Barcelona btw.

 

[Tony Towner's Fridge]

Holiday Autos are OK. Best get an annual cover for the full excess (costs about £75 pa for a one off as opposed to between £8 & £12 per day).
Spain can be as low as 4 Euros a day for hire.

TNBA


TTF

 

[Notters]

Holiday Autos are OK. Best get an annual cover for the full excess (costs about £75 pa for a one off as opposed to between £8 & £12 per day).
Spain can be as low as 4 Euros a day for hire.

TNBA


TTF

Isn't holiday autos just a comparison site? I tend to get a week's excess cover for circa £10 - £15 in advance.

 

[James Bond's body double]

Just used Goldcar hired for 2 weeks was £90.00

 

[mothy]

I always use the website doyouspain.com. Ensure you select on site at airport & have normally got europcar or other main brand desk & car

Has been great every time = 10 or so

But. Sshhh - dont tell everyone

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I always go for the cheapest deal I can get and they're always absolutely fine - on a par with the big boys where you pay a premium for the brand name.

 

[BNthree]

Usually OK but often find their offices and pick/return spots are much less convenient than the big brands, who obviously pay more for prime locations (this is from experience at Spanish airports).

 

[Notters]

Just used Goldcar hired for 2 weeks was £90.00

They're offering small cars at £4 for a week. How can they make money on that? Makes me think they'll force other stuff on you?

 

[theboybilly]

Whatever you do get photographic evidence of the condition of the vehicle on picking-up and hand-back including a photo of the dash to show mileages and amount of fuel. A lesson I learned in Malta

 

[Jack Daniels]

I've always used one of the big brands previously (Budget, Hertz, Europcar, etc.) but can't really afford it this time.

Wondered what experiences people had had with the lesser brands, particularly Centauro, who seem to have reasonable ratings and are roughly 1/2 the price?

I always take out third party insurance etc. before I leave so won't be paying for any extras.

This is from Barcelona btw.

Used centauro in malaga and didnt have any issues.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[Martlet]

Be careful of the fuel policies - some of them price cheap and then make you buy a full tank at their rates.

Also check the tyre treads - there are some horribly under-maintained cars out there

 

[James Bond's body double]

They're offering small cars at £4 for a week. How can they make money on that? Makes me think they'll force other stuff on you?

We took the car full of diesel, paid 35 euros, and took it back full.

 

[mattjl15]

I used comparison site www.vehicle-rent.com and ended up going with a company called Auto Click.

I was fairly wary of how it was going to go - but was pleasantly surprised.

- £40 for 2 days(ish) rental

- added a 2nd driver for free

- and we were unfortunately 20 mins late returning the vehicle (got lost getting petrol) and they were fine with it.

Let us perform our own vehicle check before departing and updated the damage sheet (didn't even come outside to double-check themselves).

All in all - a really good experience. Would use again.

We did buy the Vehicle Rent added insurance for £10 - and no one at Auto Click even mentioned additional insurance to us.

 

[swd40]

Used Centauro before but always gone fully comp with them, so no issues.
Fuel same in same out, refunded with no problems.

Fully comp came in handy when reversing into Villa gates, no deposit, excess etc..

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I use Okay on Ibiza every year. Cheap as chips, no issues at all, and they always give me a brand new Fiat 500. Their office is away from the airport which is why they're cheap I guess. They have a regular shuttle bus though. I always reduce my excess right down to 0* so I don't have anything to worry about and it's still cheap.

* I don't usually drive so I need this as my driving is shit and my parking even shitter.

 

[Balders]

I hear lots of nightmares from cheap car hire, especially in Spain - added extra's, fees for fuel not full on return (when they filled up 5 miles from the airport) late return fees, you name it they'll have you for it.

The biggest issue is the excess - these are getting really lumpy with deposits running into thousands of Euros. The only way you'll avoid it is by taking out either their "super relax Insurance" (which is where cheap car hire companies make their money) The other option as other posters have said, is to by an excess reduction policy over here before you go - all good in practice, but if you have an accident, they'll withhold your deposit and you have to make a separate claim over here to get that excess back, which is a bit of a faff, dependent on how confident you are.

There's a lot of rumblings in the media about it and Which are now on the case - http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/car-hire/article/car-hire-advice/hiring-a-car-abroad

 

[nicko31]

They're offering small cars at £4 for a week. How can they make money on that? Makes me think they'll force other stuff on you?

Its when you return the case they find that scratch you never noticed. Best thing is invest is photograph every panel in high def before you drive off and tell them that on your return

 

[Since1982]

Not sure what their coverage is like outside of the Canaries but I've used Autoreisen in Lanzarote for years. Good prices, never rip you off and decent cars.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

DoYou Spain are pretty good. I always use one or the other when flying into Seville or Madrid

 

[tronnogull]

I used Gold Car when we visited Malaga. The queue to pick up a car took about an hour. Then, when I returned the car ( on time and with a full tank ) the place was heaving. Bloke took the keys and said everything fine, will send the receipt. Got home and found they had charged me an extra day for late return and for a tank of petrol. When I researched them on the internet I found hundreds of horror stories about them. It took months and the intervention of the credit card company to eventually correct the charges.