Car hire fuel policy should be stopped!

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Comments

  • rafter_2
    rafter_2 Posts: 242 Forumite
    I certainly dont agree with the fuel policy some of these companies use especially in rentals of 4 days or less but I think people should start weighing up properley if they actually need a hire car, I cant get my head around how some people have a hire car for a week and only use 1/2 a tank or less.

    I've just come back from Fuerteventura where I had some 1.2 corsa for the week (hardly a gas guzzler) and went through 50euro of fuel and hardly any of that was the transfers as I wasnt staying far from the airport, didnt drive excessively for the sake of it etc, just visited diff parts of island. Not as if the fuel was expensive either, was 72cents a litre. Car hire was £86 for the week with no excess at all and fuel policy was just return car with the 1/4 of a tank thats already in there, now even at that price which is cheap compared to mainland Spain, France etc id be thinking did i really need the car hire if I only used 1/2 a tank but people are paying 2-3 times that price, getting ripped on fuel and using 1/2 a tank lol. Seems crazy unless there's some mobility problems, no public transport at all.
  • ferf1223
    ferf1223 Posts: 8,935 Forumite
    mobby-2554 wrote: »
    pompeyrich

    Hertz rates do not include fuel.


    Please be aware that we are unable to give a refund for unused fuel."

    ??????

    You have the option to pre-pay for a tank of fuel - thereby avoiding having to return it full...that was in the bit you cut out. :)

    Personally, I rather prefer the buy a tank up front, return it empty thing especially when it's a fair rate...but we usually use close to or more than a tank in our rentals. So for us avoiding that last morning stop for fuel because we can return the car with next to nothing in the tank is great...one less thing to worry about on the morning we come home.
    Does remembering a time that a certain degree of personal responsibility was more or less standard means that I am officially old?
  • alisonofagun
    alisonofagun Posts: 71 Forumite
    I hired a 1.4 diesel Yaris from Auriga at Alicante airport last week and had to pay 40€ for the fuel. Drove around 700km with a/c on full blast all the time and still had just under 1/4 tank left when we returned it. Diesel was around the 95c mark, I've absolutely no idea if we got a good deal or not but after forgetting to refuel last year and getting stung something rotten by Europcar I much preferred it this way! :D
  • richardw
    richardw Posts: 19,458 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    Is there anything to stop you taking some clear plastic tube with you and siphoning off some of the fuel down the nearest drain when you take the car back? Not a sensible thing to do though.
    Posts are not advice and must not be relied upon.
  • Droidfan
    Droidfan Posts: 1 Newbie
    Ok so i like a bargin. But don't be fooled as i was by this initial low cost car hire company.
    We've just returned from a long weekend in Spain. we picked up a 'Solmar' hire car at Almeria Aiport. Whilst the car was fine, Their policy (it is in the small print) insisting that car is taken with a full tank of fuel (normal) but brought back 'empty' is a complete con.

    On collection they charged us 74.40 euro for a full tank of fuel. Of course any unused fuel left in the tank at the end of the rental they pocket!
  • MarkyMarkD
    MarkyMarkD Posts: 9,912 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    It's not a con, as previously stated. It's simply a way of charging for the rental in a less obvious, and less fair, way.

    The competition on car hire is intense and the operators have to make money somehow ... the headline rental costs (on which people compare) don't make them anything at all, so they rely on "extras" like fuel.

    It is only when booking through consolidators - who also get paid by the car hire firms - that it is ever unclear what the fuel policy is. If you are booking direct, you can check it yourself and go elsewhere if you don't like it.

    As others say, if you are just using the car to/from the airport, get a taxi or think hard about why you are getting a hire car. It may not be the most cost effective method of transport.
  • creased-leach
    creased-leach Posts: 1,509 Forumite
    richardw wrote: »
    Is there anything to stop you taking some clear plastic tube with you and siphoning off some of the fuel down the nearest drain when you take the car back? Not a sensible thing to do though.

    Quite right- not remotely sensible.

    I would, however, without hesitation- siphon fuel & give it to a friendly accommodation/taverna owner/ someone who's just been nice in general.
    Only dead fish go with the flow...
  • citori
    citori Posts: 6 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    I had the same problem with "Goldcar" in Majorca in March. I went there for a long weekend for my wifes birthday, which we have done every year for about the last ten years, It has never happened before.
    When I got to the hire desk they charged me 60 Euros for a tank of fuel for a Fiesta! That's DOUBLE the pump price. I was then told I had to bring it back empty.
    When I complained that I would not be able to use a full tank in 4 days I was told "take it or leave it"
    As I had already paid for the rental via Auto-Europe I had no choice. I then spent the rest of the four days never changing up from third gear. I had it red-lining on the motorway all the way up to Pollenca.
    This is a blatent RIP-OFF, How can they justify charging you double the pump price for the fuel and then refuse to refund any not used?
    I complained to Auto-Europe who were sympathetic but said it was down to the hire company and not them.
    The cost of the hire car was 55 euros, and then I was forced to pay 60 Euros when I would have possibly only used around 15 Euros of fuel.
    So the total cost of the hire was 115 Euros as opposed to around 70 Euros.
    The hire company are on to a winner no matter which way you look at this. If you use the fuel, they have doubled their money. If you don't use the fuel, they charge it to the next hirer when you have already paid for it. This is small print theft, no more, no less.
    In Future, READ THE SMALL PRINT for the fuel policy.
  • clairbear_3
    clairbear_3 Posts: 198 Forumite
    Is is indeed a Blatant scam because if like me you book with a broker(argus)they dont specify fuel policy(although now I factor in full/empty)I was put with these cowboys Goldcar,but as it happened I used the full tank.However the original quote for £160 ended up at £265 this is because they charged 95Euro for a tank(I est should be £45)then they add a 2% conversion rate to the TOTAL cost.
  • clairbear_3
    clairbear_3 Posts: 198 Forumite
    Id also point out the vehicle(berlingo) was covered in scratches and dents,one wing looked like someone had sat on it.I went back to the desk and the girl obviously knew its state,scribbled its condition onto the voucher.Im left wondering if they would have stung me for the damage if I hadnt done so.
    Seriously considering doing without car in future.
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