Car Hire In Spain - No Credit Card - Help!!

Bromheads_Wallet

As promised I have some feedback, I have been promised it will be OK for me to get a car from Sol-Mar car hire with my debit card. Valuecarrentals.com were most helpful. I am flying in on the 28th July so will see, the seed of doubt is still lingering as all of the other companies that I contacted all turned me down flat.
I can't thank Woml enough.:T I really was thinking of driving to Spain because of all of this. Now I don't have to:j .

I will update after the holiday with hopefully good news,

Cheers, BW

woml

Hi BW. I'm guessing you're away at the moment, hopefully driving around in your hire car! I do hope it went ok for you. We've just got back from Spain again, and again used solmar through valuecarrentals, again no problem with debit card. This time it was from Murcia airport.

It is absolutely soul-destroying trying to book a hire car without a credit card, so I know what you went through. We also were at the point of either cutting our losses and cancelling the holiday, or looking at driving down (ferry costs a fortune) or getting the train down (a major headache with two young children in tow).

I also couldnt relax until we actually had the car keys in our hand at the airport though!!

let us know how it went.

Regards
Nicky

Bromheads_Wallet

Hello, I have had a great holiday- with a car!!!! even a free upgrade to a 7 seater Zafira, it was excellent.

Not all plain sailing though. We eventually got there at 11pm waited for 30 minutes for a transfer to the car hire booth at Granada (just outside the airport) Had to wait for ages for every one else to get their cars sorted out, when I got to the front (with only one family left behind me at around 12pm) went through all of the routine questions and details.... then got to payment...
I handed him my card...declined. What!!!! they explained that my Maestro card is a cash card not a debit card. A small argument followed, I do mean small, I was in the middle of explaining that the maestro is a debit card in the UK, when he said 'there is a cash machine at the airport. I pulled my neck in and said, so you will take cash? Si was the response:j

I couldn't get my cash out fast enough. Pheww! then he said we havent any Focus estates. Will this do? 7 seater all the way, Diesel to boot, saved me a fortune in petrol.

Sol Mar were fantastic. Because I picked it up in the dark and it only had 7000 kilometers on the clock I assumed all would be well. They didn't seem too bothered about running me through the checks and just passed me the keys.
In the morning I got a surprise, there was a scrape all down the passenger side, mot massive but deep enough to show. (wasn't me honest) This bothered me a bit as I hadn't checked it over properly. It was in the back of my mind all holiday.
When I got to the airport for handover, they just took the keys no problems. When I read through the insurance, it said fully comprehensive so there was absolutely no problems whatsoever.

Really, really fantastic service. Completely recommended to all, Thanks agian Nicky for starting this life saving thread!!! and a big thanks to all who have contributed to it.:T :beer:

woml

Hi BW, so glad you got it sorted. Sol-Mar made the difference between going on holiday and not, for us, so I know how you feel!

Regards
Nicky

daisy_doughnut_2

hi all we just used sol-mar booked through carjet at girona airport the service we recieved was great and we used a visa electron

sarah1975uk

woml wrote: »

Hi Karlsp - I'm so sorry, that should have been valuecarrentals.com! I got them through travelsupermarket.com and went to the travel section and then hire car. The only extras we paid for to Sol-mar when we were in Spain was some extra insurance to cover tyres, wheels and glass and for a booster seat for our youngest, and we paid for these on our debit card.

Be careful when you're looking around though as even companies that say you don't need to actually pay a deposit, still require a credit card, not a debit card when you pick the car up though, as security and ID. You'll need to look carefully in the small print of their terms and conditions.

Hope that helps.

Nicky

Thanks Nicky Very helpful post. I have gotten a quote that i am happy with but in terms and conditions it says need a credit card for local payments of fuel etc. Bit scared to enter debit card details for payment incase i dont get given the car at the other end. can you help me out ta Sarah x

eamonn

Most rental companies insist on a credit card , my understanding is that with a credit card they can block off the insurance excess amount, the insurance excess is the amount that you are liable for if you have an accident, with Solmar the excess is zero so it is possible they will accept a debit card , also check www.fastcarhire.co.uk who also use Solmar and Centuro in Spain who will need to let them know that you do not have a credit card but they will add notes to booking and get approval in advance so all should run smoothly

woml

Hi Sarah, it'll defo be fine if you book through valuecarrentals.com, they will put a note on your booking that you will be paying with debit card (make sure you tell valuecarrentals first though!). We've done it twice now through them and it's been fine. Not tried fastcarhire.co.uk, as in eamonn's post but sounds a similar setup, so could be worth a try also?

Good luck!
Nicky

sarah1975uk

oh my god doesnt time fly, with christmas racing towards us, am off ot spain tomorrow and am having a mare cant get car hire everyone seems to be sold out. Need car for me Dh & 3 Kids and luggage, something like a ford focus or soemthing similar, want to pay by debit card online or cash on collection but i dont have a credit card.

woml

Oh no! Let us know how you got on!

Best wishes and happy new year.

Nicky